THE HISTORY OF ANATOMICAL SCIENCE 275 
weary process of initiation is indispensable to the 
neophyte, who aspires to become an adept and to 
feel at home in the arcana of the higher anatomy. 
But I think it ought to be i^ossible to lead any one, 
who will give a reasonable amount of attention, to 
a point, from which he may obtain a sufficiently 
accurate general view of the scope of anatomical 
science, by a shorter and easier road. In any case, 
it is laid upon me to^attempt to show the way 
there, inasmuch as the purport of much of Sir 
Richard Owen’s work cannot be understood, nor 
can his position in science be properly appreciated, 
unless such a point of view is attained. And in 
proffering such guide’s service it may be well to 
remind those who accept the offer, that in this, as 
in so many other cases, ‘ the longest way round is 
the shortest way home ; ’ there is nothing for it 
but to follow the path of history and eschew short 
cuts, however tempting they may be. 
Etymologically, the word ‘ Anatomy ’ signifies 
no more than ‘ cutting up,’ or ‘ dissection ; ’ but, 
in course of time, the idea of the chief means 
by which the structure of animals and of plants 
was ascertained merged with that of the results 
it yielded. And since structure, or inward form, 
is practically inseparable from shape, or outward 
form, the latter also fell within the range of the 
anatomist. Further, it was natural enough that 
the ‘ function ’ or use of the parts, the inward and 
