SA.NTA R03A. 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
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 Received (J^ (^ . 
 
 uo.Jy-33y. 
 
HYGIENIC PHYSIOLOGY, 
 
 WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE USE OF 
 
 ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND NARCOTICS. 
 
 ADAPTED FROM THE 
 
 FOURTEEN WEEKS IN HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY," 
 
 BY 
 
 JOEL DORMAN STEELE, PH.D. 
 
 Edited and Endorsed for the use of Schools (in accordance with the recent 
 Legislation upon this subject ) by the Department of Scientific Temper- 
 ance Instruction of the W. C. T. U. of tJie United States, 
 under the direction of Mrs. Mary H. Hunt, Supt. 
 
 A. S. BARNES & COMPANY, 
 
 NEW YORK AND CHICAGO. 
 
BIOLOGY 
 
 THE FOURTEEN-WEEKS SERIES 
 
 NATURAL SCIENCE, 
 
 BY 
 
 J. DORMAN STEELE, PH.D., F.G.S. 
 
 New Physics. 
 
 New Chemistry. 
 
 New Descriptive Astronomy. 
 Popular Geology. 
 
 Human Ph)siology. 
 Zoology. 
 
 Botany. 
 
 A Key, containing Answers to the Questions and Problems in Steele's 
 14- Weeks Series. 
 
 3 3 U. 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SERIES, 
 
 ON THE PLAN OF STEELE'S I4-WEEKS IN THE SCIENCES. 
 
 A Brief History of the United States. 
 
 A Brief History of France. 
 
 A Brief History of Ancient Peoples. 
 
 A Brief History of Mediaeval and Modern Peoples. 
 
 A Brief General History. 
 
 A Br'ef History of Greece. 
 
 A Bref History of England. (In preparation.) 
 
 A Popular History of the United States. 
 
 Copyright, 1884, bv A. S. BARNES & CO. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THE term Physiology, or the science of the 
 functions of the body, has come to include 
 Anatomy, or the science of its structure, and 
 Hygiene, or the laws of health; the one being 
 essential to the proper understanding of physiol- 
 ogy, and the other being its practical application 
 to life. The three are intimately blended, and in 
 treating of the different subjects the author has 
 drawn no line of distinction where nature has 
 made none. This work is not prepared for the use 
 of medical students, but for the instruction of youth 
 in the principles which underlie the preservation of 
 health and the formation of correct physical habits. 
 All else is made subservient to this practical knowl- 
 edge. A simple scientific dress is used which, while 
 conducing to clearness, also gratifies that general 
 desire of children to know something of the nomen- 
 clature of any study they pursue. 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 To the description of each organ is appended an 
 account of its most common diseases, accidents, 
 etc., and, when practicable, their mode of treat- 
 ment. A pupil may thus learn, for example, the 
 cause and cure of a cold, the management of a 
 wound, or the nature of an inflammation. 
 
 The Practical Questions, which have been a prom- 
 inent feature of the series, will be found, it is hoped, 
 equally useful in this work. Directions for prepar- 
 ing simple microscopic objects, and illustrations of 
 the different organs, are given under each subject. 
 
 In the Appendix will be found Questions for class 
 use, Hints about the sick-room, Suggestions as to 
 what to do "till the doctor comes," Antidotes for 
 poisons, and a full Index. 
 
 Believing in a Divine Architect of the human 
 form, the author cannot refrain from occasionally 
 pointing out His inimitable workmanship, and im- 
 pressing the lesson of a Great Final Cause. 
 
 The author has gleaned from every field, at home 
 and abroad, to secure that which would interest and 
 profit his pupils. In general, Flint's great work on 
 the Physiology of Man, an undisputed authority on 
 both sides of the Atlantic, has been adopted as the 
 standard in digestion, respiration, circulation, and 
 the nervous system. Leidy's Human Anatomy, and 
 Sappey's Traite d'Anatomie have been followed on 
 all anatomical questions, and have furnished many 
 beautiful drawings. Huxley's Physiology has af- 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 forded exceedingly valuable aid. Foster's Text- 
 Book of Physiology, Hin ton's delightful work on 
 Health and its Conditions, Black's valuable Ten 
 Laws of Health, Williams's practical essay on Our 
 Eyes and How to Use them, Le Pileur's charming 
 treatise on The Wonders of the Human Body, and 
 that quaint volume, Odd Hours of a Physician, have 
 aided the author with facts and fancies. The writ- 
 ings of Draper, Dalton, Carpenter, Valentine, Ma- 
 pother, Watson, Lankester, Letheby, Hall, Hamil- 
 ton, Bell, Wilson, Bower, Cutter, Hutchison, Wood, 
 Bigelow, Stille, Holmes, Beigel and others have been 
 freely consulted. 
 
 PUBLISHERS' NOTE. 
 
 An ABRIDGED EDITION" of this work is published to 
 afford a cheaper manual adapted to Junior Classes and Com- 
 mon Schools. The abridgment contains the essence of this 
 text, nearly all its illustrations, and the whole of the Tem- 
 perance matter as here presented. 
 
 Order " Hygienic Physiology, Abridged." 
 
READING REFERENCES. 
 
 FOSTER'S Text book of Physiology. Leidy's Human Anatomy. Draper's Human 
 Physiology. Dalton's Physiology and Hygiene. Cutter's Physiology. Johnston 
 & Church's Chemistry of Common Life. Letheby's Food. Tyndall on Light, and 
 on Sound. Flint's Physiology of Man. Rosenthal's Physiology of the Muscles and 
 Nerves. Bernstein's Five Senses of Man. Huxley & Youmans's Physiology & 
 Hygiene. Sappey's Trait j d' Anatomic. Luys's Brain and its Functions. Smith's 
 Foods. Bain's Mind and Body. Pettigrew's Animal Locomotion. Carpenter's 
 Mental Physiology. Wilder and Gage's Anatomy. Jarvis's Physiology and Laws 
 of Health. 
 
 Hargreave's Alcohol and Science. Richardson's Ten Lectures on Alcohol, and 
 Diseases of Modern Life. Brown's Alcohol. Davis's Intemperance and Crime. 
 Pitman's Alcohol and the State. Anti-Tobacco. Howie's Stimulants and Narcotics. 
 Hunt's Alcohol as Food or Medicine. Schiitzenberger's Fermentation. Hub- 
 bard's Opium Habit and Alcoholism. 
 
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. 
 
 SEEING is believing, more than that, it is 
 often knowing and remembering. The mere 
 reading of a statement is of little value compared 
 with the observation of a fact. Every opportunity 
 should therefore be taken of exhibiting to the pupil 
 the phenomena described, and thus making them 
 real. A microscope is so essential to the under- 
 standing of many subjects, that it is indispensable 
 to the proper teaching of Physiology. A suitable 
 instrument and carefully prepared specimens show- 
 ing the structure of the bones, the skin, and the 
 blood of various animals, the pigment cells of the 
 eye, etc., may be obtained at a small cost from the 
 Publishers of this book. 
 
 On naming the subject of a paragraph, the pupil 
 should be prepared to tell all he knows about it. 
 No failure should discourage the teacher in estab- 
 lishing this mode of study and recitation. A little 
 practice will produce the most satisfactory results. 
 
X SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. 
 
 The unexpected question and the apt reply develop 
 a certain sharpness and readiness which are worthy 
 of cultivation. The questions for review, or any 
 others that the wit of the teacher may suggest, can 
 be effectively used to break the monotony of a 
 topical recitation, thereby securing the benefits of 
 both systems. 
 
 The pupil should expect to be questioned each day 
 upon any subject passed over during the term, and 
 thus the entire knowledge gained will be within his 
 grasp for instant use. While some are reciting to 
 the teacher, let others write on slates or on the 
 blackboard. At the close of the recitation let all 
 criticise the ideas, the spelling, the use of capitals, 
 the pronunciation, the grammar, and the mode of 
 expression. Greater accuracy and much collateral 
 drill may thus be secured at little expense of valu- 
 able school-time. 
 
 The Introduction is designed merely to furnish 
 suggestive material for the first lesson, preparatory 
 to beginning the study. Other topics may be found 
 in the questions given in the Appendix. In this 
 same connection read also the Conclusion. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 IN TROD UCTION , 1 
 
 I. 
 THE SKELE TON 5 
 
 I I. 
 THE MUSCLES 25 
 
 III. 
 THE SKIN 47 
 
 I V. 
 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE 71 
 
 V. 
 THE CIR CULA TLON 99 
 
 VI. 
 DIGESTION AND FOOD 137 
 
 VII. 
 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM., . 175 
 
Xll TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 209 
 
 1. TOUCH. 209 
 
 2. TASTE 213 
 
 3. SMELL 214 
 
 4. HEARING 216 
 
 5. SIGHT. 219 
 
 I X. 
 CONCL USION 231 
 
 X. 
 APPENDIX 235 
 
 x. HINTS ABOUT TH2 SICK-ROOM 237 
 
 2. DISINFECTANTS. 238 
 
 3. WHAT TO DO "TILL THE DOCTOR COMES" 238 
 
 4. ANT/DOTES TO POISONS 244 
 
 5. QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE 246 
 
 6. GLOSSARY 265 
 
 7 . INDEX 271 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 PHYSIOLOGICAL STUDY in youth is of in- 
 estimable value. Precious lives are frequently 
 lost through ignorance. Thousands squander 
 in early years the strength which should have been kept 
 for the work of real life. Habits are often formed in 
 youth which entail weakness and poverty upon manhood, 
 and are a cause of life-long regret. The use of a strained 
 limb may permanently damage it. Some silly feat of 
 strength may produce an irreparable injury. A thought- 
 less hour of reading by twilight may impair the sight for 
 life. A terrible accident may happen, and a dear friend 
 perish before our eyes, while we stand by powerless to 
 render the assistance we could so easily give did we "only 
 know what to do." The thousand little hints which may 
 save or lengthen life, may repel or abate disease, and the 
 simple laws which regulate our bodily vigor, should be so 
 familiar that we may be quick to apply them in an emer- 
 gency. The preservation of health is easier than the cure 
 of disease. .Childhood cannot afford to wait for the les- 
 son of experience which is learned only when the penalty 
 of violated law has been already incurred, and health 
 irrevocably lost. 
 
 Nature's Laws Inviolable. In infancy, we learn 
 how terribly Nature punishes a violation of certain laws, 
 and how promptly she applies the penalty. We soon find 
 out the peril of fire, falls, edged-tools, and the like. We 
 fail, however, to notice the equally sharp and certain 
 
2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 punishments which bad habits entail. We are quick to 
 feel the need of food, but not so ready to perceive the 
 danger of an excess. A lack of air drives us at once to 
 secure a supply ; but foul air is as fatal, yet gives us no 
 warning. 
 
 Nature provides a little training for us at the outset of 
 Me, but leaves the most for us to learn by bitter expe- 
 rience. So in youth we throw away our strength as if it 
 were a burden of which we desired to be rid. We eat 
 anything, and at any time ; do anything we please, and 
 sit up any number of nights with little or no sleep. Be- 
 cause we feel only a momentary discomfort from these 
 physical sins, we fondly imagine when that is gone we are 
 all right again. Our drafts upon our constitution are 
 promptly paid, and we expect this will always be the case; 
 but some day they will come back to us protested; Nature 
 will refuse to meet our demands, and we shall find our- 
 selves physical bankrupts. 
 
