The anatomy and physiology of the human body. Containing the anatomy of the bones, muscles, and joints; and the heart and arteries

II Tpijy MEDICAL gdHOOL

No.

i

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

OF (0NTAI5ING

THE ANATOMY

OF THE BONES, MUSCLES, AND JOINTS; AND THE HEART AND ARTERIES :

BY JOHN BKLL ;

AND

THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

DF THE BRAIN AND NERVES, THE ORGANS OF THE SENSES, AND THE VISCERA:

SURGEON TO THE MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL, AND HEADER OF ANATOMY IN THE CHAIR OF DR. HUNTER, &C, ScC.

FOURTH AMERICAN, FROM TflE FOURTH ENGLI&H EDITION,

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. 11.

.^EW YOliK:

PUBLISHED RY COLLINS ^ CO. NO, 189, PEARL STREET.

0 ^>

OF THE

HUMAN BODY

VOL. II.

THE DESCRIPTION

OF

THE ARTERIES AND THE VEINS, THE ABSORBING SYSTEiM,

AKi>

THE BRAIN AND NERVES.

J3R. JAMES .rEFFUA\, i'llOFESSOU (^ANATOMY IN THK UN1VERSIT\ * OF GLASGOW.

Dear Siit,

When this volume first appeared, you mentioned to me some doubts concerning the oflRcc which I had ascribed to the Eustachian valve. You proposed to publish some critical observations on this part of my Book, and, witli a liberality becoming our common profession, and your high station in it, you spoke of addressing those strictures to myself.

It is no small gratification to me, that I have it now in my power to present a new* Edition of this Volume, imperfect as it is, to one who allows it some merit, while he is yet not insensible to its defects.

I believe you will accept with pleasure this slight testimony of respect and esteem, from one who can have no motive but respect and esteem for professing himself in this particular manner

Your most ftiithful and obedient

Humble Servant,

JOHN BELL,

' Second ivlitioi)

IVIicrosoft Corporation

CONTEISTS

OK

THE SECOND VOLUME.

^4'

){EART, AND OF THE ARTERIES, VEINS, and LYMPHATICS.

BOOR I.

RESPIRATION, continueH.

CHAP. III. Page

OF RESPIEATION, OR THE MANNER IN WHICH THE CHANGE ON THE BLOOD IS ACCOMPLISHED IN VARIOUS ANIMALS, AND IN MAN.

History of Opinions concerning the Motions of the

Different species of Respiration.

1. By a diaphragm ----- 3

2. Respiration of Birds . - - _ 4

3. Amphibes - - - 8

Chap. IV. Of The Pkculiarities Of The Circulation Of The Fcetus

General View of the Peculiarities in the Anatomical

Structure of the Foetus - - - - - 23

Duc-tus Venosus ___---- 25

Foramen Ovale -------29

Ductus Arteriosus _._--« 32

Explanation of the Circulation of the Foetus - - 33

Critique of Opinions upon this Subject - - '35

Chap. V. Of Malconformations Of The Heart

Of Malconformations of the Heart and Arteries - 42

Of the Effect of these Malconformations - - 47 Of Malconformation in the Lungs, or want of the Pul-

monci Artery 51

Vlll CONTENTS.

Page

Of a Heart too small for the System - - - 54

Of Enlargement of the Heart - » - - ^ 55

Thickening of the Walls or Muscular Substance of the

Of aneurisms. of the Aorta - - - - ■ ^t

Of nervous Palpitations of the Heart - - 6

Book II. Of The Arteries

General Plan of the Arteries - - 69

Chap. I. Of The Arteries Of The Head

Sect. I. Of the Carotid Arteries in general 74- General View of the Anatomy of the Carotid Artery 77 1. External Ca.uotid artery, and Arrangement OF ITS Branches, _---... 79

1. Order, going forward to the Thyroid Gland,

Tongue, and Face,

Arteina Thyroidea - - 80

Lingualis - - - - 81

Labialis - - - - 82

2. Order, going backward from the External Carotid.

Pharyngea Inferior - - - - 35

Arteria Occipitalis - - - - 86

Arteria Posterior Auris - - - 88

3. Order, including the Termination of the Exter-

nal Carotid in the Temporal and Maxillary Arteries - - - 89 Arteria Maxillaris Interna - - - 90 Arteria Temporalis - - - - 94- Conclusion . . . . - S'o Sect. II. Of the Arteries of the Brain, Spinal Marrow and Eye - - - - 99 • § i. of the Arteries of the Brain ?3.

