The Physiology of the Invertebrata

Abstract

STUDENTS of biology, and especially of physiology, have long wanted a book treating of the physiological problems of the invertebrate animals. It is true that what is sometimes called human physiology is in great measure the physiology of the lower animals. Physiologists, however, generally select for experiment animals which are as much as possible like themselves; it is comparatively seldom that they invade the invertebrate branches of animal life. There are vast fields there for exploration which are almost untouched from the physiological standpoint, and one can hardly doubt that great treasures in the way of fact and reasoning could be unearthed, which would throw light on the functions not only of these lower creatures themselves, but on the life problems of the higher animals also. The present book by Dr. Griffiths will therefore be welcomed as a first attempt to fill this gap. He is well known as one of the few who have carried the method of physiology down to the invertebrates, and his researches have been marked by great industry and patience.

The Physiology of the Invertebrata.

By A. B. Griffiths (London: L. Reeve and Co., 1892.)