360 REVIEWS. 



to the provinces of special anatomy and physiology rather than to 

 elementary mammalian anatomy. The table of cranial nerves on page 

 205 will prove convenient and helpful. It seems a mistake not to insist 

 more strongly on a careful dissection of the cranial nerves, especially 

 the vagus; there is nothing definite in the book concerning the course 

 of this nerve and that of the phrenic. The figure of the sympathetic 

 nervous system (p. 107) and the description in the text of the middle 

 cervical ganglion do not agree. The remarks regarding the convolutions 

 of the brain in mammals are misleading, as usual. 



A complete glossary is a valuable feature of the book. The text will 

 undoubtedly find a wide use in American colleges, in spite of its failings, 

 for it fulfills the essential requirements of the teachers in those schools. 



The work of the publishers has been performed excellently. 



Lawrence E. Griffin. 



A Compend of Histology. By Henry Erdman Radasch. Pp. 350. Price $1.00 net. 

 Philadelphia: P. Blakiston's Son & Co., 1909. 



Quiz-compends, which originally were prepared as a first aid to lazy 

 or imbecile students of medicine, are developing for the better along 

 with the improvement of medical education. This little book of Doctor 

 Eadasch, though published as one of Blakiston's series of quiz-compends, 

 will scarcely be recognized as belonging to the group of educational 

 pacifiers usually known by that name. It might better be called an 

 outline of histology, since it differs from textbooks of the usual type 

 mostly by the brevity of the descriptions. 



In the first chapter (30 pages) the author describes the ordinary 

 processes of preparation of histological material and gives the formulae 

 of the reagents most used. A very limited amount of technique should 

 be expected of students in the ordinary course in histology, while the 

 more complicated processes should not be attempted by the student. 

 Nevertheless, the description of these processes may be a considerable 

 aid by enabling the student to understand the treatment of the sections 

 he is required to study. If this chapter is intended to fulfill such a 

 purpose, its presence may be justified. 



This book includes chapters on the fetal membranes, the "nerve 

 system," "the eyeball and lacrimal system," the ear, the senses of smell, 

 taste, and touch, and on the development of the face and teeth. The 

 illustrations are sufficient for a book of greater pretensions. 



The author is fortunate in his ability to write short and unusually clear 

 descriptions, which are complete but not tedious. A few of his defini- 

 tions are open to criticism, for instance when he writes that "metabolism 

 is the change that takes place in a cell during the performance of its 

 functions." Possibly the critic is captious, but metabolism seems to be 



