Aristotle's masterwork of comparative anatomy. Across four books, he examines the parts of animals — bones, organs, blood, and tissues — explaining the purpose each serves and why nature has constructed each animal the way it has.
Start ReadingMethod in natural science. Aristotle explains how to study animal parts — through teleological explanation, asking what purpose each part serves — and defends the dignity of biological investigation against those who consider it beneath philosophy.
Homogeneous parts (tissues). Aristotle examines blood, fat, bone, marrow, cartilage, and other uniform bodily substances, explaining their composition and the purposes they serve in the animal body.
The head, sense organs, and internal organs. Aristotle analyses the brain, eyes, ears, mouth, teeth, stomach, intestines, and other organs, explaining why each is constructed as it is and positioned where it is.
External parts, limbs, and appendages. Aristotle examines hands, feet, wings, fins, tails, horns, and other external structures, explaining their variations across species by reference to each animal's mode of life.