Bibliothèque mondiale du cheval

« In undertaking the arduous task of translating and editing tho T raité d’Anatomie Comparée des Animaux Domestiques ’ of M. Chauveau, I have been moved by a desire to fill a void in medical literature which has always existed, so far as the English language is concerned. There has been no complete treatise on the anatomy of the domesticated animals, and the absence of such a work has exerted a serious influence on the progress of veterinary science, and doubtless proved more or less of a loss to the community at large.
The only text book to which the student or practitioner of animal medicine could until recently refer, has been that on the anatomy of the Horse, written by the late distinguished army veterinary surgeon, William Percivall , more than forty years ago : a book which, though in every way creditable to its author, was notoriously incomplete, even as regards the anatomy of the only animal it treated of, and was without illustrations. No serious attempt has been made to teach the structure of the other useful creatures domesticated by man , valuable though many of them are; and the student who was anxious to acquire this knowledge had no guide to lead or instruct him. At college, this loss may not have been so severely felt as when, having graduated, he entered on the practice of his profession; and if the experience of veterinary surgeons in general has been like my own, they will be ready to testify to the almost daily regret they felt at the very meagre notions of anatomy they possessed, and the benefit a complete and trustworthy manual would confer.
My professional avocations in the army would not permit me to make the necessary dissections for the production of such a work : and indeed so many classical and standard treatises on the subject have appeared, during this century, on the Continent, and notably in France and Germany, that it would seem a mere waste of time and labour to attempt a task which has been already so thoroughly accomplished by very zealous and proficient anatomists. In selecting for translation the present treatise in preference to other works which are justly held in high estimation, I was influenced not only by the knowledge that it was written by one of the most talented comparative anatomists and physiologists of the day, but by the ability and originality which are so conspicuous in every page. I was also aware that, for more than a century, the French veterinary schools have been celebrated for the careful and thorough manner in which anatomy has been taught by most efficient teachers, who are all selected by open com petition; and that Professor Chauveau’s book was the approved dissection manual of these and other Continental schools. […] » Présentation de l’éditeur (1873)