 We are furnished in the beginning with a certain vital 
 force upon which we may draw. We can be spendthrifts 
 and waste it in youth, or be wise and so husband it to 
 manhood. Our shortcomings are all charged against this 
 stock. Nature's memory never fails : she keeps her ac- 
 count with perfect exactness. Every physical sin sub- 
 tracts from the sum and strength of our years. We may 
 cure a disease, but it never leaves us as it found us. We 
 may heal a wound, but the scar still shows. We reap as 
 we sow, and we may either gather in the thorns, one by 
 one, to torment and destroy, or rejoice in the happy bar- 
 vest of a hale old age. 
 
THE SKELETON. 
 
 I. FORM, STRUCTURE, ETC., OF THE BONES. 
 
 ripHE Skeleton, or framework of the " House we 
 JL live in," is composed of about 200 bones.* 
 
 Uses and Forms of the Bones. They have three 
 principal uses : 1. To protect the delicate organs ; f 
 2. To serve as levers on which the muscles may act 
 to produce motion ; and 3. To preserve the shape of 
 the body. 
 
 Bones differ in form according to the uses they 
 subserve. For convenience in walking, some are 
 long for strength and compactness, some are short 
 and thick ; for covering a cavity, some are flat ; and 
 for special purposes, some are irregular. The gen- 
 eral form is such as to combine strength and light- 
 ness. For example, all the long bones of the limbs 
 are round and hollow, thus giving with the same 
 
 * The precise number varies in different periods of life. Several which are sep- 
 arated in youth become united in old age. Thus five of the tl false vertebrae." at the 
 base of the spine early join in one great bone the sacrum ; while four tiny ones 
 below it often run into a bony mass the coccyx (Fig. 6) ; in the child, the sternum 
 is composed of eight pieces, while in the adult it consists of only three. While, 
 however, the number of the bones is uncertain, their relative length is so exact that 
 the length of the entire skeleton, and thence the height of the man, can be obtained 
 by measuring a single one of the principal bones. Fossil bones and those found at 
 Pompeii have the same proportion as our own. 
 
 t An organ is a portion of the body designed for a particular use, called its func- 
 tion. Thus the heart circulates the blood ; the liver produces the bile. 
 
6 THE SKELETON. 
 
 weight a greater strength,* and also a larger surface 
 for the attachment of the muscles. 
 
 The Composition of the Bones at maturity is 
 about one part animal to two parts mineral matter. 
 The proportion varies with the age. In youth it is 
 nearly half and half, while in old age the mineral is 
 greatly in excess. By soaking a bone in weak muri- 
 atic acid, and thus dissolving the mineral matter, its 
 shape will not change, but its stiffness will disap- 
 pear, leaving a tough, gristly substance f (cartilage), 
 which can be bent like rubber. 
 
 If the bone be burned in the fire, thus consuming 
 the animal matter, the shape will still be the same, 
 but it will have lost its tenacity, and the beautiful, 
 pure-white residue! may be crumbled into powder 
 with the fingers. 
 
 We thus see that a bone receives hardness and 
 rigidity from its mineral, and tenacity and elastic- 
 ity from its animal matter. 
 
 * Cut a Bheet of foolscap in two pieces. Roll one-half into a compact cylinder, 
 and fold the other into a close, flat strip ; support the ends of each, and hang 
 weights in the middle until they bend. The superior strength of the roll will aston- 
 ish one unfamiliar with this mechanical principle. In a rod, the particles break in 
 succession, first those on the outside, and later those in the center. In a tube, the 
 particles are all arranged where they resist the first strain. Iron pillars are there- 
 fore cast hollow. Stalks of grass and grain are so light as to bend before a breath 
 of wind, yet are stiff enough to sustain their load of seed. 
 
 t Mix a wineglass of muriatic acid with a pint of water, nnd place in it a sheep's 
 rib. In a day or two, it will be so soft that it can be tied into a knot. In the same 
 way, an egg may be mode so pliable that it can be crowded into a narrow-necked 
 bottle, within which it will expand, and become an object of great curiosity to the 
 uninitiated. By boiling bones at a high temperature, the animal matter separates in 
 the form of gelatin. Dogs and cats extract the animal matter from the bones they 
 eat. Fossil bones deposited in the ground during the Geologic period, were found 
 by Cuvier to contain considerable animal matter. Gelatin was actually extracted 
 from the Cambridge mastodon, and made into glue. A tolerably nutritious food 
 might thus be manufactured from bones older than man himself. 
 
 t Prom bones thus calcined, the phosphorus of the chemist is made. See Chem- 
 istry, page 120. If the animal matter be not consumed, but only charred, the bone 
 will be black and brittle. In this way, the u bone-black " of commerce is manu- 
 factured. 
 
THE STRUCTUBE OF THE BONES. 
 
 The entire bone is at first composed 
 of cartilage, which gradually ossifies 
 or turns to bone.* Certain portions 
 near the joints are long delayed in this 
 process, and by their elasticity assist 
 [- in breaking the shock of a fall, f Hence 
 the bones of children are tough, are 
 not readily fractured, and when broken 
 easily heal again ;J while those of elder- 
 ly people are liable to fracture, and do 
 not quickly unite. 
 
 The Structure of the Bones. When 
 a bone is sawed lengthwise, it is found 
 to be a compact shell filled with a 
 spongy substance. This filling increases 
 in quantity, and becomes more porous 
 
 * " The ossification of the bones on the sides and upper 
 part of the skull, for example, begins by a rounded spot in 
 the middle of each one. From this spot the ossification ex- 
 tends outward in every direction, Ihus gradually approaching 
 the edges of the bone. When two adjacent, bones meet, there 
 will be a line where their edges are in contact with each 
 other, but have not yet united ; but when more than two 
 bones meet in this way, there will be an empty space between 
 them at their point of junction. Thus, if you lay down three 
 coins upon the table with their edges touching one another, 
 there will bo a three-sided space in the middle between them ; 
 if you lay down four coins in the same manner, the space between them 
 will be four-sided. Now at the back part of the head there is a spot where 
 three bonea come together in this way, leaving a small, three-sided opening 
 between them : this is called the " posterior fontanelle.' 1 On the top of the head 
 four bones come together, leaving between them a large, four-sided opening: this is 
 called the "anterior fontanelle.' 1 These openings are termed the fontanelles, 
 because we can feel the pulsations of the brain through them, like the bubbling 
 of water in a fountain. The fontanelles gradually diminish in size, owing to the 
 growth of the bony parts around them, and are completely closed at the age of four 
 years after birth." Dalian's Physiology, p. 331. 
 
 t Frogs and toads, which move by jumping, and consequently receive so many 
 jars, retain these unossified portions (epiphyses) nearly through life ; while alligators 
 and turtles, whose position is sprawling, and whose motions are measured, do not 
 have them at a\LLeidy. 
 
 t This is only one of the many illustrations of the Infinite care that watches over 
 helpless infancy, until knowledge and ability are acquired to meet the perils of life. 
 
 The thigh-bone, or 
 
 femur sawed 
 
 lengthwise. 
 
8 
 
 THE SKELETON. 
 
 at the ends of the bone, thus giving greater size to 
 form a strong joint, while the solid portion increases 
 near the middle, where strength alone is needed. 
 Each fiber of this bulky material diminishes the 
 shock of a sudden blow, and also acts as a beam to 
 
 Fig. 9. 
 
 
 A thin slice of bone, highly magnified, showing the lacunae, the tiny tubes (canal' 
 iculi) radiating from them, and four Eaversian canals, three seen crosswise and one 
 lengthwise. 
 
 brace the exterior wall. The recumbent position of 
 the alligator protects him from falls, and therefore 
 his bones contain very little spongy substance. 
 
 In the body, bones are not the dry, dead, blanched 
 things they commonly seem to be, but are moist, 
 living, pinkish structures, covered with a tough 
 membrane called the per-i-os'-te-um,* (peri, around, 
 
 * The relations of the periosteum to the bone are very interesting. Instances are 
 on record where the bone has been removed, leaving the periosteum, from which 
 the entire bone waa afterward renewed. 
 
GROWTH OF THE BONES. 
 
 and osteon, a bone), while the hollow is filled 
 with marrow, rich in fat, and full of blood-vessels. 
 If we examine a thin slice with the microscope, 
 we shall see black spots with lines running in all 
 directions, and looking very like minute insects. 
 These are really little cavities called la-cu-nce* 
 from which radiate tiny tubes. The lacunae are 
 arranged in circles around larger tubes, termed 
 from their discoverer, Haversian canals, which serve 
 as passages for the blood-vessels that nourish the 
 bone. 
 
 jN Growth of the Bones. By means of this system 
 of canals, the blood circulates as freely through the 
 bones as through any part of the body. The whole 
 structure is constantly but slowly changing, f old 
 material being taken out and new put in. A curi- 
 ous illustration is seen in the fact that if madder 
 be mixed with the food of pigs, it will tinge their 
 bones red. 
 
 Repair of the Bones. When a bone is broken, the 
 blood at once oozes out of the fractured ends. This 
 soon gives place to a watery fluid, which in a fort- 
 night thickens to a gristly substance strong enough 
 to hold them in place. Bone-matter is then slowly 
 deposited, which in five or six weeks will unite the 
 broken parts. Nature, at first, apparently endeavors 
 to remedy the weakness of the material by excess in 
 the quantity, and so the new portion is larger than 
 the old. But the extra matter will be gradually 
 
 * When the- bone is dry, the lacnnse are filled with air, which refracts the light, so 
 that none of it reaches the eye, and hence the cavities appear black. 
 
 t Bone is sometimes produced with surprising rapidity. The great Irish Elk is 
 calc-ulated by Prof. Owen to have cast off and renewed annually in its antlers eighty 
 pounds of bone. 
 
10 THE SKELETON. 
 
 absorbed, sometimes so perfectly as to leave no trace 
 of the injury. 
 
 A broken limb should always be held in place 
 by splints to enable this process to go on uninter- 
 ruptedly, and also lest a sudden jar might rupture 
 the partially-mended break. For a long time, the 
 new portion consists largely of animal matter, and 
 so is tender and pliable. The utmost care is there- 
 fore necessary to prevent a malformation. 
 
 The Joints are packed with a soft, smooth carti- 
 lage, or gristle, which fits so perfectly as often to be 
 air-tight. Upon convex surfaces, it is thickest at the 
 middle, and upon concave surfaces, it is thickest at 
 the edge, or where the wear is greatest. In addi- 
 tion, the ends of the bones are covered with a thin 
 membrane, the ^ynovial (sun, with ; ovum, an egg), 
 which secretes a viscid fluid, not unlike the white of 
 an egg. This lubricates the joints, and prevents the 
 noise and wear of friction. The body is the only 
 machine that oils itself. 
 
 The bones which form the joint are tied with stout 
 ligaments (^o, I bind), or bands, of a smooth, silvery 
 white tissue,* so strong that the bones are sometimes 
 broken without injuring the fastenings. 
 
 * The general term tissue is applied to the various textures of which the organs 
 arc composed. For example, the osseous tissue forms the bones; the fibrous tissue, 
 the skin, tendons, and ligaments. 
 
THE HEAD. 
 
 11 
 
 II. CLASSIFICATION OF THE BONES. 
 
 For convenience, the bones of the skeleton are 
 considered in three divisions : the head, the trunk, 
 and the limbs. 
 
