| Reference number | AP/23/40 |
| Level | File |
| Title | Unpublished paper, 'On the structure of normal and adventitious bone' by Alfred Smee |
| Date | November 1839 |
| Description | Smee begins by presenting a method of preparing sections of bone by cutting portions with a saw and polishing them with a piece of smooth leather before placing them in glass slides. He then presents observations on bone samples viewed under a microscope, describing the irregular canals in the bone (Haversian canals) and the whiteness of the corpuscles. Upon observing the corpuscles he makes four conclusions: that earthy matter pervades every part of the bone; that the corpuscles may exist without earthy matter being present; that the corpuscular canals communicate with the Haversian canals; that the corpuscles present themselves as opaque in 'fresh' bones and as transparent in bones that have been boiled. He describes unsuccessful attempts at filling the bone cavities with a coloured substance.
There are markings throughout the paper indicating where plates should be placed to accompany the text. Annotations in pencil throughout. Followed by an appendix and a covering letter dated 28 November 1839.
Subject: Physiology / Osteology
Received 24 November 1839. Read 5 December 1839. Communicated by Peter Mark Roget.
Written by Smee at the Bank of England [London]. |
| Extent | 28p |
| Format | Manuscript |
| Physical description | Ink and graphite pencil on paper |
| Digital images | View item on Science in the Making |
| Access status | Open |
| Related records in the catalogue | RR/1/227 |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | Name | Dates |
| NA3389 | Smee; Alfred (1818 - 1877) | 1818 - 1877 |
| NA6616 | Roget; Peter Mark (1779 - 1869); physician and philologist | 1779 - 1869 |