2. Internal carotid jl04

Division of it . . _ . _ iqq

1. Arteria Media Cerebri - _ _ 7^.

2. Arteria Anterior Cerebri - - _ loj"

3. Arteria Communicans - - - 109 Vertebral Artery iL 1. Arteria Cerebelli Posterior . - 110

2. Anterior - - - 111

3. Cerebri Posterior - - - 112

CONTENTS. JX

^ ii. Of the Arteries of the Spinal Marrow - li3

1. Arteria Anterior MeduUse Spinalis - ib.

2. Posterior - - - - 115

§ iii. Arteries of the i\vc - _ - - i(,,

1. Order - - - - - 116 Arteria Lachrymalis _ - - jh.

2. Order . . . - _ jh.

Arteria Centralis Retinsc - - 117 Arteria Ciliares - - - - 118

3. Order 120

Arteria ISIuscularis Superior - - ib.

Inferior - - ib.

4. Order ib.

Arteria iEthmoidalis Posterior - 121 Anterior - ib.

5. OkDer 132

Arteria Supra-orbitalis - _ - ib.

Arteria Palbebralis - - . j^,

Nasalis . - . . 123

Frontalis - - - - ib.

Conclusion - - - - - 124

Chap. II. Of The Arteries Of The Arm, 126

I. Of the Subclavian Artekv - - - - 129

1. Arteria Mamaria Interna - - " - ib.

2. Thyroidea Inferior - - - 1 32

3. Vertebralis - - - - 133

4. Cervicalis Profunda - - - il),

5. Cervicalis Superhcialis - - - 134

6. Intercostalls Superior - - - ?/,.

7. Supra-scapularis - - - - 135

II. Of the Axillary Artery - - - - 137

1. Arteri-A Thorarica Superior - - - i.jg

2. Longior - . - i^^

3. Humeraria _ - - 139

4. Alaris. ... jb.

5. Sub-scapularis - - - - I40

6. Circumfiexa Posterior - - - 142

7. — — Anterior - - . ijj.

General remarks upon the Axillary Artery - 143

III. Of the Brachial Artery - - - - 146 1. Arteria Profunda Humeri Superior - - ib.

2. Inferior - - 147

3. Ramus Anastomoticus Major - - - 148

IV. Of the Arteries of the Fore ARM, viz. of the Radial,

Ulnar, and Interosseus Arteries - 149

Division of the Artery of the Fore-arm - 152 vol.. II. b

X CONTENTS.

Papc

Arteriae Recurrentes - - - - 153

1. Rccurrens Radialis Anterior - - 154

2. Ulnaris Anterior -« - ib.

3. Posterior. - - 155

4. Interossea - _ . ib.

Arteria Radialis - . - . - 156

1. Arteria Superficialis Volse - - 157

2. Arteria Dorsalis Carpi . - . 158

3. Dorsales Metacarpi - - ib.

4. PoUicis - - - ib.

5. Radialis Indicis - - - 159

6. Magna PoUicis _ - - ib,

7. Palmaris Profunda - - 160

Arteria Ulnaris - . _ . . ib,

1. Arteria Dorsalis Ulnaris - ' - -. 161

2. Palmaris Profunda - - 162

Arteria Interossea - - - - - 163 CHAP. III.

0£ THE ARTERIES OF THE THORAX, ABDOMEN, AND PELVIS.

§ I. Arteries ot the thorax - - . 164

Aorta Thoracica _ _ . . ib,

1. Arteria Bronchialis Communis - 165

2. ■ Dextra -. ib.

3. — — . Sinistra - ib.

4. Inferior - ib,

3. Arteriae CEsophagese , - - 166

6. Intercostales Inferiores - - ib,

§. II. Arteries of the abdomen - - - 168

Aorta Abdoininalis - - - ib.

