THE STUDY OF MEDICINE 67 



who has learned how to cut and stain sections for microscopic examina- 

 tion will be at considerable advantage. Some medical schools give 

 courses in this "microscopic technic," but the time is better spent in 

 studying sections than in preparing them. It has been found by 

 Professor Waite that the better medical schools afford less time for this 

 subject than inferior schools. A college course in which the chief 

 tissues are prepared and studied is therefore recommended. 



Embryology, which deals with the development of the body from 

 the egg-cell to the adult organism, is divisible into two parts. That 

 which deals with the early stages and chiefly with lower vertebrates and 

 the invertebrates, has grown up in zoological laboratories. That which 

 deals with the formation of the organs and the nervous, vascular and 

 muscular systems in mammals, and with the development of the 

 membranes in man, has been studied especially in medical schools. It 

 is this portion of the subject which is an invaluable aid in under- 

 standing anatomy, histology and pathology, and its study should -pre- 

 cede the medical school work in these subjects. Unless this is possible 

 in the medical school which the student is to attend, college work in 

 embryology should be considered. Thus in the Medical Department 

 of Johns Hopkins University, where the teachers of anatomy are 

 distinguished for their researches in embryology, no medical school 

 work in this subject is required; a college course is recommended. 



Special courses in the anatomy of the nervous system are given 

 both in college and in the medical school, though generally from dif- 

 ferent standpoints. The subject is so intricate that the college work 

 will be found of considerable assistance. 



Occasionally a college announces a course on some one group of 

 animals, such as the protozoa, insects, or worms, as desirable in prepara- 

 tion for medicine. The knowledge of these groups obtained from the 

 general course should be sufficient for a practitioner. The theoretical 

 and statistical study of variation and heredity has only a general 

 interest for medical students, and courses in systematic zoology are of 

 still less importance. 



The value of zoological courses as a preparation for anatomy and 

 histology is shown in the following table, based upon the marks of the 

 class which entered the Harvard Medical School in 1907. The table 

 shows the number of men obtaining the grades A to E, A being the 

 highest (90-100 per cent.), and E failure to pass (less than 50 per 

 cent. ) . 



Anatomy Histology 



Students who have taken in zoology — a B C D E Av. <f> A B C D E Av. <f, 



More than two courses 04721 69 56300 85 



Two courses 1 9 7 3 53 3 6 9 2 77 



From one half to two courses 8 8 10 49 3 4 12 5 2 68 



No courses 4 4 7 45 2 5 2 6 52 



