Excerpt from Physiological Chemistry, Vol. 3 Mulder himself was by no means unconscious of the imperfec tions Of this method, and endeavoured in union with Donders to approach this somewhat inadcessible department of science in a totally opposite direction. The tissues to be examined were exposed to the action of various chemical reagents, and the changes which their texture underwent were observed under the micro scope, with the view Of deducing from them conclusions regarding the differences in chemical constitution. This course was, how ever, first adopted by J. Miiller, who was led by it to several results of much value in relation to physiology and general anatomy. Several Observers followed with more or less success the path which he had thus marked out; but their investigations (unfortunately for us) had reference more to the histological than to the chemical side of the inquiry. Histology has already derived the most important aid from this method, since the reagents which we apply to microscopical preparations are no longer limited to dilute acetic acid, tincture Of iodine, or, at most, perhaps a little ammonia. It was by means of microscopico-chemical analysis that the strue ture of the different horny tissues was first clearly exhibited; who could formerly have established with such precision that nails, cows' horn, and whalebone are composed of aggregations of individual cells, from the most careful tracing of their developmental history? Would the axis-cylinder Of the nerve-fibres have remained so long unperceived, or at all events a subject Of doubt, if at an earlier period we had been more familiar with micro-chemical investiga tions? Chemical appliances have Often afforded most important service to histology, even when not promoting our knowledge of the chemical constituents of the tissues. We shall, therefore, be war ranted in assuming that the progress of histo-chemical inquiry W111 be satisfactory, when micro-chemical investigation is directed and regulated by the results of micro-chemical analyses; the micro chemical relations Of a tissue serve to indicate the course that must be pursued in order to lead to a successful investigation of the chemical constituents of the tissue, and Of its composition. 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.