i88 3 J 
Analyses of Books. 
4i 
Anatomical Technology as applied to the Domestic Cat. An 
Introduction to Human, Veterinary, and Comparative Ana- 
tomy. By Burt G. Wilder, B.S., M.D., and Simon H. 
Gage, B.S. New York and Chicago : A. S. Barnes and Co. 
In order to form a just estimate of the work before us it is neces- 
sary to dissociate as completely as possible its matter and its 
manner, — the facts which the authors undertake to teach, and the 
strange language which they have seen fit to adopt. 
The value of the treatise from the former point of view is in- 
disputable. The reasons given by the authors for selecting the 
domestic cat as the especial subject upon which a practical 
knowledge of mammalian anatomy may best be acquired are 
perfectly sound. The cat, as they remark, is comparable with 
the domestic animals upon the one hand, and with man, through 
the monkeys, upon the other. Another advantage is that the cat 
is less subject to variation than most other animals which are 
otherwise accessible, so that an observation made upon one cat 
will substantially apply to all other cats. With the dog, which 
is about equally procurable, this freedom from variation does not 
obtain, the differences in the brain of various breeds being con- 
siderable, and not as yet fully worked out. 
Passing over the Introduction as containing no little matter 
which must be discussed separately, we come to the first chapter. 
Here the author gives a descriptive catalogue of the instruments 
and materials used in dissection, their uses, and preservation. 
There are, also, instruction for killing the subjects, precautions 
for cleanliness, comfort, and health, and notes on the treatment 
of wounds received during dissection. This chapter is admirably 
written, and in some respeCts reminds us of the instructions in 
Faraday’s “ Chemical Manipulations.” Of course one feature of 
this chapter — the lists of prices and the names of makers and 
dealers — is exclusively designed for use in America. Some of 
the prices seem to us very high ; e.g., 20 dollars for a tripod 
dissecting microscope. 
In Chapter II. the authors proceed to a general description of 
the skeleton, and to the “ anatomical landmarks.” 
Chapter III. is devoted to a very carefully written account of 
the preparation and preservation of anatomical specimens. As 
an instance of the attention to minute details which character- 
ises the work, the authors give instructions for obtaining alcohol 
free of duty for scientific purposes, under a particular law of the 
United States. The cost of alcohol so obtained is only one- 
sixth of the retail price, but the formalities to be gone through 
are serious. 
The fourth chapter deals with coarse injections. The fifth and 
sixth chapters treat successively of the bones and the muscles ; 
the seventh is taken up with an account of the abdominal and 
VOL, V. (third series). e 
