May 19, 1905.] 



SCIENCE. 



785 



founded the so-called ' cellular pathology,' 

 which refers all vital process, including the 

 phenomena of disease, and all alterations of 

 the organs and tissues, to the activity of the 

 cells of -which the body is composed. Micro- 

 scopic pathological anatomy has been enor- 

 mously in vogue since the middle of the last 

 century, and histological technique has grad- 

 ually attained to a manifoldness and com- 

 plexity which is nothing less than appalling. 



Still another phase of post-mortem pathol- 

 ogy appeared when the relation of certain 

 micro-organisms to the infectious diseases be- 

 gan to be established. Following upon the 

 discoveries of Pasteur and Koch, the methods 

 of bacteriology were applied at autopsies and 

 our knowledge of disease has, as every one 

 knows, been notably forwarded through such 

 application. American pathologists especially 

 have insisted upon systematic routine bac- 

 teriological examinations at autopsies. 



Finally, the chemical study of the organs 

 and tissues at post-mortem examinations re- 

 mains to be developed. Only the crudest of 

 beginnings has been made thus far in this 

 direction; the whole field is as yet practically 

 unexploited. That the time is about ripe for 

 its cultivation seems obvious to many; a Ger- 

 man scientist, writing to a friend in this coun- 

 try the other day, made the prophecy : ' Der 

 zweite Virchow wird ein pathologische Chem- 

 iker sein.' 



Coincident with the expansion of the sub- 

 ject, the technique of post-mortem pathology 

 grew in extent and complexity. Two or three 

 main types of books have been published as 

 guides thereto — small works like those of 

 Virchow, Chiari and Nauwerck, large books 

 like Orth's ' Pathologisch-anatomische Diag- 

 nostik,' and others of intermediate size such 

 as Mallory and Wright's ' Pathological Tech- 

 niq\ie.' The volume before us, by Dr. Cattell, 

 is of about the same size as Orth's book, but 

 the plan followed is somewhat different and 

 the subjects dealt with are more numerous. 



After certain introductory chapters on the 

 general features of post-mortems, the order of 

 examination, the keeping of records, the use 

 of instruments, and the care of the hands, the 

 author takes up the examination of the ex- 



ternal surface of the body. Then follows the 

 opening of the great cavities and the study of 

 their contained organs, the examination of 

 the nervous system, of the sense organs, and of 

 the bones and joints. Intercalated between 

 the description of methods of examination, the 

 diseases which may be met with in the indi- 

 vidual organs are described and the corre- 

 sponding pathological changes referred to. 

 The first seventeen chapters of the book are 

 devoted to the above-mentioned portions of 

 the subject. The accounts given, though 

 brief, are clear, and on the whole commend- 

 able. Occasional slips are made, some of 

 them, perhaps, due to compression, as, for 

 example, the classification of osteitis defor- 

 mans under acromegaly. 



The post-mortem examination of the new- 

 born is dealt with in chapter XVIII. ; in 

 chapter XIX. the making of restricted post- 

 mortem examinations is discussed, and in 

 chapter XX. the student is told how to re- 

 store and preserve the body. The mode of 

 preparation of the tissues for macroscopic and 

 microscopic purposes occupies a special chap- 

 ter, as does the topic of bacteriological in- 

 vestigation. Comparative post-mortems re- 

 ceive especial attention; one whole chapter is 

 devoted to medico-legal suggestions, and an- 

 other to an account of the Prussian regula- 

 tions for the performance of autopsies in 

 medico-legal cases. Toward the end of the 

 book the usual causes of death are classified, 

 and their nomenclature, complications and 

 synonyms successively taken up. The volume 

 closes with twenty-four pages in italics of 

 references to the literature of the subject. 



It will be seen from the above statement 

 that many phases of post-mortem pathology 

 rarely dealt with extensively in text-books have 

 been carefully considered by Dr. Cattell. The 

 number of methods given for any particular 

 procedure varies; in some instances only the 

 method of examining an organ preferred by 

 the author is described; in other cases, a 

 whole series of different methods is outlined, 

 e. (]., for the examination of the brain, where 

 Virchow's, Meynert's (modified), Pitres', 

 Dejerine's, Hamilton's and Giacomini's 

 methods, are all separately described. The 



