The microscope: and its revelations

Front matter

22900339043

.

V ,

II. Principles Of Human Physiology

WITH THEIR CHIEF APPLICATIONS TO

PSYCHOLOGY, PATHOLOGY, THERAPEUTICS, HYGIENE, AND FORENSIC MEDICINE.

A new American, from the last and revised London Edition, with nearly three hundred illustrations. Edited, with additions, by F. Gurney Smith, M.D. In one large and handsome volume of about nine hundred pages.

The most complete work on the science in our language. — Am. Med. Journal.

The most complete work now extant in our language. — N. 0. Med. Register.

The best text-book in the language on this extensive subject. — London Med. Times.

A complete cyclopaedia of this branch of science. — N. Y. Med. Times.

The most complete exposition of physiology which any language can at present give. — Brit, and For. Med.-Chirurg. Review.

IH.

ELEMENTS (OR MANUAL) OF PHYSIOLOGY.

INCLUDING PHYSIOLOGICAL ANATOMY.

Second American, from the last and revised London Edition, with one hundred and ninety illustrations. In one handsome octavo volume of 566 pages.

In his former works it would seem that he had exhausted the subject of Physiology. In the present, he gives the essence, as it were, of the whole. — N. Y. Journal of Medicine.

Those who have occasion for an elementary treatise on Physiology, cannot do better than to possess themselves of the manual of Dr. Carpenter. — Medical Examiner.

PREPARING.

PRINCIPLES OF GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY, including ORGANIC CHEM- ISTRY, and HISTOLOGY. With a general sketch of the Vegetable and Animal Kingdoms. With several hundred illustrations. In one large and handsome octavo volume.

In his last edition of the “Comparative Physiology” and “Human Physiology,” the author found it desirable to omit the chapters connected with “ General Physiology.” He has therefore undertaken to prepare a volume devoted exclusively to that subject, forming an introduction to the other works, or, taken in conjunction with them, constituting a complete and extended system of Physiology, in all its branches.

THE

MICROSCOPE:

AND ITS

REVELATIONS.

BY

EXAMINER IN PHYSIOLOGY AND COMPARATIVE ANATOMY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON ; PROFESSOR OF MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE IN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE ;

PRESIDENT OF THE MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON; ETC.

WITH AN APPENDIX

CONTAINING THE

APPLICATIONS OF THE MICROSCOPE TO CLINICAL MEDICINE, ETC.

BY

FRANCIS GURNEY SMITH, M.D.,

PROFESSOR OF THE INSTITUTES OF MEDICINE IN THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OF PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE, ETC.

ILLUSTRATED BY FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOUR

dngralrings on Steft.

PHILADELPHIA:

BLANCHARD AND LEA.

I. V axe»t.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856,

BY BLANCHARD AND LEA,

In .the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

WELLCOME INSTITUTE LIBRARY

Coll.

welMOmec

Call

No.

Itf-H

C. SHERMAN k SON, PRINTERS, 19 St. James Street.

Preface To The American Edition

The American Edition of Dr. Carpenter’s Work has been reprinted with the Author’s sanction, from advance sheets furnished by him to the American publishers. In assuming the supervision of the press, the Editor has been careful to leave the work as it came from the Author’s hands. Such additions as seemed most required by the Students of this country have been made in the form of an Appendix. The reader will find Dr. Carpenter’s reasons for omitting the Clinical Applications of the Microscope, fully detailed in his Preface ; but as the various works on this subject are not readily accessible on this side of the Atlantic, it was thought that a selection from them, in a compendious form, might enhance the usefulness of the work. Free use has been made, therefore, of the excellent manuals of Beale and Bennett; and the various kindred treatises and journals have also been drawn upon. All that this portion of the work claims is to present a general view of those subjects which seem to be most required by the student of the Microscope. The growing interest in this important field of inquiry will, it is hoped, afford sufficient apology for its introduction.

vi PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.