Arteriae Phrenicse - - - . 169

§. III. Arteries of the Stomach, Liver and Spleen 170

Arteria Coelaica - - _ _ ib.

1. Arteria Coronaria Ventriculi - 171 Its Branches - - - . ib.

2. Arteria Hepatica - - - 172 Its Branches - - - - 173

3. Arteria Splenica. - - - 175 Its Branches - - - - 176

Arteries of the Intestines - ib.

Mesenteric Arteries - _ _ ib,

1. Mesenterica Superior - - 177 Colica Pvledia - - - - 178

Dextra - . - - ib.

Ileo-Colica - - - - 179

2. Mesenterica Inferior - - - 180 Arteria Colica sinistra - - ib.

Arteria Haemorrhoidales. - - 181 contents. xi

Arteries of the fixed viscera of the abdomen 181

1. Aiterie C'.psularcs - - - i>.

3. Arteria Spermatica . - - Hj.

4. Arteriae Adiposae - - - 183

5. Uretericae . _ . ii,

6. Lumhares - - 184

Artei'.ies of the Pelvis . . . ib.

Art:ria Iliaca Interna . - - - i/).

Order First, of Arteries which keep within the Pelvis 186

1. Arteria Ileo-luinl)alis - . - ?//.

2. — Sacrse Laterales - - 187

3. Hypogastrica . - - ih.

4. Vesicales - - - 188

5. Hsemorrhoidales . - - ?/».

6. Hsemorrhoidea Media - ?b.

Order Second, of Arteries which go out from the Pelvis 'ff.

1. Anteria Gluteea . - - - 190

2. Ischiadica - - - i,b.

3. Padica Communis - - 192

4. — Obturatoria - - - 194

Chap. IV. Arteries Of The Lower Extremity

Iliaca Externa - - - - - - I'Jd

General Description of this Artcr\ .

Arteria Epigastrica _ . - - ib.

Art'-ria Circumflltxa Ilii . . - 1<j7 The Pemoral Artery.

Surgery of the Femoral Artery - - 1' 8

Branches of the Femoral Artery - - 203

1. Arteria Profunda Femoris - - 204

2. CircumflLxa Externa - to.

3. Interna - - 205

4. Perforantcs - - - 206

1. Arteria Perforans Prima - - 207

2. SL'cunda Magna rb.

3. Arteria Perforans i'ertia - - 208

4. Quarta - - ib.

5. Arteria Femoralis ... 209

6. Popliteal Artery - - - - 2!1 1. Arteria Articularis Superior Externa 212

2. Interna ^b.

3. Media rb.

4. ^ Inferior Externa 213 xii CONTEXTS.

Page

Arteries of the Leg and Foot - - 214.

Malleolaris Interna - - 216

Externa - - ib,

Metatarsea . - - - - 217

Dorsalis Externa Halucis - - - ib.

2. Arteria Tibialis Postica - - - 218

Plantaris Interna - - - 219

Externa - - 220

3. Arteria Peronea - - - - 222

Anterior - - _ - 223

Posterior - _ - - ib.

CHAP. V. Of the structure of arteries - - - 224

Of the Motion of the Blood through the Arteries 225

Chap. I

General Character of the Veins - - - 229 Sect. 1. Of the Veins, Branches of the Superior Vena

Cava 335

Of the Vt-ins of the Head and Neck - ib.

External Jugular Veins _ _ _ 236

Posteri(.ir External Jugular Veins - - ib.

Thyroid Veins _ - - _ _ jl).

Internal Jugular Veins - - - - 237

Vertebral Veins - - - - - 2 '8

Sect. 2. Veins of the Arm - - _ - ih.

Vena Cephalica ----- 239

Vena Basilica ----- ib.

Vena Mediana _ _ . . - 240

Axillary Vein - - - _ _ i/,.

Subclavian Veins ----- ih.

Sect. 3. The Superior Vena Cava, the Vena Azygos

and Lesser Veins of the Thorax - * 241

CHAP. II. Of the Veins which unite to form the Inferior Vena Cava 242

Of the Veins of the Leg and Thigh - - - 243

Saphena Major - - - - - - ib.

Saphena Minor --.--. 244

Anterior Tibial Veins ib.

