The History of Biology 381 



forms in his comparisons, and he also obtained a wider grasp of the 

 problem confronting him than any of his predecessors. A good illustra- 

 tion of the synthesis sought for, and the breadth of knowledge desired 

 in this department of research, can be found in his famous statement, 

 "Give me a tooth, and I will construct the whole animal." 



This is the keynote to comparative study. It means that every 

 change in function modifies a structure, and that, if we can know thor- 

 oughly all there can be known about function and its effect on structure, 

 and every change in one structure which may change a related structure, 

 we can tell what the functions must have been, in a given structure, 

 and vice versa. 



There are men who were lesser lights in the field of comparative 

 anatomy even before Cuvier's time, whose names it is well to know : 

 John Hunter (1728-1793), who founded the Hunterian Collection in 

 England; Camper (1722-1789) of Groningen, and Vicq d'Azyr (1748- 

 1794) in Paris. All of these did synthetic work, but their breadth of 

 knowledge, view, and vision fell far short of that of Cuvier. 



Following Cuvier came Milne-Edwards and Lacaze-Duthiers in 

 France ; Meckel, Rathke, Johannes Muller, and Gegenbaur in Germany ; 

 Owen and Huxley in England ; Aggassiz, Cope, and Marsh in America. 



When men once became interested in the great structural problems 

 of zoology it was but natural that others should become interested in 

 those that were functional. Here was the birth of modern physiology. 

 The medical men were the first to do work in these fields. They estab- 

 lished systems of thought known as the iatro-mechanical and iatro- 

 chemical schools. 



Haller (1708-1777) took the work of these men, surveyed it, and 

 evaluated it, so that he may really be called the father of modern 

 physiology. 



The first work in physiology was done on nutrition and respiration. 

 Reaumur (1683-1757) of Paris, and the Abbe Spallanzani (1729-1799) 

 of Pavia did the most remarkable work in this field, although they had 

 forerunners on whose work they built in turn. 



Such forerunners were van Helmont (1577-1644), Sylvius (1614- 

 1672), Bishop Stensen (1638-1686), de Graff (1641-1673), Peyer (1653- 

 1712), and Brunner (1653-1727). 



The great names in chemistry whose work affected biological 

 students are primarily Boyle (1627-1691), Priestly (1732-1804), and 

 Lavoisier (1743-1794). 



In physiology proper the greatest names in Germany are : Liebig 

 (1803-1873), Wohler (1800-1882), the brothers Weber (E. H., 1795-1878, 

 and W. E., 1804-1891), Ludwig (1816-1895), Helmholtz (1821-1894), 

 Johannes Muller (1801-1858), and du Bois-Reymond (1818-1896). In 

 France, Dumas (1800-1884), Magendie (1783-1889), and in England, 



