as ' 1824 TO* - • y iX > > > > » > > s >■>.>>> _> > — > » - :» v. >> > > > > .%v>fs ' >■£>. > ;> * > ^ 5 >> > r >>■>»■> >^ .j ■ > * > £».> 'ee>jT) »> ^ ;» >> > »> ~» >^ ^ ^ ~> > > » >>> :> 3 :> > > a> ?'qfe V * 3» > ■ >» j>-> »-> ^» > > >*> ) _^S^ "> >>>ip>>j ■> j^ ">■* >>>>*^>V> > *^Sk* ~* >.. •»» >^»?* ,■> ^> "T3^ ->> » e>> : ■> > . jJB ►->> » > ^ ,^^> »^ m^> >> 5 . >> , ^^x>>£> > > ' - ^^ > >< 1> >> " - B^~> ' > > > " ' .a »> ->> j •> J 3^ > » } > > - > ^^^> x> ^3 i -"» > J .> > > > >e» > ess>>>>e> > >) e>^>r> < < V0 > "> ~> )■ )> ? > i ■> > > * ■■ «_ \ ^ A LECTURE INTRODUCTORY TO A COURSE DELIVERED IS TH> PHILADELPHIA ANATOMICAL ROOMS SESSION OF 1823-4. Bv JOHN D. (JoDMAN, M. D m LECTURER ON ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY ■-' . lit; jk.fcii.il. * . - PUBLISHED BY THE CLAS^ C %1 0 L) 0 ^- ■*<*.; ■:lan>-' PHILADELPHIA William Brown, Printer 1824, . -1 V,' C- 'j a 7. 16:. -1 At a meeting of the class attending Dr. J. D. (..oilman's Course of Lectures on Aiwtonn, held '24th of January, 1821, Dr. Kuan was called to the chair, and James Cox appointed Secretary : The follow- ing Resolutions were unanimously adopted, viz. Ilcsoh-ed, That a committee of four gentlemen be appointed t( wait on Dr. Godman, and request for publication, a copy of his In troductory Lecture to the present course. Resolved, That should this application be successful, the same committee be instructed to cause the lecture to be published in a pamphlet form. Wherefore, Thomas W. Meriwether, James Web- Bter, jun. Nathaniel Tatem, and James Cox, were appointed to carry these resolutions into effect. JOHN KUAN, Chairman TAMES COX, fir.cretarv. 1 « ANALYTIC ANATOM\ A LECTURE, Sfc. The spirit of improvement, so peculiarly distinctive of the present age, has extended with energy to the study of Anatomy, and given to our science a form and pressure al- most entirely new. That which was formerly taught by stealth, mentioned with disgust or abhorrence as a sacrilegious vio- lation of the tomb, and exposed the lives of its cultivators to danger, has attained a sublime elevation among the sciences, and is justly revered as the foundation of all that is really valuable in medicine. Yet from age to age we perceive it handed down in the condition it was left in by Galen, under the shadow of whose ponderous volumes it was dimly seen and incorrectly portrayed. It seemed as if the very dust which time had deposited on his pages, was too sacred to be lightly removed; and the hardy investi- gator who ventured to doubt his inspiration and veracity, was marked as profane, or shunned as if accursed. One person was at length found, whose eager and energetic mind was not to be satisfied with any thing short of the truth ; who disdained to pin his faith on the mere assertions of others; who appealed from books to facts, from men to things, from dogmatism to nature. Vesalius of Brussels was the man who did this, and who merits the grateful re- membrance of every student of Anatomy. He, by his knife, detected and exposed the rash conclusions and falla- 1 cies of Oalcn ; who awakened the sleeping spirit of inquiry, and breathed a new life into the bosoms of those who studied Anatomy. But we are not surprised to learn, that the first changes made in our science were far distant from perfection. For very many years after the time of Vesalius, anatomy re- mained in a state of comparative rudeness and barbarism, presenting occasional gleams of light, which were soon lost in the general surrounding darkness. As the temple of anatomy was only to be entered by the sepulchral gate, near which superstition long watched with trembling, though terrific mien, her train of " dark imaginings," assisted in keeping inquisitive scrutiny aloof, until by the diffusion of intellectual light these phantoms were put to flight. Then the study of anatomy rose very rapidly in estimation, her votaries became numerous, and their researches of real utility, as they relinquished the vain disputations of (falsely called) philosophers, to seek for truth in the rea- lities of nature. Instead of offering you a minute detail of the progress of anatomical knowledge, I shall endeavour briefly to lay be- fore you, a few remarks on the best method in which ana- tomy should be taught, and may be most readily and cor- rectly acquired ; prefaced by some observations relative to the excellence and importance of our subject, which cannot be too frequently repeated, or too deeply impressed on your minds. When we behold an edifice which is