CONTENTS. Xlll

Poge

Posterior Tibial Veins ..... 244

Venae Peroncse .--..-- ih.

Popliifal Vein ib.

External Iliac Vtins 245

Vena Cava Abdominalis . . . . . ib.

Renal Veins - il^'

Spermatic Veins .--.--- ib.

Book IV. Of The Lymphatic And Lacteal Systems Of Vessels

CHAP. L

Introductory Views . . - _ - 247

Sect. 1. Of the Capillary Vessels - - _ - ib.

2. OF the Lymphatic System in particular - 250

3. Of the Ciiancls of the Lymphatic System 252

4. Original of the Lyiviphatics, and of the Doc-

trines of Absorption ... 254

Of the Absorption of Solids . . . , 258 Examination of some Opinions of Mr. Hunter on the

Subject of Absorption of Solids - - - 259

CHAP. II.

Of the Foot, Leg, and Thigh - - ib.

Of the Lymphatics of the Arm - - 267

Lymphatics of the Head and Neck - - 26^

Of the Trunks of the Absorbent System - - 270

The Trunk of the Absorbents of the Right Side - 271

Of the Lymphatics and Lacteals of the intestinal Canal ib.

Origin of the Lacteals ..... 273

Of the remaining Absorbents of the Solid Viscera - 276

OF THE

BRAIN AND NERVES.

CHAP. I.

Structures of Nerves ..... oso

CHAP. II.

Introdutcry Veiw of the Anatomy of the Brain 288

CHAP. III. Of the Membranes of the Brain, and of the Substance

and Texture of the Brain itself ... 294

or the Dura Mater ib.

Of the Septa which intersect the Brain - 299

XIV CONSENTS.

rage

Of the Sphenoidal Folds ... - 300 Of the Tunica Arachnoidea - - . 302 Of the Pia Mater - - - - - 303 Of the Substance of the Brain - - - 305 Of the Obstrvalions made upon the minute Structure of the Brain - - - ^ - . S07 Of the Sensibility of the Substance of the Brain 311 CHAP. IV.

Of the Veins and Sinuses of the Brain - - 312 Of the Veins which are seen upon the Surface of

the Brain 314

Of the Internal Veins of the Brain, and of the Choroid Plexus - - - - - 317

Of the particular Sinuses - - - - 320

Superior Longitudinal Sinus - - - jl^.

Lateral Sinuses, or the first and second of the Ancients - - - - - - 321

Of the Inferior Longitudinal Sinus - - 323

Of the Internal, Straight, or Fourth Sinus - ib.

Posterior Occipital Sinuses - - . 324

The Inferior l^ateral Sinuses - - - H^.

Of the Lesser Sinuses in the Bases of the Skull 325

The Sphenoidal Sinuses - - . - jb.

The Cavernous Sinus . . _ _ 326

Emissaria Santorini. - - . . 328

CHAP. V. Of the Brain and principally of the Internal Parts 332

Of the Cavities of the brain in general - 335

Of the Corpus Callosum and Centrum Ovale of

Of the Septum Lucidum - - - - 336

Lateral Ventricles 337

Of the parts of the Lateral Ventricles - 338

Of the Hippocampi, or Cornua Ammonis, and of

tiie Tenia Hippocampi - _ - - 339 Of the third Ventricle .... 344

Of the infundibulum ... - 345

Jiifundibulum and Pituitary Gland - - 346 The Tubercula Quadrigemina ... 347

The Pineal Gland 348

Posterior Commissure . _ . . 349

Cerebellum ...__- 35O

Of the Fourth Ventricle - - - - it.

Of the Base of the Brain and origin of the Nerves 352 Crura Cerebelli ..... 353

Pons Varolii --.-.. 354

CONTENTS. XV

Page

^IcduUa Oblongata - - - - - 355

IMiclull;» Spin;ilis - ... - 356 Scheme and general Description of the Origin of

the Nerves of the Encephalon and Spine - 557

First Pair, or Olfactory Nerves - - - 359

Second Pair, or Optic Nerves - - - 363

Third Pair of Nerves, MotoresOculorum - 362

The Fourth Pair of Nerves - - . 363

Fifth Pair of Nerves, Trigen;ini - - 364

Sixth Pair of Nerves, or Abducentes - ib.