A short account of American Microscopes, their modifications and accessories, has also been added, and the whole Appendix has been fully illustrated, through the liberality of the Publishers, by the addition of upwards of one hundred wood-

engravings. *

Francis Gurney Smith, M.D.

428 Walnut Street, June, 1856.

Preface

The rapid increase which has recently taken place in the use of the Microscope, — hoth as an instrument of scientific research, and as a means of gratifying a laudable curiosity and of obtaining a healthful recreation, — has naturally led to a demand for information, hoth as to the mode of employing the instrument and its appurtenances, and as to the objects for whose minute examination it is most appropriate. And as none of the existing Treatises, either British or Foreign, on the Microscope and its Uses, have seemed to the Author fully adapted to meet this demand (some of them being almost exclusively concerned with the Microscope itself, and others with some special branch or branches of Microscopic study), he has felt encouraged to carry out a plan which he had formed several years since ; by endeavoring to combine, within a moderate compass, that information in regard to the use of his “tools” which is most essential to the working Microscopist, with such an account of the objects best fitted for his study, as might qualify him to comprehend what he observes, and might thus prepare him to benefit science, whilst expanding and refreshing his own mind.

In his account of the various forms of Microscopes and Accessory Apparatus, the Author has not attempted to describe everything which is in use in this country; still less, to go into details respecting the construction of foreign instruments. He is satisfied that in all which relates both to the mechanical and the optical arrangements of their instruments, the chief English Microscope-makers are decidedly in advance of their Continental rivals ; and on this point he speaks not only from his own conviction, hut from the authority of a highly accomplished German Microscopist, who has recently visited London for the

Vlll

PREFACE.

express purpose of making the comparison. Even among the products of English skill, it was necessary for him to make a selection ; and he trusts that he will be found to have done adequate justice to all those who have most claim to an honorable mention.

The great objection to English Microscopes, especially on the western side of the Atlantic, seems to be their costliness ; and as it can be affirmed with truth, that the instruments of Hachet, Oberhauser, and other Continental makers, are adequate for all essential purposes, a general preference is given to the latter (as the Author understands) among the Microscopists of the United States. He feels sure, however, that no one who has ever been accustomed to work with a well- constructed English Microscope will ever give the preference to a foreign instrument ; and he is glad to be able to announce that one of the best London firms is now prepared to supply a Microscope of excellent quality at a price very little exceeding that paid for Continental instruments, of far superior capabilities. (See p. 103, note.)

In treating of the Applications of the Microscope, the Author has constantly endeavored to meet the wants of those who come to the study of the minute forms of Animal and Vegetable life with little or no previous scientific preparation, but who desire to gain something more than a mere sight of the objects to which their observation may be directed. Some of these may perhaps object to the general tone of his work as too highly pitched, and may think that he might have rendered his descriptions simpler by employing fewer scientific terms. But he would reply to such, that he has had much opportunity of observing, among the votaries of the Microscope, a desire for such information as he has attempted to convey (of the extent of which desire, the success of the “ Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science” is a very gratifying evidence) ; and that the use of scientific terms cannot be dispensed with, since there are no others in which the facts can be expressed. As he has made a point of explaining these, in the places where they are first introduced, he cannot think that any of his readers need find much difficulty in apprehending their meaning.

The proportion of space allotted to the various departments, has been determined, not so much by their Physiological importance, as by their special interest to the Microscopist ; and the remembrance of this consideration will serve to account for

PREFACE.

IX much that might otherwise appear strange. The Author has thought it particularly needful to restrain himself, in treating of certain very important subjects which are fully discussed in treatises expressly devoted to them (such, for example, as the structure of Insects, and the Primary Tissues of Vertebrata), in order that he might give more space to those on which no such sources of information are readily accessible. For the same reason he has omitted all reference to the applications of the Microscope to Pathological inquiry; a subject which would interest only one division of his readers, and on which it would have been impossible for him to compress, within a sufficiently narrow compass, a really useful summary of what such readers can readily learn elsewhere. So again, the application of the Microscope to the detection of Adulterations in Food, &c., is a topic of such a purely special character, and must he so entirely based on detailed descriptions of the substances in question, that he has thought it better to leave this also untouched.

