Abstract
THE author of this little volume has successfully accomplished a somewhat difficult task in his effort to produce a concise and not too elaborate account of the structure of the fowl. The first chapter deals with the zoological position of birds, and includes a very interesting account of the probable ancestry of the domestic fowl. This is followed by chapters on the skeleton and muscular system, both of which are of necessity dealt with in a very elementary fashion. More detail is entered into when the author deals in successive chapters with the digestive system, the respiratory organs, the urinary organs, the reproductive organs, and the circulatory system. The descriptions of the macroscopic characters of these apparatuses are so clear and lucid that they can be well and easily followed by readers who have received little or no previous anatomical training, while the microscopic structure is dealt with in such a masterly way as to render the book of the greatest assistance to the student of comparative histology and pathology. The illustrations in these sections are excellent, and have very considerably simplified the author's task. The nervous system, the eye and its appendages, and the ear are briefly considered, and a chapter is also devoted to the skin and its appendages. Probably the best chapter is that on the development of the chick, which is dealt with in rather more detail; the various stages being well illustrated. While this little book would appear to contain little or nothing that is new, it is the only work with which we are acquainted that contains such an excellent general description of the structure of the fowl. The illustrations must be regarded as a special feature. There are seventy-three of them, and many are full-page plates. There is a very complete index.
The Structure of the Fowl.
By Dr. O. C. Bradley. Pp. xi + 153. (London: A. and C. Black, Ltd., 1915.) Price 3s. 6d. net.
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W., G. The Structure of the Fowl . Nature 97, 56 (1916). https://doi.org/10.1038/097056a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/097056a0