Seventh Pair of Nerves, or Auditory - - 365

Eighth Pair of Nerves - ... 366

Ninth Pair of Nerves, or Lingual - - 367

The Tenth or Sub-occipital Nerve - - ib.

Chap. VI

The first Pair of Nerves, or Olfactory Nerves ib.

Second Pair, or Optic Nerves - - - 370

Third Pair of Nerves, or ?»iotores Oculorum ■ ib.

Fourth Pair of Nerves, Trochleares or Pathetici 371

The Fifth Pair, or Trigemini - - - ib.

The Ophthalmic Branch of the Fifth Pair - 372 The Second Branch of the Fifth Pair, viz. the

Superior Maxillary Nerve - - . 374 Third Branch of the Fifth Pair, or LoweTr Maxillary Nerve 377

The Sixth Pair of Nerves, Abducentes or Motoris

The Seventh Pair of Nerves - - - 330

The Eighth Pair of Nerves - - - 383

The Glasso-Pharyngeal Nerve - . . ib.

The Par Vagum ----- 384 Of the Accessory Nerve, or third Division of the

Eighth Pair of Nerves - . - - 387 Of the Ninth Pair, or Lingualis Medius, or Hypo-

Of the Cervical Nerves - - - - 390

Recapitulation of the Distribution of the Cervical

Nerves - 392

Of the Dorsal Nerves . - - - 393

Lumbar Nerv -s - 394

Sacral Nerves ------ ib.

Of the Great Sympathetic Nerve, or intercostal

Nerve - 395

The Superior Thoracic Ganglion - - 398

XVI CONTENTS.

Page

Sympathetic Nerve in the Thorax - - 399

Semikinar Ganglion and Cseliac Plexus - 400

Caeliac Plexus ------ ib.

Superior Mesenteric Plexus - - - 401

Inferior Mesenteric Plexus - . - ib.

Hypogastric Plexus ----- 403

Of the Phrenic Nerve - - - - ib.

Nerves of the Arm, Axillary or Brachial Plexus 405

Nerves of the Thigh, Leg, and Foot - - 410

Of the Cutaneous Nerves of the Thigh - 411

Anterior Crural Nerve - - - - 412

Ohturator Nerve ----- 4,14

The origin of the Ischiatic Nerve - - 415 Of the lesser Nerves which go out of the back

Part of the Pelvis ----- 415

Of the Cutaneous Nerves of the Back of the Thigh 416

Of the trunk of the Ischiatic Nerve in the Thigh ib.

Tibial Nerve - - - - - - 417

The Plantar Nerves ----- ib.

The Fibular Nerve 418

The Metatarsal Nerves . - - - 419

IN TRODUC riON.

JL HE discovery of the circulation of the blood has been always regarded as one of the most important, and has been ranked rather with the great doctrines of philosophy, than with the little discoveries in our peculiar science ; it has been boasted of by our countrymen, and much coveted, and often claimed, by strangers. The discovery is most ingenious and beautiful, and is the foundation of all that physicians have thought or practised, right or wTong, useful or destructive, ever since.

How the well-proved doctrines of Harvey were perverted ; what new, strange, monstrous, and impossible circles his antagonists contrived for the blood it were tedious to relate ; but it is most natural to mention why his doctrines were opposed. It was the universal opinion in those days, that the blood was formed in the liver and sent out from it by all the veins to nourish the body, proceeding outwards during the day, and returning by night. The old pliysicians had thus entered into a train of thinking which it was not easy to change : these notions about the blood were become great and important doctrines, and had descended to them from their oldest teachers, with many weighty dependencies, conclusions, and rules of practice issuing from

VOL. II. C

XVJIl iM'RODUCriON.

them : they were as articles of faith which it was a he» resy to forsake ; and it was easy to foresee that should the Harveian doctrine prevail ; should it be once completely proved that the blood moved outwards along the arteries and returned only by the veins ; then all the reasonings of the physicians would be confounded ; their theories embracing the whole body of physic disturbed ; their system of practice entirely overthrown ; and all that they had written themselves, and all the ancient books which they had read with so much diligence (for they were really learned :) all that they had ever been proud of; was to be wiped out from the thoughts of that and of all succeeding ages !