It has been the Author’s object throughout, to guide the possessor of a Microscope to the intelligent study of any department of Natural History, that his individual tastes may lead him to follow out, and his particular circumstances may give him facilities for pursuing. And he has particularly aimed to show, under each head, how small is the amount of reliable knowledge already acquired, compared with that which remains to be attained by the zealous and persevering student. Being satisfied that there is a large quantity of valuable Microscope-power at present running to waste in this country, — being applied in such desultory observations as are of no service whatever to science, and of very little to the mind of the observer, — he will consider the labor he has bestowed upon the production of this Manual as well repaid, if it should tend to direct this power to more systematic labors, in those fertile fields wdiich only awrait the cultivator to bear abundant fruit.

In all that concerns the working of the Microscope, the Author has mainly drawn upon his own experience, which dates back almost to the time when Achromatic Object-glasses w^ere first constructed in this country. He would be ungrateful, however, if he were not to acknowledge that he has derived many valuable hints from the Practical Treatises of Mr. Quekett and Hr. Beale, and from the Micrographic Dictionary of Messrs. Griffith and Henfrey. And among the works by which he has been

X

PREFACE.

specially aided in treating of the Applications of the instrument, he would especially name Mr. Quekett’s valuable Lectures on Histology (Vegetable and Animal), Mr. Ralfs’s beautiful Monograph on the British Desmidiese, Prof. W. Smith’s on the Diatomacese (which will, when complete, he quite worthy to take rank with the preceding), and the Micrographic Dictionary.

All the Illustrations have been drawn by Mr. W. Bagg, and have been engraved under his superintendence ; and the Author ventures to affirm, that for fidelity as well as for beauty of execution, they will bear comparison with any Microscopic delineations yet executed on wood. A large proportion of the subjects are original ; the sources of all that are not so, are specified in the list (p. xvii).

The Author feels that some apology is due for the long delay which has attended the appearance of this work. When it was first announced as forthcoming, his full intention was to apply himself immediately to its production ; hut the unexpected demand for new editions of his two large Treatises on Physiology, required that the whole of his disposable time and attention should be given up during two years to carrying these through the press. When he at last found himself free to apply himself to the “Microscope,” he fully expected that the forward state of his preparations would enable him to complete it by October, 1855. But in this expectation he has been disappointed by the occurrence of two severe attacks of indisposition, which compelled him for a time to suspend all mental exertion, and have rendered it necessary for him carefully to abstain from overtasking himself ; so that he feels assured that those who have kindly waited for the appearance of this volume, will not, when acquainted with these circumstances, blame him for a delay, the causes of which have lain so completely beyond his control.

University Hall, London,

Chapter II. Construction Of The Microscope

General Principles, ........ 86

Simple Microscopes, . . . . . . . 90

Field’s, 93

Compound Microscopes, ....... 96

Field’s, 97

Smith and Beck’s Student’s, . . . . . .102

Do. Dissecting, . . . . . 103

Warington’s Universal, . . . . . . .105

Powell and Lealand’s, . . . . . . .111

Smith and Beck’s, . . . . . . . 113

Nachet’s Binocular, . . . . . . .114

Chapter III. ^ Accessory Apparatus

Camera Lucida, . . . . . . . 124

Object-Glass Holder, . . . . . . . .127

Xll

Contents

Object-Marker,

Lever Stage, .

Object-Finder,

Chapter IV. Management Of The Microscope

Support, ......

Position of Light, . . . . .

Care of the Eyes, .....

Care of the Microscope, . . . .

General Arrangements, ....

