869 



The relations of the hepatic cells to the biliary secretion are dis- 

 cussed and illustrated by microscopical examinations, in a paper by 

 Mr. Wharton Jones, printed in the second Part of the Philosophical 

 Transactions for 1848; in which Professor Henle's suggestion, that 

 the hepatic cells correspond to endogenous cells, is argued to be 

 correct. 



Dr. Robert Lee has communicated the results of his laborious dis- 

 sections of the nerves of the heart, illustrated by drawings, the ela- 

 borate beauty of which is exemplified by the engravings from them, 

 published in the first Part of the Transactions for the present year. 



A most valuable paper on the structure and development of the 

 liver, based upon a wide extent of research into its comparative ana- 

 tomy, has been contributed by Dr. Handfield Jones to the same part 

 of the Transactions. 



The anatomical structure and physiology of the papillte of the 

 tongue, in which resides the sense of taste, have received extensive 

 illustrations by the persevering and ingenious application of the mi- 

 croscope to those organs in the living frog by Dr. Waller; the 

 peculiar structure of the tongue of this animal adapting it for a 

 scrutiny which in most instances can only be made upon the dead 

 tissues of animals. 



The concluding paper in the first Part of the current volume of the 

 Transactions, by Professor Owen, gives the results of the application 

 of his principles for determining the homologies of the vertebrate 

 skeleton to the complex structures forming the carapace and plastron 

 of the Chelonian Reptiles ; and may be considered as one of the most 

 interesting and important links in the chain of illustrations of that 

 great principle which is so identified with his labours. In this ela- 

 borate communication each element is clearly defined and distinctly 

 named, — the precise amount of correspondence with the ordinary 

 vertebrate skeleton is definitely determined to the extent of their 

 modifications, — and the nature of the superadded parts is illustrated 

 by tracing the growth of the whole from the embryo state. 



In anatomy the parts must first be accurately observed and de- 

 scribed, but it is essential to its progress as a true science, contra- 

 distinguished from mere accumulation of recorded facts, that the re- 

 lations of the parts be determined, not only as they are connected 

 with one another in the same body, but as they are modified and re- 

 peated in different animals. 



When the same part is thus recognized under all its adaptive mo- 

 difications, a definite name may be applied to it, or it may be signified 

 by a symbol. The anatomist thereby acquires the power of ex- 

 pressing propositions of the highest generality in his science in the 

 briefest and clearest terms. The possibility of such an approxima- 

 tion of anatomy to the nature of the exact sciences can only be 

 doubted or rejected by those who have failed to discern, or who deny, 

 that a common type or pattern has governed the construction of 

 animal bodies. 



The evidence of this fundamental fact has been progressively accu- 

 mulating since the first stimulus to the inquiry was given by the 