But the doctrine of Harvey did at last prevail, dispelled those idle dreams of humours and temperaments, and spirits, and blood ! of the blood concocted in the liver, and moving outwards along the veins to nourish the body ; of the blood moving outwards during all the day, and returning by night ; of the arteries carrying air only or vital spirits, to animate the system by mixing with the blood, while the veins alone conveyed the proper blood. Yet this theory of the illustrious Harvey introduced general doctrines more mischievous in all their consequences than those which had just vanished : as that the blood was composed of particular globules, the larger globules of smaller ones, and these again of globules of a third series ; and that the arteries were so proportioned to the diameters of those globules, and descended by steps so regular and uniform, that each kind of artery had its peculiar globule which it received with ease, while others were rejected ; or, if unhappily driven by a too violent action into vessels which they did not suit, were arrested in their progress, and produced either some local inflammation, or some universal disease. These are the once famous doctrines of Malpighi, Boerhaave, and all the great men of their day : and which they dilated into various forms and adorned ^^'ith the fine words of lentor, remora, error loci.

T>fTKOnUCTION. -1--

To these succeeded the mechanical physicians^ who by unintelligible problems of mathematics and algebra, (reasonings which were ill-founded in their principles, even had the calculations been correct,) pretended to estimate the force of the heart, the velocity of the blood, the power of the arteries, the strength of the veins, and the shape and size of each secreting orifice, according to the secretion which it had to perform. These were the doctrines, these the discoveries, which rendered famous the names of Belleni, Pitcairn, Keil, Hales, and other mechanical physicians, whose books are gone " to the vault of ^^11 the Capulets."

The chemists next soon turned their thoughts from the vain search after the universal solvent, and the philosopher's stone, to pharmacy and the useful arts. By the abilities and industry of Newman, this branch began to assume the more respectable appearance of a useful' art ; it began to be allied to science, and its connexion with medicine was found to be of the most direct and important nature.

Having analysed the materials of the druggist, the chemists proceeded to analyse the parts of the human body to which those medicines were to be applied : but from this rational commencement followed one of the most trivial of all the miserable doctrines with which our science has been disgraced ; for as the chemists had already explained the properties of the salts, metals, earths, and of all active substances, by the angles, cubes, or other forms which they saw their particles assume, they soon persuaded themselves that such forms as cubes, wedges, spiculce, &c. existed in the blood ; and acid and alkaline humours, sharp, corrosive, irritating, and pointed particles, were the terms in which they expressed their most admired theories ; and acids, alkalies, and metals, and medicines for rounding the pointed particles, or obtunding (as they termed it,) or sheathing, or covering the acrimonious humours, were their chief preventives and cures.

XX INTRODUCTION.

Until the present day this fault has pervaded all the great theories, that in describing our vessels physicians have continued to use the language of hydraulics and hydrostatics ; of a philosophy applicable only to rigid tubes : in short, in describing the living system, they have forgotten that it was endowed with life.

We also may have erred in our turn : but with whatever degree of contempt we may view the doctrines of these older authors ; or however succeeding generations may be amused with ours — still this is plain, that the most important facts in all anatomy, and the chief doctrines of the human body, must always accompany the explanation of those two great functions of the heart and lungs. Of course the constitution of the blood ; the chemistry of airs ; our dependance, so incessant and immediate, upon the atmosphere in which we live ; the various and singular ways by which the foetuses of different creatures, or the creatures themselves, according to their peculiar modes of life, draw their existence from the atmosphere ; the various kinds of circulation by which this air is distributed through the system of each ; the effects of air particularly upon our body ; and the effects also of accidents, deformities and diseases in those prime organs • — all this wide circle of physiology belongs, in the strictest and clearest sense, to the anatomy of the heart. For one chief purpose in studying the anatomy of the human body is to understand its functions, and to compare them with those of other creatures, till we arrive at last at some distant conception of the whole ; of the various structures of animals and vegetables ; and of the various functions which in each of these classes support life and action, and through it the principles of life.