conspicuous for the grace and beauty of its aspect, the richness of its materials, the exquisite skill of its arrangement, its adaptation to the comforts and convenience of the inhabitants, the whole im- presses us with sentiments of wonder and delight! If we inspect it more closely, and discover that all this order and 5 elegance results from various combinations of heterogeneous materials ; that what appears to us as a light and gracefully springing arch, is a mass of immense size, sustaining an enormous weight; that the smooth and polished surface? were lately harsh and rugged stone, we pay involuntarily a tribute of respectful admiration to the art which is pro- ductive of so much comfort, pleasure and protection But the most splendid exertions of human ingenuity fade into dim insignificance, when contrasted with the wondrous contexture of the human frame, where the simplest of tissues 4 far outstrips the most boasted exertions of mechanical in- genuity ; where the instruments are not only perfect in their kind, but endowed with a power, self-sustaining, self- acting, and self-continuing. To bring these truths nearer to your minds, let us glance at the relations which subsist between the different parts of our body. We every where observe, that the nerves and blood-vessels are the great agents of sensation, nutri- tion, and life. Yet these have no independent existence; they are themselves supplied with nerves, blood-vessels and absorbents. Here, we are at once carried to the ut- most limits of our comprehension, for in what an infinite!}' diminished series may not the nerves and blood-vessels ex- ist, when they go to supply the vessels of vessels, and the nerves of nerves! Observe the manner in which the due balance of actions is maintained in our bodies; one set of vessels absorb and another deposit; one set accumulates and another removes. When this equilibrium is destroyed disease ensues, and, if it be not restored, death must suc- ceed. This leads us at once to infer the true value of tha* knowledge, which enables us to understand the complex actions of our system, so that we may check their in ordinateness or remedy their defects. In the organs of sense. 6 we find every thing that is wonderful in design, and admi- rable in execution. We behold Omnipotence in every pro- duct, and Omniscience in every plan. We see system within sysWm, organ within organ, each differing from the other, performing different offices, all tending to the per- fection of a common function; which itself is but a small part, contributed to the perfection of the general whole. With such views of the subject, we may be excused for ex- claiming, " What a piece of work is man ! How noble in reason ! How infinite in faculties ! In form and moving, how express and admirable ! In action, how like an angel 1 In apprehension, how like a God !" Let us next consider the importance of anatomy to the practitioner of medicine. He who is unacquainted with the structure and function of the healthy organs, must be, of necessity, inadequate to judge correctly of the causes and seats of disease. He will be continually forming in- correct and injudicious opinions, which lead at once to in- jurious or destructive practice. He is perpetually exposed to suffering or alarm, from symptoms and appearances which a knowledge of anatomy would at once make clear and intelligible. His conduct must always be marked by the worst of indecision, that springing from ignorance; while his reputation, ever left to the sport of accident, is continually in danger of being destroyed. In his daily bu- siness, he is without guiding principles, and destitute of support; he suffers all those vexations which result from a habit of ill-directed and desultory experiment. It is be- yond contradiction, that such results must ensue, when men enter on the practice of our profession without having first learned the construction of the body on which they are to exercise their skill. It is a superficial and an un- tenable notion, that anatomy need be known thoroughly, I only by the surgeon. There is no department of medicine which does not lean on it unremittingly for support. What are your drugs and medicines, without a knowledge of the parts to which they are to be applied ? How can you know the manner in which the organs act on these substances, without knowing how the organs are constituted ? In what way is a physician to frame his opinion on the cause or consequences of a disease, without a knowledge of the healthy action, which cannot