Book Description

Excerpt from A d104-Book of Human Physiology To set fixed limits to the subject matter of physiology is a very difficult task, because, properly conceived, large portions of the entire group of medical and biological sciences belong to its province. A text-book designed primarily for medical students can, however, regard the field as somewhat more restricted; for the prospective physician has abundant opportunity to amplify his knowledge of the bodily functions from his other studies. Hence in this book I have followed the usual custom and have brought together only so much of our information respecting the human body as can be described as pertaining to its normal functions. The discoveries made in the realms of practical medicine, of experimental pathology and of pharmacology, which in many respects are so full of significance for the processes of the body, are, therefore, for the most part passed by. In like manner the facts of comparative physiology have been alluded to only in exceptional cases, since an exhaustive discussion of them would have increased the size of the book to a not inconsiderable extent. For the same reason I have been unable to find a place for the short histological discussion customary in text-books. I do not regard this as an error, for a necessarily brief and superficial resume of the most important histological facts could be of no great service, since the student needs a more extensive knowledge of the finer structure of the body and must in any case obtain this from the text-books devoted especially to that subject. I do not therefore at all mistake the great importance of histology for physiology; on the contrary, I would recommend that in the, study of a text-book of this science a text-book of histology (and one of anatomy) be always at hand in order to combine the physiological facts with the histological and anatomical facts. Physiological chemistry also has developed so far that more and more it can claim the right to be regarded as an independent science. On the other hand it is not possible to present the physiological facts without reference to the chemical processes of the body. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.