Terms used in embryological and histological study have been included only so far as seemed necessary to an understanding of the general works, and no attempt has been made to cover the terms applied to musculature and other details of microscopic structure: this has seemed rather to be outside of the scope of the present essay.
All color terms are reduced so far as possible to terms of the Windsor and Newton system of water colors which are standard in the English-speaking world, and the color plate shows solid blocks of those colors that seem necessary to explain all modifications except metallics, blacks and whites. { Scanner's note: color plate may be excluded, partly because it is in poor condition.}
The figures illustrating body structures and other details have been drawn under my supervision by Mr. John A. Grossbeck, and are meant to be guides merely - else the glossary would exceed its scope.
In the admission that the work is incomplete, no apology is intended for its publication; it is merely a statement of fact to encourage constructive rather than destructive criticism. It is hoped that those who note errors or omissions will communicate them to the writer so that when another edition is needed, as it will be before many years are past, a standard work may be possible.
Definitions of general application are as a rule given first, where more than one is necessary; next those of limited use, and finally the specific meaning in each order in which there is any notable difference.
Where a word has more than one ending, the difference is given after a hyphen which represents the stem word: e.g. ametabola -ous; the latter in place of ametabolous, which indicates the possession of the characters peculiar to the ametabola. Where there is an English and a Latin ending, the former is usually given with the word and the other is added: e.g. aequilate -us, instead of aequilatus, there being no difference in the application. Usually the singular form of the word is first given, and the plural ending is added; e.g.
but occasionally, when the plural is more commonly used, e.g. epimera -eron, this is reversed and the singular ending is added: when the two are different in form, e.g. foot and feet, the words are given separately, and so when there is a difference in the application, as in