The Physiology of Man

has been made after a careful study of the original publication, any one acquainted with the literature of the nervous system will appreciate the amount of labor involved simply in bibliographical research; but in this department, more than in any other, it is necessary to avoid taking experiments and opinions at second-hand. The experience of many years, as an experimental physiologist and a practical teacher, has enabled the author to verify many of the important facts stated in this volume, and has led to some original observations, which appear in the body of the work.

The present volume treats of the physiological anatomy and the functions of the nervous system, as they appear to a practical physiologist, accustomed to accept nothing that is not capable of positive demonstration or well-sustained inference. Adhering conscientiously to the positive method of study, the author has endeavored to present an account of the nervous system, which, though it will undoubtedly be extended by future investigations, is made up mainly of statements of facts that will probably not undergo serious modification, as we advance in our knowledge of the subject. He has considered the properties and functions of the cerebro-spinal and sympathetic nervous systems, mainly from this point of view; and has touched but slightly upon psychology, which has long been considered a science by itself. The special senses have been deferred, to be taken up in the fifth and last volume of the series.

The physiological anatomy of the nervous system is regarded by the author as an indispensable preparation for the study of its functions. The most reliable recent

works upon histology contain, of course, much that is of no great physiological interest or importance, and the best anatomical treatises do not generally give a description of parts with particular reference to their physiology. To facilitate the thorough comprehension of the subject, the author has carefully detailed certain anatomical points, a familiarity with which is necessarily involved in an accurate study of nervous physiology.

The publishers of this series, having lately issued Prof. Hammond's treatise on Nervous Diseases, are desirous of presenting a complete work on the "Physiology and Pathology of the Nervous System." Both Prof. Hammond and the author of this volume heartily concur in this plan. Though the full consideration of the physiology of the nervous system would perhaps be out of place in a treatise on nervous diseases, a thorough knowledge of its functions is none the less important as a preparation for the intelligent study of its pathology. The present volume was written as one of the series on the "Physiology of Man," but will also be issued as the first volume of a complete work on the Physiology and Diseases of the Nervous System. It is proper to state that the two volumes thus published were written independently of each other, and that Prof. Hammond is in nowise responsible for the author's views upon physiology, nor for any errors or defects that may be found in his part of the work. The reader, however, will find few points upon which there is any radical or important difference of opinion; but where these differences occur, they have been frankly stated, and cach author is solely responsible for his own opinions and statements.

Finally, the author presents this volume, with the simple statement that he has made an honest attempt to compass the great subject to which it is devoted, the magnitude and importance of which he never appreciated so fully as at the present moment. In the preparation of this volume, it was expected to include in it the special senses, and chapters upon touch, smell, and sight, were written, so that at least one-fifth of the last volume of the original series is already completed. The fifth volume is therefore so far advanced, that it is hoped that the entire work will be finished within a year. The last part will be devoted to the Special Senses and Generation.

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