be understood, if the structure and relation of parts be not first investigated. If a student ever expects to exercise his talents to ad- vantage, he must early employ himself in gaining a know- ledge of the principles which are to direct his future prac- tice. It is unfortunately too common, that improper no- tions or prejudices are adopted in the beginning, relative to the whole, or certain parts of his professional studies. Ana- tomy is considered dry and uninteresting—a perplexed mass of unmeaning and arbitrary names—a vast number of slightly connected minutiae, too difficult to be generally understood, and too repugnant to the feelings ever to be much admired; having no very apparent relation of parts, and these too numerous to be thoroughly examined. If surgery is mentioned, the mangling saw and excruciating cautery, are the earliest associations. Instead of this, we should, with Galen, never mention anatomy without con- sidering it as a magnificent hymn of praise to the Creator— where the wonders of Omnipotence are continually de^ veloped; by which a torch is lighted to guide us through the wildering mazes of disease, and the way made easy for the energetic application of reason to the removal of the ills flowing from a disarray of the instruments of life. If anatomy is difficult, it is owing to the rubbish under vhich it has been buried ; that it is unpleasant and unin > viting, is owing to the manner in which it has been dis- torted and misrepresented ; if the minutiae seem disconnected, it is because they have been violently displaced ; that the parts seem slightly related to the mass, is because the relations have been neglected. Anatomy is not dry, nor difficult, nor uninteresting; these are the incorrect ideas of those who have not duly appreciated ; they are the faults of too many books. Similar erroneous notions have been entertained relative to surgery, which are now yielding to the light of knowledge. In the surgeon, instead of a cold and unfeeling executioner, who delights in blood and groans, we should perceive a be- nevolent being applying his knowledge to the prevention of misery and deformity ; ever ready to interpose for the re- lief of those, who by sudden accident have been brought into a state of suffering. A keen eye, a steady hand, and an unfeeling heart, were once thought to be the great es- sentials to the character of a good surgeon. But surgery is no longer engaged in the mutilation of limbs, or in merely mechanical arrangements. Anatomy has opened a new career to the surgeon, and imparted a new dignity to his exertions; his greatest excellence now consists in saving what formerly it was his chief praise to remove. To the surgeon, anatomy is as a polar star, a never-failing guide, a sure support under every trial, and a guard against every danger. From our science, he gains the knowledge which prepares him to meet every exigency, which may result from accident, and even after the most desperate in- juries, enables him to hold death in abeyance. It is from anatomy, that he obtains the intrepid steadiness which con- ducts his knife, while his face is pale with intense anxiety for the safety of his patient. The confidence inspired by his anatomical knowledge, imparts the calmness and cool 9 ness with which he attends to the cases occurring while his country's eagle is screaming over the field of battle and blood. There, though anxious and sick at heart, stunned to deafness by the martial thunder ; his soul wrung by the sight of those too dreadfully mangled to be aided, he is still able to operate with safety and advantage to his pa- tient, because he is entirely familiar with the structure,and is at no loss to address himself to each particular injury. How different is the reverse of this picture ; how terrible to behold a man ignorant of anatomy, pretending under such circumstances, to minister to the wounded and bleed- ing. Such a picture is too painful for contemplation: though, unfortunately for humanity, it has been too fre- quently exhibited. It is now proper to inquire, why so few persons, compa- ratively speaking, become good anatomists. Is it because the subject is in itself so extremely difficult as to deter the curious by its very aspect ? Is it that the body is composed of materials so various, of parts so discordant, as to forbid any effort to disentangle their intricacies, or to arrange them harmoniously ? Is the human intellect too obtuse to per- ceive or remember the integrants of the mass so curiously combined in our