PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION 



Although the first edition of this work came from the press too 

 late for use in the first semester, the extraordinary reception accorded 

 it, especially by medical educators and medical journals, necessitated 

 immediate preparations for a second edition. 



The work has been gone over carefully, and various changes have 

 been made where it has been found that the student would profit by 

 such changes and the entire work has been reset. It is now issued in 

 two volumes so as to accommodate those schools which, presenting only 

 general biology, require but the first half of the subject matter. 



Two objections have been raised by several critics: (1) that the 

 chapters "Why to Study," "How to Study," and "The Coordination of 

 Subjects Studied," have as much place in any textbook on Chemistry or 

 Physics as they have in a work on Biology, and that in reality they have 

 no place in either ; and (2) that the apparent lack of organization in the 

 third portion of the work (now the latter half of Volume II) prevented 

 the student from obtaining a clear-cut line of demarcation between 

 Anatomy and Physiology. 



Regarding the first objection: There are actually only two real 

 coordinating subjects in the college curriculum — Philosophy and 

 Biology. And, as very few students of the sciences ever take any of 

 the philosophical courses, the only department left, where coordination 

 can be driven home effectively, is Biology. 



Further, the author spent practically an entire school year visiting 

 the leading universities in this country and abroad to find how and where 

 to improve the various courses. He found deans and professors alike 

 agreeing that the most important thing that could be given a student 

 during the first years of his college work was the manner and the 

 means of learning how to study, why to study, and how to coordinate 

 the subjects studied. 



He then took the laboratory courses as given in our American 

 schools of medicine so as to obtain first-hand information as to what 

 professional students actually need. This work is the result. 



Regarding the second objection : There are no such artificial lines 

 of demarcation in the living organism as are used in the laboratory. 

 Anatomy and Physiology are most intimately interwoven in life. There- 

 fore, in order that the student obtain a realization of the artificial labora- 

 tory grouping, as well as the actual conditions in the living organism, 

 the first half of the book keeps Anatomy and Physiology separate and 

 distinct, except where the two can be shown to be intimately related, 

 while the third portion of the work interweaves the two branches. This 

 apparent lack of organization and separation of the two branches of 

 science was, therefore, of deliberate intent. 



EDWARD J. MENGE. 

 January 1, 1924. 



