to teaching in the department. The remainder was consumed by his development of investigative methods for creating charts, models, mannikins, and teaching specimens of all kinds. Most of the teaching aids could not be obtained in the markets of the world during Ford's career, and those few that were obtainable were prohibitive in price. As a result of Ford's foresight, the University has thousands of teaching specimens illustrative of normal and pathological anatomy, both human and comparative.
Space will not allow more than merely mentioning the names of many of the men who as demonstrators assisted Ford during the years when he had charge of the Anatomical Laboratory. Some of these — notably, Andrews, Lewit, Cheever, Frothingham, Breakey, Herdman, Campbell, and Huber — have added materially to American medicine, mostly in fields other than anatomy. There are four articles that former students of Dr. Ford frequently mentioned whenever they spoke of that great personality — a multicolored human skull, his chart of the twelve cranial nerves, a cane made from Admiral Perry's flagship, and a light stool with "Ford" carved in the seat — and these are to be found in the departmental library.
Occupying hardly a lesser place than Dr. Ford in the memories of the older medical graduates was his factotum, Gregor Nagele, better known as "Doc" Nagele. As an immigrant just landed, he helped in the construction of the old Medical Building, and remained to become for years the presiding genius of the Department, and, through his long association with Dr. Ford, an unofficial demonstrator of anatomy to the "boys."
(Shaw, p. 124.)
James Playfair McMurrich (Toronto '79, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins '85, LL.D. Michigan '12) was appointed the third Professor of Anatomy and Director of the Department of Anatomy in 1894 and served the University faithfully for thirteen years. When he came to direct the department the anatomical laboratories were in the Anatomical Laboratory Building about two hundred feet south of the present West Medical Building. His private laboratory was in the northeast corner of the second floor of the old Medical Building.
Dr. McMurrich brought to the University very definite ideas as to the function of the Department of Anatomy, which were adequately expressed in his own words:
An anatomical laboratory has a treble purpose to fulfill. A thorough knowledge of the structure of the human body and of its various parts, of the arrangement of these parts and of their physiological and topographical relations is essential to both the physician and the surgeon, and in no way can this knowledge be obtained but by actual, personal investigation. One purpose then, which may be termed the special purpose of an anatomical laboratory is to provide means whereby the student may obtain at first hand, that knowledge of the structure of the human body which will enable him later to pursue the study of medicine and surgery intelligently and successfully. It is a common, but erroneous idea that this is the only raison d'être of an anatomical laboratory. In reality, however, the study of anatomy is not a part of the study of medicine, but rather a preliminary to it, and in this connection laboratory work in anatomy has a further purpose, a general purpose, namely, to train the student to habits of observation and deduction. Whether for professional or general education this side of a laboratory's usefulness cannot be too greatly emphasized and no laboratory course offers greater opportunities for this kind of training than a practical course in anatomy. Finally the third purpose of an anatomical laboratory is to afford opportunities for increasing our knowledge of the structure of the body. It is another erroneous idea that our knowledge of the human body is complete. On the contrary there is yet very much to be learned, not only as to the actual