structure ? Or may it not be owing to the improper medium through which the science is beheld, that so great a number mistake beauty for deformity, and so frequently turn away from the contemplation with re- pugnance or disgust. To the latter source I am inclined to attribute, the imperfect or incorrect ideas which multi- tudes entertain of anatomy. At the very threshold of the profession, they are presented with books, often as defi- cient in correctness, as they are wearisome and unpleasant in style. Books which would lead to the conclusion, that the human body is composed of parts, without relation : B 10 of irregularities in structure, impossible to be considered under any general view ; and these rendered still more re- pulsive, by the combination of barbarisms used to designate them Indeed, it has been but a few years, since the whole organization of the body was admitted to be possessed ot life, and the very best of the" books, until very lately. placed in the hands of beginners, were not free from the most puerile and pitiful conceits, worthy of that era of phi- losophy which resorted to the imagination for the removal of every difficulty. Thus the inexperienced were frequently prepared to remain ignorant, by the perplexed and inex- plicable explanations of an author, who had probably made his book, not from an investigation of 1 he secrets of nature, but by garbling and lepeating the writings of others, as lit- tle acquainted with the subject as himself. The irksome- ness of studying such books is so great, as to excite any thing but love for the science ; and by the time that the student is ready to begin his investigations in practical anatomy, his associations of difficulty and perplexity with the very name Of the science, are too firmly fixed to be easily removed. He begiis in hesitation, and advances without pleasure ; he consults his books, and finds himself more thoroughly benighted ; every effort he then makes plunges him more deeply in confusion, and if not pro- perly assisted, he most commonly relinquishes the knife. in despair of ever being able to resume it with satisfaction. Possibly, before his first attempts are made, he has wit- nessed the beautiful displays of the anatomical theatre, and is delighted with the elegance and simple character of the organs demonstrated. Inspired by hopes of rapid improve- ment in such desirable knowledge, he is impatient to lay bare the structures of the body with his own hand ; think- ing, with all the eagerness of youthful anticipation, of the 11 scientific acquisitions he is about to make. How great is hir mortification to find on his first incision, that he can re- cognize nothing in the body which he has seen in the lec- ture room ; he uncovers parts of which no mention was made ; he sees peculiarities that were not presented before, and he is unable to imagine why it is, that the things which appeared but a few hours before so perfectly intelligible, should now set at defiance all his scrutiny, and chill all his enthusiasm. When anatomy is seen as it really is, without the inter vention of books, or the misrepresentations which may be made by the knife, the throng of difficulties disappear, the discord is reduced to harmony, and irregularity to order. The student looks in vain for the perplexity he expected, because this state does not exist in nature ; yet he is some- times fearful that his advances are not safe, because his pro- gress is so easy. Such however is the inveteracy of habit and prejudice, that we occasionally see a dissector puzzled by discovering that the structure does not agree with the description, and unwilling to acknowledge that the book is not right, though fully convinced that nature cannot be wrong. Anatomy is the science which should teach us what exists in the body, and how every thing exists there—not how much may be effected by patience and diligence in severing parts which nature never intended to be disjoined, or reducing all her varied and admirable productions to an uniform appearance, by removing all the parts with which the teacher does not wish to be incommoded. This may be systematic, but it is prejudicial; it may be according to custom, but it is not in consonance with nature. It may display admirable skill and care ; it may look beautifully ; it may be described learnedly, and wisely, and well; vet, « 12 after all, this is not AiN atomy ; for the anatomy of the hi. man body is the structure as fashioned and related by na- ture, not as sundered and exhibited by art. The