 1. THE HEAD. 
 
 Fig. U. 
 
 The Skull. 1, frontal bone; 3, parietal bone; 3, temporal bone; A, the sphenoid 
 bone; 5, eilimoid bone; 6, superior maxillary (upper jaw) bone; 7, malar bone; 
 8, lachrymal bone ; 9, nasal bone ; 10, inferior maxillary (lower jaw) bone. 
 
 The Bones of the Skull and the Face form a 
 cavity for the protection of the brain and the four 
 organs of sense, viz. : sight, smell, taste, and hear- 
 ing. All of these bones are immovable except the 
 
12 THE SKELETON. 
 
 lower jaw, which is hinged* at the back so as to 
 allow for the opening and shutting of the mouth. 
 
 The Skull is composed, in general, of two compact 
 plates, with a spongy layer between. These are in 
 several pieces, the outer ones being joined by notched 
 edges (sutures, sut'yurs) in the way carpenters term 
 dove-tailing. (See Fig. 4.) 
 
 The peculiar structure and form of the skull afford 
 a perfect shelter for the brain an organ so delicate 
 that, if unprotected, an ordinary blow would destroy 
 it. Its oval or egg shape adapts it to resist pressure. 
 The smaller and stronger end is in front, where the 
 danger is greatest. Projections before and behind 
 shield the less protected parts. The hard plates are 
 not easy to penetrate, f The spongy packing deadens 
 every blow. J The separate pieces with their curious 
 joinings disperse any jar which one may receive, and 
 also prevent fractures from spreading. 
 
 The frequent openings in this strong bone-box 
 afford safe avenues for the passage of numerous 
 nerves and vessels which communicate between the 
 brain and the rest of the body. 
 
 * A ring of cartilage is inserted in its joints, something after the manner of a 
 washer in machinery. This follows the movements of the jaw, and admits of freer 
 motion, while it guards against dislocation. 
 
 t Instances have been known where bnllets striking nsainst the skiill have 
 glanced off, been flattened, or even split into halves. In the Peninsular Campaign, 
 the author saw a man who had been struck in the forehead by a bullet which, 
 instead of penetrating the brain, had followed the skull around to the back of the 
 head, and there passed out. 
 
 $ An experiment resembling the familiar one of the balls in 
 Fig. 5. Natural Philosophy (Steele's Physics, Fig. 7, p. 30), beautifully 
 
 illustrates this point. Several balls of ivory are suspended by 
 cords, as in Fig. 5. If A be raised and then let fall, it will transmit 
 the force to B, and that to C, and so on until F is reached, which 
 will fly off with the impulse. If now a ball of spongy bone be 
 substituted for an ivory one anywhere in the line, the force will 
 be checked, and the last ball will not stir. 
 
1?HE SPINAL COLUMN. 
 
 Fig. 6. 
 
 2. THE TRUNK. 
 
 The Trunk has two important cav- 
 ities. The upper part, or chest, con- 
 tains the heart and the lungs, and 
 the lower part, or abdomen, holds the 
 stomach, liver, kidneys, and other or- 
 gans (Fig. 31). The principal bones 
 are those of the spine, the ribs, and 
 the hips. 
 
 The Spine consists of twenty-four 
 bones, between which are placed pads 
 of cartilage.* A canal is hollowed 
 out of the column for the safe pas- 
 sage of the spinal cord. (See Fig. 50.) 
 Projections (processes) at the back 
 and on either side are abundant for 
 the attachment of the muscles. The 
 packing acts as a cushion to prevent 
 any jar from reaching the brain when 
 we jump or run, while the double 
 curve of the spine also tends to dis- 
 perse the force of a fall. Thus on 
 every side the utmost caution is 
 taken to guard that precious gem 6 
 in its casket. 
 
 The Perfection of the Spine sur- 
 passes all human contrivances. Its 
 various uses seem a bundle of con- 
 
 The Spine; 
 the seven ver- 
 feWV the 
 neck, cervical; 
 the ttqelve of 
 the odcJc, dor- 
 Mi the JM of 
 the loins, lumbar ; a, 
 the sacrum, and b, the 
 coccyx, comprising the 
 nine "false 
 (p.5)/ 
 
 * These pads vary in thickness from one-fourth to one-half an inch. They become 
 condensed by the weight they bear during the day, so that we are somewhat shorter 
 at evening than in the morning. Their elasticity causes them to resume their usual 
 size during the night, or when we lie down for a time. 
 
14 
 
 THE SKELETON. 
 
 tradictions. A chain of twenty-four bones is made 
 so stiff that it will bear a heavy burden, and so flex- 
 ible that it will bend like rubber ; yet, all the while, 
 it transmits no shock, and even hides a delicate nerve 
 within that would thrill with the slightest touch. 
 Resting upon it, the brain is borne without a tremor ; 
 and, clinging to it, the vital organs are carried with^ 
 out fear of harm. 
 
 Fig. 7. 
 
 B, the first cervical vertebra, the atlas ; A, the atlas, and the second cervical vertebra, 
 the axis ; e, the odontoid process ; c, the foramen. 
 
 The Skull Articulates with (is jointed to) the spine 
 in a peculiar manner. On the top of the upper ver- 
 tebra (atlas*) are two little hollows (a, &, Fig. 7), 
 nicely packed and lined with the synovial mem- 
 brane, into which fit the corresponding projections 
 on the lower part of the skull, and thus the head can 
 rock to and fro. The second vertebra (axis) has a 
 peg, e, which projects through a hole, c, in the first. 
 
 The surfaces of both vertebrae are so smooth that 
 they easily glide on each other, and thus, when we 
 move the head sidewise, the atlas turns around the 
 peg, e, of the axis. 
 
 The Ribs, also twenty-four in number, are arranged 
 in pairs on each side of the chest. At the back, they 
 
 * Thna called because, as, In ancient fable, the god Atlas supported the world on 
 bis shoulders, so in the body this bone bears the head. 
 
THE BIBS. 15 
 
 The Thorax, or Chest : a, the. sternum ; b to c, the true ribs ; d to h, the false ribs ; 
 g, h, the floating ribs ; i k, the dorsal vertebrae. 
 
 are all attached to the spine. In front, the upper 
 seven pairs are tied by cartilages to the breast-bone 
 (sternum) ; three are fastened to each other and the 
 cartilage above, and two, the floating ribs, are loose. 
 The natural form of the chest is that of a cone 
 diminishing upward. But, owing to the tightness of 
 the clothing commonly worn, the reverse is often 
 the case. The long, slender ribs give lightness,* the 
 arched form confers strength, and the cartilages 
 impart elasticity, properties essential to the pro- 
 tection of the delicate organs within, and to freedom 
 of motion in respiration. (See note, p. 80.) 
 
 * If the chest-wall were in one bone thick enough to resiet a blow, it would be 
 unwieldy and heavy. As it is, the separate bones bound by cartilages yield gradu- 
 ally, and diffuse the force among them all, and so are rarely broken. 
 
16 THE SKELETON. 
 
 rig. 9. 
 
 The Pelvis : a, the sacrum ; b, b, the right and the left innominatum. 
 
 The Hip-bones, called by anatomists the innomi- 
 nata, or nameless bones, form an irregular basin 
 styled the pelvis (pelvis, a basin). In the upper part, 
 is the foot of the spinal column a wedge-shaped 
 bone termed the sacrum* (sacred), firmly planted 
 here between the wide-spreading and solid bones of 
 the pelvis, like the keystone to an arch, and giving 
 a steady support to the heavy burden above. 
 
 
 3. THE LIMBS. 
 
 Two Sets of Limbs branch from the trunk, viz. : 
 the upper, and the lower. They closely resemble each 
 other. The arm corresponds to the thigh ; the fore- 
 arm, to the leg ; the wrist, to the ankle ; the fingers, 
 to the toes. The fingers and the toes are so much 
 alike that they receive the same name, digits, while 
 the several bones of both have also the common 
 appellation, phalanges. The differences which exist 
 
 * So called because it was anciently offered in sacrifice. 
 
THE SHOULDER. 
 
 17 
 
 Fig. 10. 
 
 grow out of their varying uses. The foot is charac- 
 terized by strength ; the hand, by mobility. 
 
 1. The Upper Limbs. The Shoulder. The bones 
 of the shoulder are the collar-bone (clavicle), and 
 the shoulder-blade (scapula). The clavicle (clavis, a 
 key) is a long, slender bone, shaped like 1;he Italic 
 /. It is fastened at one end to the breast-bone and 
 the first rib, and, at the other, 
 to the shoulder-blade. (See 
 Fig. 1.) It thus holds the 
 shoulder - joint out from the 
 chest, and gives the arm 
 greater play. If it be removed 
 or broken, the head of the arm- 
 bone will fall, and the motions 
 of the arm be greatly re- 
 stricted. * 
 
 The Shoulder-bladg is a thin, 
 flat, triangular bone, fitted to 
 the top and back of the chest, 
 and designed to give a founda- 
 tion for the muscles of the 
 shoulder. 
 
 The Shoulder - joint. The 
 
 arm-bone, or humerus, articulates with the shoul- 
 der-blade by a ball-and-socket joint. This consists 
 of a cup-like cavity in the latter bone, and a rounded 
 head in the former, to fit it, thus affording a free 
 rotary motion. The shallowness of the socket ac- 
 counts for /the frequent dislocation of this joint, but a 
 deeper one would diminish the easy swing of the arm. 
 
 * Animals which use the forelegs only for support (as the horse, ox, etc ) do not 
 possess this bone. " It is found in those that dig, fly, climb, and seize." 
 
 The Shoulder-joint ; a, the 
 clavicle ; b, the scapula. 
 
18 
 
 THE SKELETON. 
 
 Fig.it The Elbow. At the el- 
 
 bow, the humerus articulates 
 with the ulna a slender 
 bone on the inner side of 
 the forearm by a hinge- 
 joint which admits of mo- 
 tion in only two directions, 
 i. e., backward and forward. 
 The ulna is small at its 
 lower end; the radius, or 
 large bone of the forearm, 
 on the contrary, is small at 
 its upper end, while it is 
 large at its lower end, where 
 it forms the wrist- joint. At 
 the elbow, the head of the 
 radius is convex and fits into 
 a shallow cavity in the ulna, 
 while at the wrist the ulna 
 plays in a similar socket in 
 
 the radius. Thus the radius may roll over and even 
 cross the ulna. 
 
 The Wrist, or carpus, consists of two rows of 
 very irregular bones, one of which articulates with 
 the fore-arm ; the other, with the hand. They are 
 placed side to side and so firmly fastened as to 
 admit of only a gliding motion. This gives little 
 play, but great strength, elasticity, and power of 
 resisting shocks. 
 
 The Hand. The metacarpal (meta, beyond ; and 
 karpos, wrist), or bones of the palm, support each 
 a thumb or finger. Each finger has three bones 
 
 B A 
 
 Bones of the right Fore-arm ; H, 
 the humerus; R, the radius; and 
 U, the ulna. 
 
THE HAND. 
 
 19 
 
 Bones of the Hand and the Wrist. 
 
 while the thumb has only msft If> 
 
 two. The first bone of 
 
 the thumb, standing apart 
 
 from the rest, enjoys a 
 
 special freedom of motion, 
 
 and adds greatly to the 
 
 usefulness of the hand. 
 
