A systematic treatise on comparative physiology, introductory to the physiology of man / tr., with notes, from the German of Friederick Tiedemann by James Manby Gully and J. Hunter Lane.

  • Tiedemann, Friedrich, 1781-1861.
Date:
1834
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A systematic treatise on comparative physiology, introductory to the physiology of man / tr., with notes, from the German of Friederick Tiedemann by James Manby Gully and J. Hunter Lane. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

    7/454
    THE TRANSLATORS' PREFACE. The object of physiology is to expose the phenomena of lifcj and the condi- tions upon which their manifestations depend. To accomplish which it must be first determined what are the phenomena which collectively are denomi- nated life. For this purpose a knowledge of the general properties of or- ganic or living bodies must be acquired^ and this can only be attained by comparing the phenomena and actions of organic or Hving bodies with those exhibited by inorganic or lifeless bodies. Having by such comparative inves- tigation gained a knowledge of the qualities distinguishing Uving bodies in general^ the next principal object will be to ascertain the qualities that re- spectively characterize the two great sections of the animate world. With this view^ a comparison is instituted between plants and animals relative to their composition, configuration^ formation, powers, origin, end, and connexion with external influences. These comparative inquiries lead to the discovery of the qualities which man shares with living bodies in general, or with animals in particular, and to the acquisition of fimdamental ideas of life, organization, and th,e proper- ties of living bodies, as also of the circumstances and conditions under which life is developed. The next course to be pursued is that of compaiing man with other ani- mals, so as to make known the peculiarities of his structure and manifesta- tions of Hfe—^to assign him a place in the system of nature, to characterize the races of man, and to foUow them in their distribution over the globe. In researches into the manifestations of activity in man, and the causes on which they depend, the qualities of the body in which these operate are to be considered. These qualities consist in pectdiarlties of composition, aggre- gation, textm'e, and formation. Hence chemistry is employed to detect the matters entering into its solid and liquid parts, to determine their modes of combination, and to indicate and explain the changes occurring therein dur- ing life. As respects the structure and form of the body, the parts simply as they are seen, those which are beyond the analysis of the anatomical scalpel,