only safe mode of reasoning, is that which leads us back, from particular observations to general conclusions. When we wish to understand any substance in nature, we must first reduce it to simple elements, in order to gain a proper acquaintance with the result of their combination or the mass. This mode of examination is called analysis, or decomposition. If we re-combine the elements in order to re-produce the mass, the process is called synthesis, or composition. It must be clearly perceived, that the lattei method can only be resorted to with advantage, after the analysis has been made with the most perfect correctness. The mode in which anatomy is ordinarily taught is by synthesis, or composition. The parts, or elements, are laid before the student in a state of disintegration ; a state in which they never exist in the human body, and the learner is to form such an acquaintance with these parts, as to be able afterwards to recompose the mass, by mentally combining them together. He is shewn bones with their processes and foramina; the continuation of a foramen through several bones, constitutes various and far distant demonstrations; then the muscles are exhibited separate from all the peculiarities and essentials of their relations; and the simple attachments of their extremities are the cir- cumstances on which most stress is laid. The nerves arteries, veins, and absorbents, are in like manner shown by themselves, and so perfectly insulated, that a person might without difficulty suppose that they were never to be found in company. It is not surprising that anatomy is difficult, when the mind is forced to understand it by continued ef forts of abstraction, in order to place in some sort of rela 13 tion, parts which have only been seen at a distance from each other. When you advance to the study of our science with a proper conviction of its value, aided by an experienced friend to direct your application, you will be delighted to find that the supposed difficulties are artificially made—you will perceive order and beauty where you may have ex- pected irregularity and confusion. Each day's practice will render the succeeding more easy ; and when you look back, you may smile to discover how unnecessarily fears have been excited. In examining the structures of various parts, and their relation to the general mass ; the important functions they discharge in the healthy body, and their af fections in a state of disease, you will forget the jargon in which you have seen them enveloped in books, and won- der that men could so relinquish the substance, to grasp at an illusive shadow. After the elements 6f this study have been acquired, and by a little patience the difficulties at tached to every new pursuit mastered, you will feel as if in a new world—every part explored will bring to mind the im- portance of some medical precept, or establish in the mind the correctness of some surgical practice. You gradually become acquainted with the physiology of the system, and are better and better qualified to discover the insidious ap- proaches of disease. You will be enabled to extend your researches relative to the operation of remedies, to scruti- nize the validity of the doctrines taught you, and go out into the world prepared for all the incidents which may befal you in your career for professional usefulness or fame. Let me now ask your attention, while 1 venture to lay before you a view of the distinctions to be drawn between General, Philosophical, and Surgical Anatomy. l-i General Anatomy, is a beautiful science which sprung from the vigorous mind of the illustrious Bichat, like Mi- nerva from the head of Jove, armed at all points. In this part of our science, we have all the textures of the system viewed together, which are properly of the same kind, and consider them in relation to the distinctive character- istics they exhibit wherever they are found, and in what- ever combinations they exist. It is by general anatomy that we are taught to view the cellular, nervous, sanguineous. and other systems abstracted from each other, and consider the great laws and principles to be deduced from the phe- nomena they exhibit, or from the experiments which have been made on them. This science is free from all details of particular configuration or relation, and may be consider- ed as the firmest basis for correct and enlarged views of physiology and pathology. Philosophical Anatomy teaches us the parts of which the body is composed by a demonstration of their sen- sible