more abstruse in detail.

We have, in accordance with popular usage, treated the organs of thought
as having anatomical relations. The views which we have presented in
this chapter may seem speculative, but the facts suggesting the theory
demand attention, and we have attempted to gather a few of the scattered
fragments and arrange them in some order, rather than leave them to
uncertainty and greater mystery. It is by method and classification that
we are enabled to apply our knowledge to practical purposes. Possibly,
to some, especially the non-professional, an allusion to the fact that
cerebral physiology contributes to successful results in the practice of
medicine, may seem to be an exaggerated pretension. None, however, who
are conversant with the facts connected with the author's experience,
will so regard this practical reference, for the statement might be
greatly amplified without exceeding the bounds of truth. Physicians
generally undervalue the nervous functions, and overlook the importance
of the brain as an indicator of the conditions of the physical system,
because they are not sufficiently familiar with its influence over the
bodily functions. Pathological conditions are faithfully represented by
the thoughts, and words, when used to describe symptoms, become the
symbols of feelings which arise from disease. How few physicians there
are who can interpret the thoughts, and glean, from the expressions and
sentences of a letter, a correct idea of the morbid conditions which the
writer wishes to portray! Each malady, as well as every temperament, has
its characteristics, _and both require careful and critical analysis_
before subjecting the patient to the influence of remedial agents.

In a treatise by Dr. J.R. Buchanan, entitled "Outlines of Lectures on
the Neurological System of Anthropology," are presented original ideas
pre-eminently useful to the physician. His researches, and those of
later writers, together with our own investigations, have greatly
increased our professional knowledge. It is by such studies and
investigations that we have been prepared to interpret, with greater
facility, the indications of disease, and diagnose accurately from
symptoms, which have acquired a deeper significance by the light of
cerebral physiology. We are enabled to adapt remedies to constitutions
and their varying conditions, with a fidelity and scientific precision
which has rendered our success in treatment widely k