 The first bone (Figs. 11, 
 12) of each finger is so 
 attached to the correspond- 
 ing metacarpal bone as to 
 move in several directions 
 upon it, but the other pha- 
 langes form hinge- joints. 
 
 The fingers are named 
 in order : the thumb, the 
 index, the middle, the ring, and the little finger. 
 Their different lengths cause them to fit the hollow 
 of the hand when it is closed, and probably enable 
 us more easily to grasp objects of varying size. If 
 the hand clasps a ball, the tips of the fingers will be 
 in a straight line. 
 
 The hand in its perfection belongs only to man. 
 Its elegance of outline, delicacy of mold, and beauty 
 of color have made it the study of artists ; while its 
 exquisite mobility and adaptation as a perfect 
 instrument have led many philosophers to attribute 
 man's superiority even more to the hand than to the 
 mind.* 
 
 * How constantly the hand aids us in explaining or enforcing a thought 1 We 
 affirm a fact by placing the hand as if we would rest it firmly on a body ; we deny 
 by a gesture putting the false or erroneous proposition away from us ; we express 
 doubt by holding the hand suspended, as if hesitating whether to take or reject. 
 When we part from dear friends, or greet them again after long absence, the hand 
 
20 
 
 THE SKELETON. 
 
 Fly. IS. 
 
 The Hip-joint. 
 
 2. The Lower Limbs. The Hip. The thigh-bone, 
 or femur, is the largest and necessarily the strongest 
 in the skeleton, since at every step it has to bear 
 the weight of the whole body. It articulates with 
 the hip-bone by a ball-and-socket joint. Unlike the 
 shoulder- joint j the cup here is deep, thus affording 
 less play, but greater strength. It fits so tightly that 
 the pressure of the air largely aids in keeping the 
 bones in place.* Indeed, when the muscles are cut 
 away, great force is required to detach the limbs. 
 
 extends toward them as if to retain, or to bring them sooner to us. If a recital or a 
 proposition is revolting, we reject it energetically in gesture as in thought. In a 
 friendly adieu we wave our good wishes to him who is their object ; but when it 
 expresses enmity, by a brusque movement we sever every tie. The open hand is 
 carried backward to express fear or horror, as well as to avoid contact; it goes for- 
 ward to meet the hand of friendship ; it is raissd snppliantly in prayer toward 
 Him from whom we hope for help : it caresses lovingly the downy cheek of the 
 infant, and rests on its head invoking the blessing of Heaven. Wonders of the 
 Human Body. 
 
 * In order to test this, a hole was bored through a hip-bone so as to admit air into 
 the socket ; the thigh-bone at once fell out as far as the ligaments would permit. An 
 
THE FOOT. 21 
 
 The Knee is strengthened by the patella, or knee- 
 pan (patella, little dish), a chestnut-shaped bone 
 firmly fastened over the joint. 
 
 The shin-bone, or tibia, the large, triangular bone 
 on the inner side of the leg, articulates both with the 
 femur and the foot by a hinge-joint. The knee-joint 
 is so made, however, as to admit of a slight rotary 
 motion when the limb is not extended. 
 
 The fibula (fibula, a clasp), the small, outside bone 
 of the leg, is firmly bound at both ends to the tibia. 
 (See Fig. 1.) It is immovable, and, as the tibia bears 
 the principal weight of the body, the chief use of 
 this second bone seems to be to give more surface to 
 which the muscles may be attached.* 
 
 The Foot The general arrangement of the foot is 
 strikingly like that of the hand (Fig. 1). The several 
 parts are the tarsus, the metatarsus, and the pha- 
 langes. The graceful arch of the foot, and the nu- 
 merous bones joined by cartilages, give an elasticity 
 to the step that could never be attained by a single, 
 flat bone. The toes naturally lie straight forward in 
 the line of the foot. Few persons in civilized nations, 
 however, have naturally -formed feet. The big toe 
 
 experiment was also devised whereby a suitably-prepared hip-joint was placed under 
 the receiver of an air-pump. On exhausting the air, the weight of the femur caused 
 it to drop out of the socket, while the re-admission of the air raised it to its place. 
 Without this arrangement, the adjacent muscles would have been compelled to bear 
 the additional weight of the thigh-bone every time it was raised. Now the pressure 
 of the air rids them of this unnecessary burden, and hence they are less easily 
 fatigued. Weber. 
 
 * A young man in the hospital at Limoges had lost the middle part of his tibia. 
 The lost bone was not reproduced, but the fibula, the naturally weak and slender 
 part of the leg, became thick and strong enough to support the whole body. An 
 experiment has been performed which illustrates this idea still more strikingly. An 
 inch of the middle part of the fibula of an animal was cut out. A long time after- 
 ward the beast was killed, when the tibia was found to have become considerably 
 larger in that part of it which corresponded exactly with the defect in the fibula. 
 Stanley^ Lectures. 
 
22 THE SKELETON. 
 
 is crowded upon the others, while crossed toes, nails 
 grown-in, enormous joints,corns,and bunions abound. 
 
 The Cause of these Deformities is found in the 
 shape and size of fashionable boots and shoes. The 
 sole ought to be large enough for full play of motion, 
 the uppers should not crowd the toes, and the heels 
 should be low, flat, and broad. As it is, there is a 
 constant warfare between Nature and our shoe- 
 makers,* and we are the victims. The narrow point 
 in front pinches our toes, and compels them to over- 
 ride one another; the narrow sole compresses the 
 arch ; while the high heel, by throwing all the 
 weight forward on the toes, strains the ankle, and, 
 by sending the pressure where Nature did not 
 design it to fall, causes that joint to become en- 
 larged. The body bends forward to meet the 
 demand of this new motion, and thus loses its up- 
 rightness and beauty, making our gait stiff and un- 
 graceful. 
 
 Diseases, etc. 1. THE RICKETS are caused by a 
 lack of mineral matter in the bones, rendering them 
 soft and pliable, so that they bend under the weight 
 of the body. They thus become permanently dis- 
 torted, and of course are weaker than if they were 
 straight, f The disease is cured by a more nutritive 
 
 * When we are measured for boots or shoes, we should stand on a sheet of 
 paper, and have the shoemaker mark with a pencil the exact outline of our feet as 
 they hear our whole weight. When the shoe is made, the sole should exactly cover 
 this outline. 
 
 t Just here appears an exceedingly beautiful provision. As soon as the dispro- 
 portion of animal matter censes, a larger supply of mineral is sent to the weak 
 points, and the hones actually become thicker, denser, harder, and consequently 
 stronger at the very concave part where the stress of pressure is greatest. Watson's 
 Lectures. We shall often have occasion to refer to similar wise and providential 
 arrangements whereby the body is enabled to remedy defects, and to prepare for 
 accidents. 
 
DISEASES, ETC. 23 
 
 diet, or by taking phosphate of lime to supply the 
 lack. 
 
 2. A FELON is a swelling of the finger or thumb, 
 usually of the last joint. It is marked by an accu- 
 mulation beneath the periosteum and next the bone. 
 The physician will merely cut through the perios^- 
 teum, and let out the effete matter. 
 
 3. BOWLEGS are caused by children standing on 
 their feet before the bones of the lower limbs are 
 strong enough to bear their weight. The custom of 
 encouraging young children to stand up by means 
 of a chair or the support of the hand, while the bones 
 are yet soft and pliable, is a cruel one, and liable to 
 produce permanent deformity. Nature will set the 
 child on its feet when the proper time comes. 
 
 4. CURVATURE OF THE SPINE. When the spine is 
 bent, the packing between the vertebrae becomes 
 compressed on one side into a wedge-like shape. 
 After a time, it will lose its elasticity, and the spine 
 become distorted. This occurs frequently in the 
 case of students who bend forward to bring their 
 eyes nearer their books, instead of lifting their 
 books nearer their eyes, or who raise their right 
 shoulder above their left when writing at a desk 
 which is too high. Round shoulders, small, weak 
 lungs, and, oftentimes, diseases of the spine are the 
 consequences. An erect posture in reading or writ- 
 ing conduces not alone to beauty of form, but also 
 to health of body. 
 
 5. SPRAINS are produced when the ligaments 
 which bind the bones of a joint are strained, twisted, 
 or torn from their attachments. They are quite as 
 harmful as a broken bone, and require careful atten- 
 
24 THE SKELETON. 
 
 tion lest they lead to a crippling for life. The use of 
 a sprained limb may permanently impair its useful- 
 ness. Hence, the joint should be kept quiet, even 
 after the immediate pain is gone. 
 
 6. A DISLOCATION is produced by the rupture of 
 the tissues of the joint so that the head of the bone 
 is driven out of its socket and into some other place 
 both by the force of the blow which caused the 
 injury and by the contraction of the muscles. 
 
 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 1. Why does not a fall hurt a child as much as it does a grown 
 person ? 
 
 2. Should a young child ever be urged to stand or walk? 
 
 3. What is meant by " breaking one's neck " ? 
 
 4. Should chairs or benches have straight backs? 
 
 5. Should a child's feet be allowed to dangle from a high seat ? 
 
 6. Why can we tell whether a fowl is young by pressing on the point 
 of the breast-bone ? 
 
 7. What is the use of the marrow in the bones? 
 
 8. Why is the shoulder so often put out of joint ? 
 
 9. How can you tie a knot in a bone ? 
 
 10. Why are high pillows injurious? 
 
 11. Is the " Grecian bend " a healthful position ? 
 
 12. Should a boot have a heel-piece? 
 
 13. Why should one always sit and walk erect ? 
 
 14. Why does a young child creep rather than walk ? 
 
 15. What is the natural direction of the big toe ? 
 
II. 
 THE MUSCLES. 
 
 " Behold the outivard moving frame \ 
 Its living marbles jointed strong 
 With glistening band and silvery thong % 
 And link'd to reason's guiding reins 
 By myriad rings in trembling chains, 
 Each graven with the threaded zone 
 Which claims it as the Master's own*' 
 
 HOLMES, 
 
BLACKBOARD ANALYSIS. 
 
 1 THE USE, STRUCTURE, 
 AND ACTION OP THE 
 MUSCLES. 
 
 2. THE MUSCULAR SENSE. 
 
 HYGIENE OP 
 MUSCLES. 
 
 1. The use of the muscles. 
 
 2. Contractility of the muscles. 
 
 3. Arrangement of the muscles. 
 
 4. The two kinds of muscles. 
 
 5. The structure of the muscles. 
 
 6. The tendons for fastening muscles, 
 
 7. The muscles and bones as levers. 
 
 8. The effect of big joints. 
 
 9. Action of the muscles in standing. 
 10. Action of the muscles in walking. 
 
 1. Necessity of Exercise. 
 
 2. Time for Exercise. 
 
 3. Kinds of Exercise. 
 
 4. WONDERS OF THE MUSCLES. 
 
 5. DISEASES 
 
 1. St. Vitns's Dance. 
 
 2. Convulsions. 
 
 3. Locked-jaw. 
 
 4. Gout. 
 
 5. Rheumatism. 
 
 6. Lumbago. 
 
 7. A Ganglion. 
 
THE MUSCLES. 
 
 rpHE Use of the Muscles. The skeleton is the 
 J- image of death. Its unsightly appearance in- 
 stinctively repels us. We have seen, however, what 
 uses it subserves in the body, and how the ugly- 
 looking bones abound in nice contrivances and inge- 
 nious workmanship. In life, the framework is 
 hidden by the flesh. This covering is a mass of 
 muscles, which not only give form and symmetry 
 to the body, but also produce its varied movements. 
 