properties, and by accurate definitions of their place and figure. It displays each part by itself, and makes a separation of the immediate subject of attention from all others: holds up to our view each instrument as a distinct exercise of the memory, and enables the physiologist by this careful display, to form accurate ideas of their individual uses. If it were possible in anatomy, as in some other studies, to proceed without referring to parts not yet de- fined, this method would make a deep and almost inef- faceable impression, from its distinctness and order. But as this cannot be, as the Philosophical Anatomist must ever and anon turn aside to explain or anticipate, the learner is fatigued by the multiplex detail, the ideas become confused and the mind fatigued by the continued efforts at abstrac- tion. 15 Surgical Anatomy differs from both the former; it takes the body as nature formed it, and shews the rela- tions which exist between the different portions. As it is the business of the surgeon to act instantaneously, so is it the business of the surgical anatomist to display the struc turc of the body in its relation of parts. He destroys no thing to exhibit what lies beneath—he makes no incision that is not to be seen—he separates no parts according to their functions—he can only exhibit them as they are. In this way he becomes accustomed to the natural connections, knows what he is to meet with at every successive inci- sion, and is not surprised by the unexpected appearance of parts. By thus learning the natural and ordinary relations, he is best prepared to form accurate opinions as to the changes produced by disease on the different textures, and can also act more efficiently when he attempts their re- moval or cure. Surgical Anatomy may with pro- priety be termed the anatomy of relation. It is in- deed the only anatomy that can fix the instrument firmly in the hand of the surgeon, and give to his eye in the houi of mortal danger that steady lustre, which speaks of a pre- pared and dauntless intellect. In consequence of a careful investigation of the modes of teaching anatomy, I have been induced to resort solely to the method of analysis or decomposition. The sub- ject is placed before the learner untouched; the knife is not used to clear obstructions from the way of the teacher, previous to the lecture. The student sees the relation of parts—the anatomy, as it is left by the hand of nature : he observes the manner in which they are to be successively removed—he sees the situations and company with which they are always to be found, and perceives that in this mode ->f examination there are no difficulties to impede his prn to grcss but inattention or neglect. The body is decomposed by the knife in his sight, and he soon acquires a clearness of information on the connexion of parts existing in the living system, which enables him at any moment to recol- lect what is to be encountered in any portion of the frame. The physiology he learns does not consist of a collection of scraps and fragments relative to each part separated, but it is the ivhole that can be learned from the whole in combination. Should the teacher even be inadequate to the task of telling him all that is necessary, yet as the student sees the veritable anatomy for himself, his subse- quent reading is always aided by recollecting the actual condition of the structure. In fact, we believe no cause has acted more powerfully in retarding the advancement of the science of medicine, than the injudicious mode of teaching anatomy synthe- tically. In this vvay, we can easily account for the li- mited and unphilosophical views of physiology and pa- thology, which have been given to the world. One teacher acquires a habit of paying an exclusive attention to the nerves, and all his views are nervous—another scrutinizes the arteries, and all the theories he forms are inflamma- tory ; a third studies the veins, and congestions and en- gorgements are the nightmares that oppress him ; a fourth pours over the absorbents, and he is in continual dread, lest the balance of the system should be destroyed; a fifth looks entirely to the muscles, and his mind can per- ceive nothing but alternations of laxity and tension, of tonic and clonic contractions, of debility and spasm ! Would it not be considered ridiculous, were an artificer to shew us in separate pieces, the parts of a very compli- cated machine, and tell us their names and the points by which they were attached, without exhibiting their con- 17 