For years we have been resigned to the annual succession of text-books on histology, each one differing from its predecessors and contemporaries by a degree so slight as to be appreciable only after microscopic examination. From a sense of duty, we read these books and approve them, as it is absolutely necessary that our histologic knowledge be brought up to date. The present book, in spite of faults, comes as a pleasant break in the general monotony, because its presents the subject from the comparative standpoint.
Practically all works on histology are based almost exclusively on human anatomy. A few authors have ventured to refer to the tissue elements of some domestic mammals and birds (dog, sheep, pigeon), but none has dared to stray outside of the barnyard into the wilds, for fear that the critics would stare aghast at any allusion to a vertebrate phylum humbler than the avian!