 In Fig. 14, we see the large exterior muscles. Be- 
 neath these are many others ; while deeply hidden 
 within are tiny, delicate ones, too small to .be seen 
 with the naked eye. There are, in all, about five 
 hundred, each having its special use, and all working 
 in exquisite harmony and perfection. 
 
 Contractility. The peculiar property of the muscles 
 is their power of contraction, whereby they decrease 
 in length and increase in thickness.* This may be 
 caused by an effort of the will, by cold, by a sharp 
 blow, &c. It does not cease at death, but, in certain 
 cold-blooded animals, a contraction^ the muscles is 
 often noticed long after the head has been cut off. 
 
 * The maximum force of this contraction has been estimated as high as from 85 
 to 114 pounds per square inch. 
 
30 THE MUSCLES. 
 
 Arrangement of the Muscles.* The muscles 
 are nearly all arranged in pairs, each with its 
 antagonist, so that, as they contract and expand 
 alternately, the bone to which they are attached is 
 moved to and fro. 
 
 If you grasp the arm tightly with your hand just 
 above the elbow- joint, and bend the forearm, you 
 will feel the muscle on the inside (biceps, a, Fig. 14) 
 swell, and become hard and prominent, while the 
 outside muscle (triceps, /) will be relaxed. Now 
 straighten the arm, and the swelling and hardness 
 of the inside muscle will vanish, while the outside 
 one will, in turn, become rigid. So, also, if you clasp 
 the arm just below the elbow, and then open and 
 shut the fingers, you can feel the alternate expand- 
 ing and relaxing of the muscles on opposite sides of 
 the arms. 
 
 If the muscles on one side of the face become 
 palsied, those on the other side will draw the mouth 
 that way. Squinting is caused by one of the straight 
 muscles of the eye (Fig. 17) contracting more 
 strongly than its antagonist. 
 
 Kinds of Muscles. There are two kinds of muscles, 
 the voluntary, which are under the control of our 
 will, and the involuntary, which are not. Thus our 
 limbs stiffen or relax as we please, but the heart 
 beats on by day and by night. The eyelid, however, 
 
 * " Could we behold properly thn muscular fibers in operation, nothing, as a mere 
 mechanical exhibition, can be conceived more superb than the intricate and com- 
 bined actions that must take place during our most common movement?. Look nt a 
 person running or leaping, or watch the motions of the eye. How rapid, how deli- 
 cate, how complicated, and 3 - et how accurate, are the motions required 1 Think of 
 the endurance of Buch a muscle as the heart, that can contract, with a force eqnal to 
 sixty pounds, seventy-five times every minute, for eighty years together, without 
 being weary." 
 
THE STRUCTURE OF THE MUSCLES. 31 
 
 is both voluntary and involuntary, so that while we 
 wink constantly without effort, we can, to a certain 
 extent, restrain or control the motion. 
 
 Structure of the Muscles. If we take a piece of 
 lean beef and wash out the red color, we can easily 
 detect the fine fibers of which the meat is composed. 
 In boiling corned beef for the table, the fibers often 
 separate, owing to the dissolving of the delicate 
 tissue which bound them together. By means of 
 the microscope, we find that these fibers are made 
 up of minute filaments (fibrils), and that each fibril 
 is composed of a row of small cells arranged like a 
 string of beads. This gives the muscles a peculiar 
 striped (striated) appearance.* The cells are filled 
 with a fluid or semi-fluid mass of living (protoplas- 
 mic) matter. 
 
 The binding of so many threads into one bundle f 
 confers great strength, according to a mechanical 
 
 Fig. 15. 
 
 Microscopic view of a Muscle, showing, at one end, the fibrillce, ; and, at the other, 
 the disks, or cells, of the Jiber. 
 
 principle that we see exemplified in suspension 
 bridges, where the weight is sustained, not by bars 
 
 * The involuntary muscles consist generally of smooth, fihrons tissue, and form 
 sheets or membranes in the walls of hollow organs. By their contraction they 
 change the size of cavities which they enclose. Some functions, however, like the 
 action of the heart, or the movements of deglutition (swallowing), require the rapid, 
 vigorous contraction, characteristic of the voluntary muscular tissue. Flint. 
 
 t We shall learn hereafter how thcee fibers are firmly tied together by a mesh of 
 fine connective tissue which dissolves in boiling, as just described. 
 
THE MUSCLES. 
 
 Fig. 16. 
 
 of iron, but by small wires twisted into massive 
 ropes. 
 
 The Tendons. The ends of the muscles are gene- 
 rally attached to the bone by strong, flexible, but 
 inelastic tendons. * The muscular fibers spring from 
 
 the sides of the tendon, so 
 that more of them can act 
 upon the bone than if they 
 went directly to it. Besides, 
 the small, insensible tendon 
 can better bear the exposure 
 of passing over a joint, and 
 be more easily lodged in some 
 protecting groove, than the 
 broad, sensitive muscle. This 
 mode of attachment gives to 
 the limbs strength, and ele- 
 gance of form. Thus, for 
 example, if the large muscles 
 of the arm extended to the 
 hand, they would make it 
 bulky and clumsy. The ten- 
 dons, however, reach only to 
 the wrist, whence fine cords 
 pass to the fingers (Fig. 1G). 
 
 Here we notice two other 
 admirable arrangements. 1. 
 If the long tendons at the 
 wrist on contracting should 
 rise, projections would be made and thus the beauty of 
 
 Tendon* qf Hie Hand. 
 
 * The tendons may be easily seen in the leg of a turkey as it comes on our table ; 
 BO, at a Thanksgiving dinner, we may study Physiology while we pick the bones. 
 
THE TENDONS. 
 
 33 
 
 the slender joint be marred. To prevent this, a stout 
 band or bracelet of ligament holds them down to 
 their place. 2. In order to allow the tendon which 
 moves the last joint of the finger to pass through, 
 the tendon which moves the second joint divides 
 at its attachment to the bone (Fig. 16). This is the 
 most economical mode of packing the muscles, as 
 any other practicable arrangement would increase 
 the bulk of the slender finger. 
 
 Fig. 17. 
 
 The Muscles of the Right Eye. A, superior straight , B, superior oblique passing 
 through a pulley, D ; G, inferior oblique ; H, external straight, and, back of it, the 
 internal straight muscle. 
 
 Since the tendon cannot always pull in the direc- 
 tion of the desired motion, some contrivance is 
 necessary to meet the want. The tendon (B) be- 
 longing to one of the muscles of the eye, for 
 example, passes through a ring of cartilage, and 
 
 thus a rotary motion is secured. 
 
 \ 
 
34 
 
 THE MUSCLES. 
 
 The Levers of the Body.* In producing the mo, 
 tions of the body, the muscles use the bones as levers. 
 
 Flq. 18. 
 
 / \ ', \ \ \ 
 
 i. 11. ILL 
 
 The three classes of Levers, and also the foot as a Lever. 
 
 We see an illustration of the first class of levers in 
 the movements of the head. The back or front of 
 the head is the weight to be lifted, the backbone is 
 
 Fig. 19. 
 
 The hand as a Lever of the third class. 
 
 the fulcrum on which the lever turns, and the 
 muscles at the back or front of the neck exert the 
 power by which we toss or bow the head. 
 
 * A lever is a Ptiff bar resting on a point of support, called the fulcrum (FY and 
 having connected with it a weight (W) to be lifted, dhd a poirtr (P) to move it. 
 There are three classes of levers according to the arrangement of the power, weight, 
 and fulcrum. In tho 1st class, the F is between the P and W ; in the 2d, the W is 
 between the P and F ; and in the 3d, the P is between the W and F (Fig. 18). A 
 pump-handle is an example of the first; a lemon-squeezer, of the second; and a pair 
 of fire-tongs, of the third. See Physics, pp. 6971, for a full description of this 
 subject, and mauy illustrations. 
 
THE LEVERS OF THE BODY. 35 
 
 When we raise the body on tiptoe, we have an 
 instance of the second class. Here, cur toes resting 
 on the ground form the fulcrum, the muscles of the 
 calf (gas-troc-ne-mi-us,,/, and so-le-us, Fig. 14), acting 
 through the tendon of the heel,* are the power, and 
 the weight is borne by the ankle joint. 
 
 An illustration of the third class is found in lifting 
 the hand from the elbow. The hand is the weight, 
 the elbow the fulcrum, and the power is applied by 
 the biceps muscle at its attachment to the radius. 
 (A, Fig. 19.) In this form of the lever there is a great 
 loss of force, because it is applied at such a distance 
 from the weight, but there is a gain of velocity, since 
 the hand moves so far by such a slight contraction 
 of the muscle. The hand is required to perform 
 quick motions, and therefore this mode of attach- 
 ment is wisely adopted. 
 
 The nearer the power is applied to the resistance, 
 the more easily the work is done. In the lower 
 jaw, for example, the jaw is the weight, the fulcrum 
 is the hinge- joint at the back, and the muscles (tem- 
 poral, d, and the mas'-se-ter, e, Fig. 14) on each side 
 are the power, f They act much closer to the resist- 
 
 * This is called the Tendon of Achilles (k, Fig. 14), and is so named because, as 
 the fable runs, when Achilles was an infant his mother held him by the heel while 
 she dipped him in the River Styx, whose water had the power of rendering one 
 invulnerable to any weapon. His heel, not being wet, was therefore his weak 
 point, and here Paris, at last, directed the fatal arrow which killed the famous 
 hero." This tendon will bear 1000 Ibs. weight before it will break." 1 Mapother. 
 
 The horse is said to be " hamstrung " and so rendered useless, when the Tendon 
 of Achilles is cut. 
 
 t We may feel the contraction of the masseter by placing our hand on the face 
 when we work the jaw, while the temporal can be readily detected by putting the 
 fingers on the temple while we are chewing. The tendon of the muscle (digastric) 
 one of thoi?e which open the jaw passes through a pulley (c, Fig. 14) somewhat 
 like the one in the eye. 
 
36 THE MUSCLES. 
 
 ance than those in the hand, since here we desire 
 
 force, and there speed. 
 
 The Enlargement of the Bones at the 
 Joints not only affords greater surface 
 for the attachment of the muscles, as 
 we have seen, but also enables them 
 to work to better advantage. Thus, in 
 Fig. 20 it is evident that a muscle act- 
 ing in the line fb would not bend the 
 lower limb so easily as if it were acting 
 in the line fh, since in the former case 
 its force would be about all spent in 
 drawing the bones more closely to- 
 
 thendon getner? while in the latter j t wou ld pu H 
 
 more nearly at a right angle. Thus the tendon /, 
 by passing over the patella, which is itself pushed 
 out by the protuberance b of the thigh-bone, pulls 
 at a larger angle,* and so the leg is thrown for- 
 ward with ease in walking and with great force in 
 kicking. 
 
 How We Stand Erect. The joints play so easily, 
 and the center of gravity in the body is so far above 
 the foot, that the skeleton cannot of itself hold our 
 bodies upright. Thus it requires the action of many 
 muscles to maintain this position. The head so 
 rests upon the spine as to tend to fall in front, but 
 the muscles of the neck steady it in its place, f The 
 
 * The chief use of the processes of the pplne (Fig. 6) and other bones Is. in the 
 same way, to throw out the point on which the power acts as far from the fulcrum 
 as possible. The projections of the ulna (" funny-bone ") behind the elbow, and 
 that of the heel-bone to which the Tendon of Achilles is attached, are excellent 
 illustrations (Fig. 1). 
 