Arrangement for Transparent Objects,

Arrangement for Opaque Objects,

Errors of Interpretation, ....

Comparative Values of Object-Glasses ; Test-Objects, Determination of Magnifying Power,

Chapter V. Preparation, Mounting, And Collection Of Objects

Microscopic Dissection, .....

Cutting Sections of Soft Substances, ....

Cutting Sections of Harder Substances,

Grinding and Polishing of Sections, ....

Chemical Actions, ......

Glass Slides, .......

Thin Glass, .......

Varnishes and Cements, ......

Mounting Objects Dry, .....

Mounting Objects in Canada Balsam, ....

Preservative Fluids, ......

Mounting Objects in Fluid, .....

Cement-Cells, . .

Thin-Glass Cells, ......

PAGE

. 128 129 . 130

131 . 131

133 . 134

135 . 138

140 . 143

146 . 147

148 . 149

150 . 152

. 154

154 . 157

158 . 159

. 168 175

. 180 192 . 199

. 201 204 . 205

. 211 214 . -214 217

. 221

224 . 232

234 . 235

CONTENTS,

Plate-Glass and Shallow Cells,

Deep and Built-up Cells, .

Mounting Objects in Cells, Importance of Cleanliness,

Labelling and Preserving of Objects, Collection of Objects,

Chapter VI

MICROSCOPIC FORMS OF VEGETABLE LIFE. PROTOPHYTES.

Boundary between Animal and Vegetable Kingdoms, Characters of V egetable Cell,

Life-History of Simplest Protophytes,

Volvocineae, .....

Desmidiaceae, .

Diatomaceae, .....

Palmellaceae, ......

Ulvaceae, ......

Oscillatoriaceae, . . . . .

Siphonaceae, .....

Confervaceae, .....

Conjugateae, .....

Chaetophoraceae, . . . . .

Batrachospermeae, ....

Characeae, ......

Chapter XIV. Molluscous Animals Generally

Shells of Mollusca, ......

. 506

Tongues of Gasteropods, .

.

Development of Gasteropods,

.

. 521

Ciliary motion on Gills, .

. . . .

Organs of Sense of Mollusks,

.

. 527

Chromatophores of Cephalopods, ....

Entozoa,

Chapter XV. Annulosa Or Worms

. 527

Turbellaria,

.....

Annelida,

.

. 535

Pycnogonidae,

Chapter XVI. Crustacea

. 539

Entomostraca,

. ....

Suctoria,

. . . .

. 547

Cirrhipeda,

.

Shell of Decapoda,

.

. 550

Metamorphosis of Decapoda,

.

CONTENTS,

XV

Chapter XVII. Insects And Arachnida

Great number and variety of Objects afforded by Insects, Structure of Integument, .....

Tegumentary Appendages, .....

Parts of the Head, ......

Circulation of the Blood, .....

Respiratory Apparatus, ......

Stings and Ovipositors, .....

Eggs,

Parts of Spiders, .......

A

Chapter XVIII. Vertebrated Animals

Primary Tissues, ......

Scales of Fish, ......

Feathers, .......

Hoofs, Horns, &c., .....

White and Yellow Fibres, ....

Skin, Mucous, and Serous Membranes,

Epidermis, ......

Pigment-Cells, ......

Epithelium, ......

Cartilage, ......

Circulation of the Blood, .....

Injected Preparations, ......

Vessels of Respiratory Organs, ....

Chapter XIX. Applications Of The Microscope To Geology

Fossilized Wood, Coal, .....

Fossil Foraminifera, Chalk, . . . .

Nummulites, ......

Orbitoides, .......

Organic materials of Rocks, ....

Structure of Fossil Bones, Teeth, &c., ....

PAGE

XVI

CONTENTS.

Chapter XX. Inorganic Or Mineral Kingdom. — Polarization

PAGE

Mineral objects, ........ 644

Crystallization of Salts, ....... 645

Objects suitable for Polariscope, ...... 645