nexions with the springs or wheels essential to their ope- ration, and without which they could be of no use? Is it. probable we should ever form correct ideas of the structure or mode of action of a time-piece, if we devoted ourselves exclusively to the study of a single part of its composition. Yet anatomy is too often studied in this way, and the consequence of continuing in the same method will be, that ignorance will remain, and obscure or partial reasonings be prevalent. It would be better that anatomy were neglected entirely, than to be only studied thus. It would be far more useful to the surgeon or physician, to be acquainted with the relations of parts in the most general manner, than to be able to talk of the infinitesimal ramifications of vessels or nerves, without knowing their connexions and relations. Anatomy, to be useful to the profession, and beneficial to humanity, must be known as it is, and in the only manner in which the structure can ever naturally exist. In teaching anatomy by the analytic method, the teacher has not so good an opportunity of making the parts look beautiful, as in other modes of investigation. He must of necessity shew the structure exactly as it is; and must be content with the advantages his class receives from cor- rectly understanding the subject. While learning the re- lations of parts the class is in general too usefully and agreeably employed, to think of the sights they might have, were the lecturer at liberty to prepare them before- hand, at the trifling expense of destroying a few fascia, arteries, veins, nerves, tendons or muscles. It is true that in this mode of teaching, the lecturer will find it no easy task to have his lesson well committed to memory, and he nay occasionally err in his descriptions; yet as he opens the faultless volume of nature before the eyes of his class. C 18 an error in his speech does not place a veil over their sight : nor does an inaccuracy in his detail, produce any in- accuracy in their perceptions. To such a study of anatomy in its simplest gwise, I now invite you, gentlemen ; and in giving this invitation, I do it with an entire confidence, that you will become satisfied of the truth of the opinions I have advanced, and assured by the evidence of your own senses, that this science is capable of affording you the highest gratification, not only by the excellence and inimitable perfection of the instruments used in our constitution, but by the admi- rable simplicity with which the different parts harmo- nize in the accomplishment of every action, and in the discharge of every function. If I am not much mistaken, you will be surprised to discover how easy it is to under- stand all that is known of anatomy, and how few are the real difficulties in your way. In presenting myself for the purpose of offering you an opportunity of testing the merits of the method I have de- scribed, it is with a fuller experience of its excellence and utility ; being more practised in the exercise of it, and more thoroughly enabled to rely on the strength and sta- bility of that ardent enthusiasm which prompted my first effort. Nor would it be just to my feelings and character were it supposed that no other motives than mere desire for subsistence, urge me to demonstrate the superiority of this mode of teaching anatomy. As the first person who ever attempted it in this country, and, as far as I can learn, in any other, it will be my glory to carry it nearer to perfection.* Let it be called vanity or pride that this • The first couhse, according to the Analytic system, was de- livered, March, 1821, at Philadelphia, in the building since altered into St. Stephens church, Tenth Street. i9 wish is expressed, still it must be made. It is impossible that a man who is impelled by a feeling irresistible, irre- pressible, inextinguishable, inexhaustible, to do something excellent, should entirely fail. Doubtless you can appre- ciate these emotions; your own bosoms have swelled with those thrilling sensations, which are common to the ho- nourably ambitious, and you can all acknowledge the truth of this observation, that, ------" So strong the zeal to immortalize himself, Glows in the breast of man, that even a few, Few, transient years, won from the gulf abhorred Of blank oblivion, seem a glorious prize Though even to a clown !" Note.