 T In animals the jaws are BO heavy, and the place where the head and spine join 
 is so far back, that there can be no balance as there is in man. There are therefore 
 
HOW WE STAND ERECT. 
 
 37 
 
 S1 - 
 
 \\ 
 
 hips incline forward, but are held erect 
 by the strong muscles of the back. The 
 trunk is nicely balanced on the head of 
 the thigh-bones. The great muscles of 
 the thigh acting over the knee-pan tend 
 to bend the body forward, but the mus- 
 cles of the calf neutralize this action. 
 The ankle, the knee, and the hip lie 
 in nearly the same line, and thus the 
 weight of the body rests directly on the 
 key-stone of the arch of the foot. So 
 perfectly do these muscles act that we 
 never think of them until science calls 
 our attention to the subject, and yet to 
 acquire the necessary skill to use them 
 in our infancy needed patient lessons, 
 much time, and many hard knocks. 
 
 How We Walk. Walking is as com- 
 plex an act as standing. It is really a 
 perilous performance, which has be- 
 come safe only because of constant 
 practice. We see how violent it is when 
 we run against a post in the dark, and 
 find with what headlong force we were 
 hurling ourselves forward. Holmes has 
 well defined walking as a perpetual falling with a 
 constant self-recovery. Standing on one foot we 
 let the body fall forward, and swing the other leg 
 ahead like a pendulum. Planting that foot on the 
 
 large muscles in their necks. We readily find that we have none if we get on " all 
 fours " and try to hold up the head. On the other hand, gorillas and apes cannot 
 stand up erect like man. Their head, trunk, legs, etc., are not balanced by muscles, 
 so as to be in line with one another. 
 
 \ 
 
 Action of the 
 Muscles which 
 keep the body 
 
38 THE MUSCLES. 
 
 ground, to save the body from falling further, we 
 then swing the first foot forward again to repeat the 
 same operation.* 
 
 The shorter the pendulum, the more rapidly it 
 vibrates ; and so short-legged people take quicker 
 and shorter steps than long-legged ones.f We are 
 shorter when walking than when standing still, 
 because of this falling forward to take a step in 
 advance. J 
 
 In running, we incline the body more, and so, as 
 it were, fall faster. When we walk, one foot is on 
 the ground all the time, and there is an instant when 
 both feet are planted upon it ; but in running there 
 is an interval of time in each step when both feet 
 are off the ground, and the body is wholly unsup- 
 ported. As we step alternately with the feet, we are 
 inclined to turn the body first to one side and then 
 to the other. This movement is sometimes coun- 
 terbalanced by swinging the hand on the opposite 
 side. 
 
 * It is a curious fact that one side of the body tends to out- walk the other ; and so, 
 when a man is lost in the woods, he often goes in a circle, and at last comes round to 
 the spot whence he started. 
 
 t In this respect. Tom Thumb was to Magrath, whoso skeleton, eight and one- 
 half feet high, is now in the Dublin Museum, what a little, fast-ticking, French 
 mantel-clock is to a big, old-fashioned, upright, corner time-piece. 
 
 $ Women find that a gown that will swing clear of the ground when they are 
 standing still, will drag the street when they are walking. The length of the step 
 may be increased by muscular effort as when a line of soldiers keep step in spite 
 of their having legs of different lensrth?. Such a mode of walking is necessarily 
 fatiiruinir. 
 
 "In ordinary walking the speed is nearly four miles an hour, and can be kept 
 up for a long period. But exercise and a special aptitude for it enable some men to 
 walk great distances in a relatively short space of time. Trained walkers have gone 
 seventy-five miles in twenty hours, and walked the distance of thirty-seven miles at 
 the rate of five miles an hour. The mountaineers of the Alps are generally good 
 walkers, and some of them are not less remarkable for endurance than for speed. 
 Jacques Balmat, who was the first to reach the summit of Mont Blanc, at sixteen 
 years of age could walk from the hamlet of the P&erins to the mountain of La Cdte 
 
NECESSITY OF EXERCISE. 39 
 
 The Muscular Sense, When we lift an object, we 
 feel a sensation of weight, which we can compare 
 with that experienced in lifting another body.* By 
 care we may cultivate this sense so as to form a 
 very precise estimate of the weight of a body by 
 balancing it in the hand. The muscular sense is 
 useful to us in many ways. It guides us in standing 
 or moving. We gratify it when we walk erect and 
 with an elastic step, and by dancing, jumping, 
 skating, and gymnastic exercises. 
 
 Necessity of Exercise. The effect of exercise upon 
 a muscle is very marked, f By use it grows larger, 
 and becomes hard, compact, and darker-colored ; by 
 disuse it decreases in size, and becomes soft, flabby, 
 and pale. 
 
 Violent exercise, however, is injurious, since we 
 
 in two hours, a distance which the best trained travelers required from five to six 
 hours to get over. At the time of his last attempt to reach the top of Mont Blanc, 
 this same guide, then twenty years old, passed six days and four nights without 
 sleeping or reposing a single moment. One of his sons, Edward Balmat, left Paris 
 to join his regiment at Genoa ; he reached Chamonix the fifth day at evening, having 
 walked 340 miles. After resting two days, he set off again for Genoa, where he 
 arrived in two days. Several years afterward, this same man left the baths at 
 Loueche at two o'clock in the morning, and reached Chamonix at nine in the even- 
 ing, having walked a distance equal to about seventy-five miles in nineteen hours. 
 In 1844, an old guide of De Saussure, eighty years old, left the hamlet of Prats, in the 
 valley of Chamonix, in the afternoon, and reached the Grand Mulcts at ten in the 
 evening ; then, after resting some hours, he climbed the glacier to the vicinity of the 
 Grand Plateau, which has an altitude of about 13,000 feet, and then returned to his 
 village without stopping." Wonders of the Body. 
 
 * If a small ivory ball bo allowed to roll down the cheek toward the lips, it will 
 appear to increase in weight. In general, the more sensitive parts of the body 
 recognize smaller differences in weight, and the right hand is more accurate than 
 the left. We are very apt, however, to judge of the weight of a body from pre- 
 vious conceptions. Thus, shortly after Sir Humphrey Davy discovered the metal 
 potassium, he placed a piece of it in Dr. Pierson's hand, who exclaimed, " Bless me ! 
 How heavy it is ! " Eeally. however, potassium is so light that it will float on water 
 like cork. 
 
 t The greater size of the breast (pectoral muscle) of a pigeon, as compared with 
 that of a duck, shows how muscle increases with use. The breast of a chicken is 
 white because it is not used for flight, and therefore gets little blood. 
 
40 THE MUSCLES. 
 
 then tear down faster than nature can build up. 
 Feats of strength are not only hurtful, but dan- 
 gerous. Often the muscles are strained or ruptured, 
 and blood-vessels burst in the effort to outdo one's 
 companions.* 
 
 Two thousand years ago, Isocrates, the Greek 
 rhetorician, said, " Exercise for health, not for 
 strength." The cultivation of muscle for its own 
 sake is a return to barbarism, while it enfeebles the 
 mind, and ultimately the body. The ancient gym- 
 nasts are said to have become prematurely old, and 
 the trained performers of our own day soon suffer 
 from the strain they put upon their muscular sys- 
 tem. Few men have vigor sufficient to become both 
 athletes and scholars. Exercise should, therefore, 
 merely supplement the deficiency of our usual em- 
 ployment. A sedentary life needs daily, moderate 
 exercise, which always stops short of fatigue. This 
 is a law of health. 
 
 No education is complete which fails to provide 
 for the development of the muscles. Recesses 
 should be as strictly devoted to play as study-hours 
 are to work. Were gymnastics or calisthenics as 
 regular an exercise as grammar or arithmetic, fewer 
 pupils would be compelled to leave school on account 
 of ill health ; while spinal curvatures, weak backs, 
 and ungraceful gaits would no longer characterize 
 so many of our best institutions. 
 
 Time for Exercise. We should not exercise after 
 long abstinence from food, nor immediately after a 
 
 * Instances have been known of children falling dead from having carried to 
 excess so pleasant and healthful an amusement as jumping the rope, and of persons 
 rupturing the Tendon of Achilles in dancing. 
 
WHAT KIND OF EXERCISE TO TAKE. 41 
 
 meal, unless the meal or the exercise be very light. 
 There is an old-fashioned prejudice in favor of exer- 
 cise before breakfast an hour suited to the strong 
 and healthy, but entirely unfitted to the weak and 
 delicate. On first rising in the morning, the pulse 
 13 low, the skin relaxed, and the system susceptible 
 to cold. Feeble persons, therefore, need to be braced 
 with food before they brave the out-door air. 
 
 What Kind of Exercise to Take. For children, 
 games are unequalled. Walking, the universal 
 exercise,* is beneficial, as it takes one into the open 
 air and sunlight. Running is better, since it em- 
 ploys more muscles, but must not be pushed to 
 excess, as it taxes the heart, and may lead to disease 
 of that organ. Bowing is more effectual in its gen- 
 eral development of the system. Swimming employs 
 the _muscles of the whole body, and is a valuable 
 acquirement, as it may be the means of saving life. 
 Horseback riding is a fine accomplishment, and 
 refreshes mind and body alike. Gymnastic or calis- 
 thenic exercises, when carefully selected, and not 
 indulged immoderately, bring into play all the 
 muscles of the body, and become preferable to any 
 other mode of in-door exercise, f 
 
 * The custom of walking, so prevalent in England, has doubtless much to do with 
 the superior physique of its people. It is considered nothing for a woman to take 
 a walk of eight or ten miles, and long pedestrian excursions are made to all parts of 
 the country. The benefits which accrue from such an open air life are sadly needed 
 by the women of our own land. A walk of half-a-dozen miles should be a pleas- 
 ant recreation for any healthy person. 
 
 t The employment of the muscles in exercise not only benefits their especial etruc- 
 ture, but it acts on the whole system. When the muscles are put in acrion, the 
 capillary blood-vessels with which they are supplied become more rapidly charged 
 with blood, and active changes take phice, not only in the muscles, but in all the 
 surrounding tissues. The heart is required to supply more blood, and accordingly 
 beats more rapidly in order to meet the demand. A. larger quantity of blood is sent 
 through the lungs, and larger supplies of oxygen are taken in and carried to the 
 
42 THE MUSCLES. 
 
 The Wonders of the Muscles. The grace, ease, 
 and rapidity with which the muscles contract are 
 astonishing. By practice, they acquire a facility 
 which we call mechanical. The voice may utter 
 1500 letters in a minute, yet each requires a distinct 
 position of the vocal organs. We train the muscles 
 of the fingers till they glide over the keys of the 
 piano, executing the most exquisite and difficult 
 harmony. In writing, each letter is formed by its 
 peculiar motions, yet we make them so uncon- 
 sciously that a skilful penman will describe beauti- 
 ful curves while thinking only of the idea that the 
 sentence is to express. The mind of the violinist is 
 upon the music which his right hand is executing, 
 while his left determines the length of the string 
 and the character of each note so carefully that not 
 a false sound is heard, although the variation of a 
 hair's breadth would cause a discord. In the arm of 
 a blacksmith, the biceps muscle may grow into the 
 solidity almost of a club ; the hand of a prize-fighter 
 will strike a blow like a sledge-hammer : while the 
 engraver traces lines invisible to the naked eye, 
 
 various tissues. The oxygen, by combining with the carbon of the blood and the 
 tissues, engenders a larger quantity of heat, which produces an action on the skin, 
 in order that the superfluous warmth may be disposed of. The skin is thus exer- 
 cised, as it were, and the sudoriparous and sebaceous glands are set at work. The 
 lungs and skin are brought into operation, and the lungs throw off large quantities 
 of carbonic acid, and the skin large quantities of water, containing in solution mat- 
 ters which, if retained, would produce disease in the body. Wherever the blood is 
 pent, changes of a healthful character occur. The brain and the rest of the nervous 
 system are invigorated, the stomach has its powers of digestion improved, and the 
 liver, pancreas, and other organs perform their functions with more vigor. By 
 v.-ant of exercise, the constituents of the food which pass into the blood are not oxi- 
 dized, and product* which produce disease are engendered. The introduction of 
 fresh supplies of oxygen induced by exercise oxidizes these products, and renders 
 them harmless ; all other things b.:ing the same, it may be laid down ns a rule that 
 those who take the most exercise in the open air will live the longest. Lankester. 
 
