It had been to him for some time a subject of regret that one of the most useful and fascinating studies--that which belongs to the domain of microscopic observation--should be, if not wholly neglected, at best but coldly and indifferently appreciated by the great mass of the general public; and he formed a strong opinion that this apathy and inattention were mainly attributable to the want of some concise, yet sufficiently comprehensive, _popular_ account of the Microscope, both as regards the management and manipulation of the instrument, and the varied wonders and hidden realms of beauty that are disclosed and developed by its aid. He saw around him valuable, erudite, and splendid volumes, which, however, being chiefly designed for circulation amongst a special class of readers, were necessarily published at a price that renders them practically unattainable by the great bulk of the public. They are careful and beautiful contributions to the objects of science, but they do not adequately bring the value and charm of microscopic studies home, so to speak, to the firesides of the people. Day after day, new and interesting discoveries, and amplifications of truth already discerned, have been made, but they have been either sacrificed in serials, or, more usually, devoted to the pages of class publications; and thus this most important and attractive study has been, in a great measure, the province of the few only, who have derived from it a rich store of enlightenment and gratification: the many not having, however, participated, to any great extent, in the instruction and entertainment which always follow in the train of microscopical science.[2]
The manifold uses and advantages of the Microscope crowd upon us in such profusion, that we can only attempt to enumerate them in the briefest and most rapid manner in these prefatory pages.
It is not many years since this invaluable instrument was regarded in the light of a costly toy; it is now the inseparable companion of the man of science. In the medical world, its utility and necessity are fully appreciated, even by those who formerly were slow to perceive its benefits; now, knowledge which could not be obtained even by the minutest dissection is acquired readily by its assistance, which has become as essential to the anatomist and pathologist as are the scalpel and bedside observation. The smallest portion of a diseased structure, placed under a Microscope, will tell more in one minute to the experienced eye than could be ascertained by long examination of the mass of disease in the ordinary method. Microscopic agency, in thus assisting the medical man, contributes much to the alleviation of those multiplied “ills which flesh is heir to.” So fully impressed were the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons with the importance of the facts brought to light in a short space of time, that, in 1841, they determined to establish a Professorship of Histology, and to form a collection of preparations of the elementary tissues of both animals and vegetables, healthy and morbid, which should illustrate the value of microscopical investigations in physiology and medical science. From that time, histological anatomy deservedly became an important branch of the education of the medical student.