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THE AMERICAN NATURALIST 



[Vol. LI 



medicine and especially anatomy with Winslow and Senac. 

 He had hoped to spend some years in Paris, but after six 

 months, on the retirement of Ran from the professorship 

 of medicine, anatomy and surgery at Leyden, Albinus was 

 called, at the suggestion of Boerhaave, to take charge of 

 the anatomy. Shortly after reaching Holland the Uni- 

 versity of Leyden gave Albinus his doctorate of medicine 

 without either examination or thesis. His inaugural ad- 

 dress ' ' Oratio inauguralis de anatome comparata ' ' clearly 

 showed the master mind. At Leyden, Albinus gave a new 

 direction to the study of anatomy which had lain dormant 

 since the appearance of Vesalius's ''De Corporis Humani 

 Fabrica" (1543). He brought to greater perfection 

 the art of anatomical illustrating, which had not pro- 

 gressed since Vesalius, and especially in his ''Historia 

 musculorum hominis, Leyden, 1734, in-4°", on which his 

 fame as an anatomist rests. This magnificent work was 

 twice reprinted and translated into French by Pierre 

 Tarin in 1753. Albinus published also other valuable 

 works and left a marked impression on his subject. 



It would appear, from the above study, that the sources 

 of anatomical literature are to be found in the writings of 

 the men who have developed the subject in the various 

 countries mentioned. The literature of anatomy has 

 now attained sufficient dignity to warrant the prepara- 

 tion of a "Source Book," which would be very useful. 

 Africa, aside from the Grecian incursion in the early cen- 

 turies of the Christian era which resulted in the Alexan- 

 drian school, has produced no men of attainments in 

 anatomy. South America has one man to its credit. 

 Mexico and China have none. The literature of the rest 

 of the world has radiated out from those European coun- 

 tries which have fostered our modern civilization. The 

 outlook for an excellent type of anatomical literature in 

 tlio future is Ix'ttor tlian it has ever been and the student 

 who nnci.ii.f^ to work ill tlie fiehl of the history of this 

 litci-atiii-c will find himself among interesting and de- 