DISEASES, ETC. 43 
 
 and the fingers of the blind acquire a delicacy that 
 almost supplies the place of the missing sense. 
 
 Diseases, etc. 1. ST. VITUS'S DANCE is a disease 
 of the voluntary muscles, whereby they are in fre- 
 quent, irregular, and spasmodic motion beyond the 
 control of the will. All causes of excitement, and 
 especially of fear, should be avoided, and the gen- 
 eral health of the patient invigorated, as this disease 
 is closely connected with a derangement of the 
 nervous system. 
 
 2. CONVULSIONS are an involuntary contraction of 
 the muscles. Consciousness is wanting, while the 
 limbs may be stiff or in spasmodic action. (See 
 Appendix.) 
 
 3. LOCKED-JAW is a disease in which there are 
 spasms and a contraction of the muscles, usually 
 beginning in the lower jaw. It is serious, often 
 fatal, yet it is sometimes caused by as trivial an 
 injury as the stroke of a whip-lash, the lodgement 
 of a bone in the throat, a fish-hook in the ringer, or 
 the puncture of the sole of the foot by a tack or 
 a nail. 
 
 4. GOUT is an acute pain located chiefly in the 
 small joints of the foot, especially those of the great 
 toe, which become swollen and extremely sensitive. 
 It is generally brought on by high living. 
 
 5. RHEUMATISM affects mainly the connective", 
 white, fibrous tissue of the larger joints. While 
 gout is the punishment of the rich who live luxu- 
 riously and indolently, rheumatism afflicts the poor 
 and the rich alike. There are two common forms 
 of rheumatism the inflammatory or acute, and the 
 
44 THE MUSCLES. 
 
 chronic. The latter is of long continuance ; the 
 former terminates more speedily. The acute form 
 is probably a disease of the blood, which carries 
 with it some poisonous matter that is deposited 
 where the fibrous tissue is most abundant. 
 
 The disease flies from one joint to another in the 
 most unaccountable manner, and the pain caused 
 by even the slightest motion deprives the sufferer 
 of the use of the disabled part and its muscles. The 
 chief danger to be feared is the possibility of its 
 going to the heart. All those remedies, therefore, 
 which would throw it from the surface are to be 
 avoided. There is no generally-accepted mode of 
 treating the disease. Warm fomentations are 
 usually grateful. Chronic rheumatism the result 
 of repeated attacks of the acute leads to great suf- 
 fering, and oftentimes to disorganization of the 
 joints, and an interference with the movements of 
 the heart. 
 
 6.. LUMBAGO is a. rheumatic pain in the muscles of 
 the small of the back.* It may be so moderate as to 
 produce only a " lame back," or so severe as to dis- 
 able, as in the case of a " crick in the back." Strong 
 swimmers who sometimes suddenly drown without 
 apparent cause are supposed to be seized in this 
 way. 
 
 7. A GANGLION, or what is vulgarly called a 
 
 * Lumbago is really a form of myalgia, a disease which has its seat in the muscle?, 
 and may thus affect any part of the body. Doubtless much of what is commonly 
 called "liver" or "kidney complaint " is only, in one case, myalgfa of the chest or 
 abdominal walls near the liver, or, in the other, of the back and loins near the kid- 
 neys! Chronic liver disease is comparatively rare in the northern States, and pain 
 in the side is not a prominent symptom, while certain diseases of the kidneys, which 
 are as surely fatal as pulmonary consumption, arc not attended by pain in the back 
 opposite these organs. Wey. 
 
PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 45 
 
 "weak" or " weeping " sinew, is a swelling of a 
 bursa.* It sometimes becomes so distended by fluid 
 as to be mistaken for bone. If on binding some- 
 thing hard upon it for a few days it does not disap- 
 pear, a physician will remove the liquid by means 
 of a hypodermic syringe, or perhaps " scatter" it by 
 an external application of iodine. 
 
 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 1. What class of lever is the foot when we lift a weight on the 
 toes? 
 
 2. Explain the movement of the body backward and forward, when 
 resting upon the thigh-bone as a fulcrum. 
 
 8. What class of lever do we use when we lift the foot while sitting 
 down ? 
 
 4. Explain the swing of the arm from the shoulder. 
 
 5. What class of lever is us3d in bending our fingers? 
 
 6. What class of lever is our foot when we tap the ground with 
 our toes? 
 
 7. What class of lever do we use when we raise ourselves from a 
 stooping position ? 
 
 8. What class of lever is the foot when we walk ? 
 
 9. Why can we raise a heavier weight with our hand when lifting 
 from the elbow than from the shoulder ? 
 
 10. What class of lever do we employ when we are hopping, the 
 thigh bone being bsnt up toward the body and not used? 
 
 11. Describe the motions of the bones when we are using a gimlet. 
 
 12. Why do we tire when we stand erect? 
 
 13. Why does it rest us to change our work ? 
 
 * A bursa is a small sack containing a lubricating fluid to prevent friction where 
 tendons play over hard surfaces. There is one shaped like an hour-glass on the 
 wrist, just at the edge of the palm. By pressing back the liquid it contains, this 
 bursa may be clearly seen. 
 
46 THE MUSCLES. 
 
 14. Why and when is dancing a beneficial exercise ? 
 
 15. Why can we exert greater force with the back teeth than \vith 
 the front ones V 
 
 16. Why do we lean forward when we wish to rise from a chair ? 
 
 17. Why does the projection of the heel-bone make walking easier ? 
 
 18. Does a horse travel with less fatigue over a flat than a hilly 
 country ? 
 
 19. Can you move your upper jaw ? 
 
 20. Are people naturally right or left-handed ? 
 
 21. Why can so few persons move their ears by the muscles? 
 
 22. Is the blacksmith's right arm healthier than the left? 
 
 23. Boys often, though foolishly, thrust a pin into the flesh just 
 above the knee. Why is it not painful ? 
 
 24. Will ten- minutes practice in a gymnasium answer for a day's 
 exercise ? 
 
 25. Why would an elastic tendon be unfitted to transmit the motion 
 of a muscle ? 
 
 26. When one is struck violently on the head, why does he instantly 
 fall? 
 
 27. What is the cause of the difference between light and dark me?.t 
 in a fowl? 
 
III. 
 THE SKIN. 
 
 A protection from the outer world, it is our only means of 
 communicating with it. Insensible itself, it is the organ of 
 tottch. It feels the pressure of a hair, yet bears the -weight 
 of the body. It yields to every motion of that which it wraps 
 and holds in place. It hides from view the delicate organs 
 within, yet the faintest tint of a thought shines through, while 
 the soul paints upon it, as on a canvas, the richest and rarest 
 of colors. 
 
BLACKBOARD 
 
 * 
 
 M 
 
 3. 
 
 1. THE STBUCTUBK OP 
 TIIK SKIN. 
 
 2. THE HAIR AND THE 
 NAILS. 
 
 8. THE Mucous MEM- . 
 
 BBANE. 
 
 4. THE TEETH ... 1 
 
 f 1. The Cntis ; it? comp 
 1 2. The Cuticle: its con 
 1 8. The value or the Cu 
 1. 4. The Complexion. 
 
 1. The Hair 
 
 osition and character, 
 aposition and character, 
 tide. 
 
 fa. Description. 
 1 b. Method of Growth. 
 c. As an instrument of 
 feeling, 
 d. Indestructibility of 
 the hair, 
 'a. Uses. 
 b. Method of gr6wth. 
 
 f Teeth. 
 1. The Milk Teeth. 
 2. The Permanent Teeth, 
 th. 
 ooth in the Jaw. 
 eth. 
 the Teeth. 
 
 1 1. Oil Glands. 
 2. Perspiratory Glands. 
 
 ver of the Skin. (See 
 Bathing. 
 
 r a. General Principles, 
 b. Linen, 
 c. Cotton, 
 d. Woolen, 
 e. Flannel, 
 f. Color of Clothing, 
 g. Structure of Clothing 
 B. Insufficient Clothing. 
 
 2. The Nails 
 
 11. The Structure. 
 2. Connective Tissue. 
 3. Fat. 
 
 1. Number and kinds o 
 1, The two sets 
 
 2. Structure of the Tee 
 3. The Setting of the T 
 4. The Decay of the Te 
 5. The Preservation of 
 
 11. The two kinds....- 
 2. The Perspiration. 
 3. The Absorbing Po\ 
 Lymphatics.) 
 
 ' 1. About Washing and 
 2. The Reaction. 
 3. Sea-Bathing. 
 
 4. Clothing . 
 
 5. THE GLANDS . . 
 
 6. HTGIENE 
 
 
 7. DISEASES 
 
 1. Erysipelas. 
 2. Dropsy. 
 3. Corn P. 
 4. In-growing Nailg. 
 5 Warts. 
 6. Chilblain*. 
 , 7. Wens. 
 
 
THE SKIN. 
 
 Skin is a tough, thin, close-fitting garment 
 J~ for the protection of the tender flesh. Its per- 
 fect elasticity beautifully adapts it to every motion 
 of the body. We shall learn hereafter that it is 
 more than a mere covering, being an active organ, 
 which does its part in the work of keeping in order 
 the house in which we live. It oils itself to preserve 
 its smoothness and delicacy, replaces itself as fast 
 as it wears out, and is at once the perfection of use 
 and beauty. 
 
 1. STRUCTURE OF THE SKIN. 
 
 Cutis and Cuticle. What we commonly call the 
 skin viz., the part raised by a blister is only the 
 cuticle * or covering of the cutis or true skin. The 
 latter is full of nerves and blood-vessels, while the 
 former neither bleeds f nor gives rise to pain, 
 neither suffers from heat nor feels the cold. 
 
 The cuticle is composed of small, flat cells or 
 
 * Cutimla, little skin. It is often styled the scarf-skin, and also the epidermis 
 (epi, upon ; and derma, skin). 
 
 t We notice this in shaving ; for if a razor goes below the cuticle it is followed by 
 pain and blood. So insensible is this outer layer that we can run a pin through the 
 thick mass at the roots of the nails without discomfort. 
 