—In a criticism on Dr. Antommarchi's anatomical plates, after treating of the different modes of studying anatomy, M. Dumkhil makes the following remarks : " II y a une autre maniere de disposer les faits pour les faire bien connaitre, e'est en offrant a ^observation des objets dans l'ordre ou ils se pre"sentent naturellementlorsqu'ou les examine. Cette methode, plus difficile a communiquer, est cependant beaucoup plus satisfai- sante dans ses applications, car elle conduit plusdirectement au seul but qui fait surmonter les dugouts inseparables dans les recherches anatomiques. Si elle n'a pas etc" adoptee jusqu'ici, e'est que pour transmettre la science par cette voie, ilfallait trouverdans un merae maltre un habile pr£parateur, un savant deja instruit par une autre methode, qui, apres avoir bien vu, bien observe, ait 6t6 doue du talent d'exprimer la nature avec le plus grand art, en la faisant parler fide- lement aux yeux."—JlrcMve* Generates de Medicine, Tome 2, Jiiin 1823. p. 311. " There is another manner of disposing the facts to make them well known ; it is, in offering the objects for observation, in the or- der they naturally present themselves, when they are examined. This method is more difficult to impart, nevertheless it is much more satisfactory in its applications, because it leads more directly ;o to the only object, which enables us to surmount the disgusts in- separable from anatomical researches. That it has not yet been adopted, is owing to this, that to transmit the science in this way, we must find in the same master, a skilful preparer, a person already learned in another method, who, having well seen and cor- rectly observed, is endowed with the talent of expressing nature ■vith the nicest art, in making her speak faithfully to the eyes." PHILADELPHIA ANATOMICAL ROOMS MEMBERS OF THE CLASS 1823-4. Dr. John Ruan, Dr. Benjamin Ellis, Charles H. Rohr, Beverley D. Roy, James A. Hahn, James Cox, Philip M. Price, John P. Lewis, Silas Webb, Thompson N. Johnson, George Fleming, William N. Anderson, Richard Sylvester, Nathaniel Tatem, Daniel S. Cooper, Thomas W. Meriwether, Caspar W. Pennock, Samuel Mosely, Joshua Nichols, Edward Hatton, Benoni Dawson, Philadelfihia. Philadelphia. Philadelfihia. Richmond, Va. Montgomery, Pa. Philadelfihia. Philadelphia. Delaware co. Pa. Raleigh, JY. C. Edenton, N. C. Louisa, Va. Louisa, Va. Norfolk, Va. Norfolk, Va. Pennsylvania. Albemarle, Va. Philadelfihia. Norfolk, Va. Virginia. Norfolk, Va. Montgomery, Md. James Webster, jun. William B. Fahnestock, John J. Myers, Harper Walton, William H. Trent, \ndrew Wills, Joshua W. Ash, Thomas T. Slaughter, F. P. Dickinson, E. H. Freeland, David C. Wills, Edmund Strudwick, John Haywood, James Hays, John L. Bowers, Jacob G. Schoch, Isaac Bruner, tacob Whistler, Hamilton A. Whitman, Vndrew Comstock, Richard A. Urquhart, John Andrews, Mexandcr Speer, John James, jun. George B. Taylor, William S. Wallace, Thomas Wharton, William Ashmead, Samuel Z. Seltzer, Llewellyn Powell, Jacob Baughman, Alfred Leyburn, John E. McCluer, James R. Jordan, Michael D. Donnellan, Philadelfihia. Lancaster, Pa. Columbia, S. C. Pennsylvania. Camden, S. C. Montgomery, Pa. Pennsylvania. Culfiefifier, Vu. Talbot co. Md. Talbot, Md. Gloucester, N. J. Hillsborough, N. C Green co. N. C. Virginia. Virginia. Harrisburgh, Pa. Lancaster, Pa. Chester, Pa. Reading, Pa. New York. Southampton, Va. Jefferson, Ohio. Gettysburg, Pa. Philadelphia. Philadelphia. Lancaster, Pa. Philadelphia. Germantoivn, Pa. Lebanon, Pa. Loudon, Va. Cumberland, Pa. Rockbridge, Va. Rockbridge, Va. Rockbridge, Va. Virginia. 23 Walter Somerville, Culpefier, Va. William Baldwin, Winchester, Va. William Crawford, Virginia. Philip Slaughter, Culpepper, Va. Isaac Brinckerhoff, Troy, N. Y. Caleb B. Matthews, Virginia. Thomas Fisher, Philadelpeia. Matthew Page, Frederick, Va. Robert Young, Indiana, Pa. Hugh Alexander, Pennsylvania. George W. Starr, Richmond, Va. George W. Richards, Orange, Va. Azor R. Phelps, Chesterfield, Va. Matthias E. Sawyer, Edenton, N. C. John F. Ward, North Carolina. William S. Bowen, New Jersey. Silas R. Kellogg, Sheffield. Mass. David Evander Reid, Charleston, S, C. John G. Parham, Virginia. James W. Clemens, Virginia. Jeremiah B. Kerns, Berks, Pa. Manuel E. Robinson, Delaware. Elijah C. Kille. New Jersey. Samuel Pleasanton, Delaware. Richard Cooper, Delaware. George Williamson, Richmond, Va. John T. Huddleson. Vorristown, Pa. % »>> >> ) > * » > > > "J^ ■f ' > > >> > > » > > > > > > > > > ;» > )> »■>» ~>> > > yo-o ' o > >>■> > , _>> > > 3 j » > > > 1 > > > > j __>> > 3 » > >- > > j > j > > a» j.' -> > * >■ >> i ?3 ^ > > ■> 1 > 3 > > > > >> S > > 1 ) > > -> > > .-> >> > ' > > > ■ >> j > -j ' > < ■> >> > » ,