Volume 1

The philosophy of health, or, An exposition of the physical and mental constitution of man : with a view to the promotion of human longevity and happiness / by Southwood Smith.

  • Smith, Southwood, 1788-1861.
Date:
1835-1838
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The philosophy of health, or, An exposition of the physical and mental constitution of man : with a view to the promotion of human longevity and happiness / by Southwood Smith. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

    18/430 (page 2)
    a formidable difficulty presents itself at the outset. The explanation of structure is easy when the part described can be seen. The teacher of ana- tomy finds.no difficulty in communicating to the student a clear and exact knowledge of the struc- ture of an organ; because, by the aid of dissection, he resolves the various complex substances, of which it is built up, into their constituent parts, and demonstrates the relation of these elementary . parts to each other. But the case is different with him who attempts to convey a knowledge of the structure of an organ merely by the description of it. The best conceived and executed drawing is a most inadequate substitute for the object itself. It is impossible wholly to remove this difficulty : what can be done, by the aid of plates, to lessen it, is here attempted. A time may come when the objects themselves will be more generally acces- sible: meanwhile, the description now given of the chief organs of the body may facilitate the study of their structure to those who have an opportunity of examining the organs themselves, and will, it is hoped, enable every reader at once to understand much of their action. Physical science has become the subject of popular attention, and men of the highest endow- ments, who have devoted their lives to the culti-