There is no occasion on which this desire of knowledge, this willing admiration of the wonders of nature, is so strong, as on first studying the functions of the lungs and heart ; for upon the conjoined offices of the heart and lungs all perfect life seems to de«

INTRODUCTION, XXI

pend. And how universal these two functions are ; how necessary to the support of the greater animals ; how essential also to the constitution of the meanest insect — it shall be my business to explain.

The knowledge of the arteries, again, bears along with it the whole anatomy of the human body. The nerves accompany the arteries ; the lymphatics and veins twine round them ; the glands, and various organs, are composed of them. The intimate structure of parts is known only by understanding the forms of their vessels ; and as each individual part is nourished by arteries, he who has studied the arteries thoroughly, knows the whole.

But to the surgeon, the knowledge of the arterial system is valuable beyond all calculation or belief. He performs no operation in which arteries are not engaged ; he cures no great wound in which arteries are not first to be tied ; he enters into no consultation in which the arteries are not first spoken of. Without a knowledge of the arteries, he can neither think sensibly nor act safely.

Most unhappily, all this comes to be known only at that period of life when the deepest conviction can produce only fear and perplexity, sorrow and regret. Yet, strange to tell, there is no such conviction ; no regret, no irresolution, no perplexity, is ever seen. A surgeon, as ignorant of the blood-vessels as of every other point of anatomy, shall proceed in his operations with a forwardness and boldness teiTrible to those who know the danger : yet with a success and good fortune exceeding all belief.

The causes of all this are very plain. A relaxation in the discipline of the schools, is the first cause — an indifference to anatomy, so marked and pointed, that an anatomical thesis, in this country, was never known. Every young man especially fears the difficulty of this part of anatomy, and shuns it. He is not duly impressed with such a high sense of its importance, as to make labour pleasant ; and when he is advanced to practice, he

:^-xii INTRODUCTION.

takes comfort daily from the mistakes and ignorance of others. A slender consolation ! to see exemplified in others the faults and dangers to which we ourselves are exposed.

If these negligences may stand excused on any account, it is on this only, that anatomists have been accustomed to write not for the Public, in plain and simple language, but for each other, in an unknown tongue. By this, I mean not a foreign, or a dead language, but a peculiar style and phrase which no one can understand, unless he be initiated ; unless he have studied the science itself so intensely, that he has also learned the jargon in which it is conveyed : in short, no one but a thorough anatomist can understand the language of anatomy, nor can even he understand it without some labour. Anatomists have buried their science under the rubbish of names ; there is not a difficult or hard sounding word upon which they have any claim, that they have not retained : they have choked their subject with useless minutiae, they have polluted their language, by transferring to it from Latin many words, which, by their continual inflections in that language, were beautiful ; while their unvaried uncouth termination in ours, is barbarous in the utterance, while it tends but to interrupt and puzzle the sense : " they have impressed into the service of their science a great many poor words that would get their habeas corpus from any court in Christendom."

An anatomist, for example, will describe an artery as " going to the radial edge of the second metacarpal bone : then supplying the abductor and flexor muscles ; then going along the bone of the first phalanx, seated upon this second metacarpal bone," with many other distortions, ambiguities, and little contrivances, to conceal (as one would believe) that he is describing so simple a matter as the artery of the fore finger ; which the reader at last finds out either by some lucky chance, or by reflecting how many metacarpal bones there are ; and then reckoning^ them first forwards, and then back-

INTRODUCTION. XXlll

wards, that he may be sure whicli it is that the author means ; for his author may count from the little finger towards the thumb, or from the thumb towards the little finger, or he may have a fancy of leaving out the thumb, and reckoning only four. What must be the surprise of any well-educated young man, when he reads in those books which he must study, of the regions of the elbow, or thumb, or fore finger ? And if an anatomist understands such things with difficulty, how distressing must they be to the student ?

This is the scholastic jargon which has so long been the pride of anatomists, and the disgrace of their science; which has given young men a dislike for the most useful of all their studies ; and which it is now full time to banish from our schools. These are the authors who avoid plainness, as if it were meanness ; who are studious of hard words, as if they constituted the perfection of science : "it is their trade, it is their mystery to write obscurely:" and full sorely does the student feel it.