Excerpt from The Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, Vol. 1: November, 1866 IT is, I feel, no small honour to be called upon to preside over this section which represents the very highest branch of physical science. I say the highest branch of physical science because it has to deal with the highest and hardest of physical problems. The animal frame, which it is our work to investigate, stands at the summit of the great physical cone, with man at the apex, by whom it is, as it were, slung from heaven, in whom the material is worked up to the point of contact with, and made subservient to the purposes of the spiritual. Indeed so complex is the animal organism, so intricate and varied are the questions in physiology, that it is apt to pass out of the range of science, and become too much a matter of speculation and an object of mystery; so that there is some danger of its being degraded by the very difficulties and features which should really place it in the highest position among sciences. 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.