Book Description

As its title indicates, this is a book for use in a practical comparative anatomy course. It is intended for a somewhat unusual class of student, and consequently its contents, outlook, and method of treatment are unlike those of the standard texts in this subject. As stated in the preface, it is assumed that the student has already done a course in elementary zoology, including the usual verte-brate types, and has also examined in more detail a mammal. Unless this mammal were man, a number of comparisons in the book would be missed. To obtain full benefit from it the student should obviously have taken the preliminary medical studies, including a fair amount of human anatomy. This is not meant to imply that the student of advanced zoology cannot get many useful hints and fresh points of view from its pages; he undoubtedly can. The types, treated in a series of regional dissections, are the lamprey, the dogfish (Squalus), Necturus, the lizard, and the dog. As it is intended for assistance in dissection, information regarding osteology and the details of the central nervous system have been purposely omitted and, conversely, the muscles are treated somewhat more fully than is customary.