"I believe that training in careful dissections is still the best discipline".

Abstract

The anatomist Alexander Macalister (Fig. 1) was born in Dublin, Ireland. Strikingly, he began his medical studies at the age of 14 when he was allowed to enter the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland. Soon after, he was appointed Demonstrator of Anatomy at the College. In 1877, he became Professor of Anatomy and Surgery at Trinity College and then in 1883, he became Chair of Anatomy at Cambridge. He was a prolific writer and is most remembered for his “Observations of Muscular Anomalies” published in 1871. Cheever (1933) quotes Macalister as saying, “I believe that training in careful dissections is still the best discipline.” Alexander Macalister, 1844–1919. In reference to Macalister, Barclay-Smith (1919) stated, “His facile eloquence, lightened by occasional flashes of quaint dry humour, would at times fascinate and almost mesmerize his hearers. Following no tradition, shackled by no exigencies of examination, a rich spring of anatomical knowledge, ornate with morphological illustration and historical interlude, flowed out in a quiet but inspiring stream.” “Although he knew more about the anatomy of the human body than any man living, anatomy after all was but a small part of his mental equipment.” For example, he was a mathematicican and fluent in many languages both living and dead (Barclay-Smith, 1919). The editors of Clinical Anatomy believe that Macalister would have found many of the papers in our current issue both appealing and compelling. As always, we welcome our readership's comments and suggestions on how our Journal can be improved.