Hunter, Haller demands a special historian, and it is possible here to outline only a few of the services he rendered to medicine. He enriched the anatomy of the heart, of the brain and dura, and pointed out the venous nature of the{222} sinuses; taught that the uterus should be regarded as a muscle: advanced the knowledge of the lymphatic system, and believed in and taught a developmental theory that every individual is descended or derived from a preceding one. In the mechanism of the heart his doctrine of irritability especially maintained itself. He administered the death-blow to the doctrine of vital spirits, and was, in fact, the father of modern nerve-physiology. His doctrine of irritability moved the minds of his century in a way that has no parallel, unless we compare it with the doctrine of Darwin. Glisson had established the general principles of irritability, and Haller followed, teaching it by the inductive method, and proving its existence by experiments,--proving, moreover, that it is a peculiarity of the muscular substance and not governed by ordinary sensation. His researches deserve the more credit because he lacked modern aids to physiological study. The first physiological institute was founded in Breslau by Purkinje, some fifty years ago. Haller had no such opportunity; even his successor, the great Müller, possessed no such advantages. The profound impression made by Haller's teachings may be measured by the number of his supporters and opponents; he was a great man, second only in wide-spread influence to Boerhaave, and one who left a more lasting impress upon the world than even the latter. The two best known of Haller's opponents were: Wolf (1733-179-4), of St. Petersburg, who regarded each generation as an actual new creation, and was the first to teach the doctrine of the blastodermic membranes; and Blumenbach (1752-1840), of Gotha, who did great service by investigations in general anthropology, of which he was, in fact, the founder, and whose researches in comparative anatomy and the history of development have rendered him famous. Of the famous anatomists of the century may be mentioned Sommerring (1755-1830), of Frankfort,--the first to{223} distinguish the facial and auditory nerves from eacli other, and whose published works are well known, because of the beautiful illustrations furnished him by the well-known artist, Koeck. The ablest French anatomist of the century was Winslow (1669-1760),--a man of Danish birth, but who became a professor in Paris, and is best known by the foramen named for him. There were, also, Portal (1742-1832), physician to Louis XVIII, who wrote a famous history of anatomy and surgery; and Vicq d'Azyr (1748-1794), known equally well for his labors in the department of anatomy, especially of the brain, nervous system,{224} and the vocal organs. Bichat (already mentioned) would deserve to be placed at the head of French anatomists were it not for his superior rank in clinical medicine.