A 
 
 A represents a vertical section of the cuticle. B, lateral view of the cells. C. flat side 
 of scales like d, magnified 250 diameters, showing the nucleated cells transformed into 
 broad scales. 
 
 scales. These are constantly shed from the surface 
 in the form of scurf, dandruff, etc., but are as con- 
 stantly renewed from the 'cutis * below. 
 
 Under the microscope, we can see the round cells 
 of the cuticle, and how they are flattened and 
 hardened -as they are forced to the surface. The 
 immense number of these cells surpasses compre- 
 hension. In one square inch of the cuticle, counting 
 only those in a single layer, there are over a bil- 
 lion horny scales, each complete in itself. Hart ing. 
 
 Value of the Cuticle. In the palm of the hand, 
 the sole of the foot, and other parts especially liable 
 to injury, the cuticle is very thick. This is a most 
 admirable provision for their protection, f By use, it 
 becomes callous and horny. The boy who goes out 
 barefoot for the first time, "treading as if on eggs," 
 
 * We pee how rapidly this change goes on by noticing how soon a stain of any 
 kind disappears from the skin. A snake throws off its cuticle entire, and at regular 
 intervals. 
 
 t We can hold the hand in strong brine with impunity, but the smart will quickly 
 tell us when there is even a scratch in the skin. In vaccination, the matter must be 
 inserted beneath the cuticle to take effect. Doubtless this membrane prevents many 
 poisonous substances from entering the system. 
 
HAIR AND NAILS. 51 
 
 can soon run where he pleases among thistles and 
 over stones. The blacksmith bandies hot iron 
 without pain, while the mason lays stones and 
 works in lime, without scratching or corroding his 
 flesh. 
 
 The Complexion. In the freshly-made cells on the 
 lower side of the cuticle, is a pigment composed of 
 tiny grains.* In the varying tint of this coloring- 
 matter, lies the difference of hue between the blonde 
 and the brunette, the European and the African. 
 In the purest complexion, there is some of this pig- 
 ment, which, however, disappears as the fresh, 
 round, soft cells next the cut is change into the old, 
 flat, horny scales at the surface. 
 
 Scars are white, because this part of the cuticle is 
 not restored. The sun has a powerful effect upon 
 the coloring-matter, and so we readily "tan" on 
 exposure to its rays. If the color gathers in spots, 
 it forms freckles, f 
 
 2. HAIR AND NAILS. 
 
 The Hair and the Nails are modified forms of the 
 cuticle. 
 
 * These grains are about 55 ^ of an inch in diameter, and, curiously enough, do not 
 appear opaque but transparent and nearly colorless. Marshall. 
 
 t This action of the sun on the pigment of the skin is very marked. Even among 
 the Africans, the skin is observed to lose its intense black color in those who live for 
 many months in the shades of the forest. It is said that Asiatic and African women 
 confined within the walls of the harem, and thus secluded from the sun, are as fair as 
 Europeans. Among the Jews who have settled in Northern Europe, are many of 
 light complexion, while those who live in India are as dark as the Hindoos. The 
 black pigment has been known to disappear during severe illness, and a lighter color 
 to be developed in its place. Among the negroes, are sometimes found people who 
 have no complexion, i. e., there is no coloring-matter in their skin, hair, or the iria 
 of their eyes. These persons are called Albinos. 
 
THE SKIN. 
 
 A hair magnified 600 
 diameters. S, the sac (fol- 
 licle): P, the papilla, show- 
 ing the cells and Ute blood- 
 vessels (V). 
 
 The Hair is a protection from 
 heat and cold, and shields the 
 head from blows. It is found on 
 nearly all parts of the body, except 
 the palms of the hands and the 
 soles of the feet. The outside of a 
 hair is hard and compact, and con- 
 sists of a layer of colorless scales, 
 which overlie one another like the 
 shingles of a house ; the interior 
 is porous,* and probably conveys 
 the liquids by which it is nour- 
 ished. 
 
 Each hair grows from a tiny 
 bulb (papilla), which is an elevation of the cut is at 
 the bottom of a little hollow in the skin. From the 
 surface of this bulb, the hair is produced, like the 
 cuticle, by the constant formation of new cells at 
 the bottom. When the hair is pulled out, this bulb, 
 if uninjured, will produce a new one ; but, when 
 once destroyed, it will never grow again, f The hair 
 has been known to whiten in a single night by fear, 
 fright, or nervous excitement. When the color has 
 once changed, it cannot be restored. J 
 
 * In order to examine a hair, it should he pat on the elide of the microscope, and 
 covered with a thin glass, while a few drops of alcohol are allowed to flow hetween 
 the cover and the elide. This causes the air, which fills the hair and prevents oar 
 seeing its structure, to escape. 
 
 t The hair is said to grow after death. This is due to the fact that by the shrink- 
 ing of the skin the part below the surface is caused to project, which is especially 
 noticeable in the heard. 
 
 $ Hair dyes or so-called " hair restorers " are almost invariably deleterious sub- 
 stances, depending for their coloring properties upon the action of lead or lunar 
 caustic. Frequent instances of hair-poisoning have occurred, owing to the com- 
 mon use of such dangerous nrticles. If the growth of the hair be impaired, tho 
 general constitution or the skin needs treatment. This is the work of a skillful 
 
THE NAILS. 
 
 53 
 
 Fig 
 
 Wherever hair exists, tiny muscles are found, in- 
 terlaced among the fibers of the skin. These, when 
 contracting under the influ- 
 ence of cold or electricity, 
 pucker up the skin, and cause 
 the hair to stand on end.* 
 The hairs themselves are des- 
 titute of feeling. Nerves, 
 however, are found in the 
 hollows in which the hair is 
 rooted, and so one feels pain 
 when it is pulled, f Thus 
 the insensible hairs become 
 wonderfully delicate instru- 
 ments to convey an impres- 
 sion of even the slightest 
 touch. 
 
 Next to tho teeth and 
 bones, the hair is the least 
 destructible part of the body, 
 and its color is often pre- 
 served for many years after 
 the other portions have gone 
 to decay. 1 
 
 A, a perspiratory tube with its 
 gland ; B. a hair with a muscle 
 and two oil-glands : C, cuticle ; 
 D, the papilla ; and E, fat-cells. 
 
 physician, and not of a patent remedy. Dame Fashion has her repentant freaks aa 
 well as her ruinous follies, and it is a healthful sign that the era of universal hair- 
 dyeing has been blotted out from her present calendar, and the gray hairs of age are 
 now honored with the highest place in " style" as well as in good sense and clean- 
 liness. 
 
 * In horses and other animals which are able to shake the whole skin, to drive 
 away the flies, this muscular tissue is mnch more fully developed than in man. 
 
 t These nerves are especially abundant in the whiskers of the cat, which are used 
 as feelers. 
 
 J Fine downy hairs so general upon the body have been detected in the little 
 fragments of skin found beneath the heads of the nails by which, centuries ago. cer- 
 tain robbers were fastened to the church doors, as a punishment for their sacrilege. 
 
54 THE SKIN. 
 
 The Nails protect the ends of the tender finger, and 
 toe, and give us power more firmly to grasp and 
 easily to pick up any object we may desire. They 
 enable us to perform a hundred little, mechanical 
 acts which else were impossible. At the same time, 
 their delicate color and beautiful outline give a finish 
 of ornament to that exquisite instrument, the hand. 
 The nail is firmly set in a groove (matrix) in the 
 cuticle, from which it grows at the root in length * 
 and from beneath in thickness. So long as the ma- 
 trix at the root is uninjured, the nail will be replaced 
 after any accident. 
 
 
 3. THE MUCOUS MEMBRANE. 
 
 Structure. At the edges of the openings into the 
 body, the skin seems to stop and give place to a 
 tissue which is redder, more sensitive, more liable to 
 bleed, and is moistened by a fluid, or mucus as it is 
 called. Keally, however, the skin does not cease, 
 but passes into a more delicate covering of the same 
 general composition, viz., an outer, hard, bloodless, 
 insensible layer, and an inner, soft, sanguine, ner- 
 vous one. f Thus every part of the body is contained 
 in a kind of double bag, made of the tough skin on 
 the outside; and the tender mucous membrane on 
 the inside. 
 
 Connective Tissue. The cutis and the correspond- 
 
 * By making a little mark on the nail near the root we can see week hy weok 
 how rapidly this process goes on, and PO form pome Idea of what a multitude of cells 
 mnpt be transformed into the horny matter of the nail. 
 
 f With a dull knife, we can scrape from the mucous membrane which lines the 
 mouth some of the cuticle for examination under the microscope. In a similar way, 
 we can obtain cuticle from the surface of the body for study and comparison. 
 
THE MUCOUS MEMBRANE. 55 
 
 ing layer of the mucous membrane consist chiefly of 
 a fibrous substance interlaced like felt. It is called 
 connective tissue, because it connects all the differ- 
 ent parts of the body. It spreads from the cutis, 
 invests muscles, bones, and cartilages, and thence 
 passes into the mucous membrane. So thoroughly 
 does it permeate the body, that, if the other tissues 
 were destroyed, it would give a perfect model of 
 every organ.* It can be seen in a piece of meat as 
 a delicate substance lying between the layers of 
 muscle, where it serves to bind together the numer- 
 ous fibers of which they are composed, f 
 
 Connective tissue yields gelatine on boiling, and 
 is the part which tans when hides are manufactured 
 into leather. It is very elastic, so that when you 
 remove your finger after pressing upon the skin, no 
 indentation is left. J It varies greatly in character, 
 from the mucous membrane, where it is soft and 
 tender, to the ligaments and tendons which it largely 
 composes, "where it is strong and dense, 
 
 * It is curious to notice how our body is wrapped in membrane. On the outside, 
 is the skin protecting from exterior injury, and, on the inside, is the mucous mem- 
 brane reaching from the lips to the innermost air-cell of the lungs. Every organ is 
 enveloped in its membrane. Every bone has its sheath. Every socket is lined. Even 
 the separate fibers of muscles have their covering tissue. The brain and the spinal 
 cord are triply wrapped, while the eye is only a membranous globe filled with fluid. 
 These membranes protect and support the organ? they enfold, but, with that wise 
 economy so characteristic of nature everywhere, they have also an important func- 
 tion to perform. They are the filters of the body. Through their pores pass alike 
 the elements of growth, and the returning products of waste. On one side, bathed 
 by the blood, they choose from it suitable food for the organ they envelop, and 
 many of them in their tiny cells, by some mysterious process, form new products, put 
 the finishing touches, as it were, upon the material ere it is deposited in the body. 
 
 t Sometimes butchers blow air into veal, which fills the tiny cells of this tissue, 
 and causes the meat to appear plump. 
 
 $ In dropsy, this elasticity is lost by distension, and there is a kind of " pitting," 
 as it is called, produced by pressure. 
 
 & The leather made from this tissue varies as errefetiy, irom the tough, thick ox- 
 hide, to the soft, pliable kid and chamois skin. 
 
56 THE SKIN. 
 
 Fat is deposited as an oil in the cells* of this 
 tissue, just beneath the skin (Fig. 24), giving round- 
 ness and plumpness to the body, and acting as a 
 powerful non-conductor for the retention of heat.f 
 It collects as pads in the hollows of the bones, 
 around the joints, and between the muscles, causing 
 them to glide more easily upon each other. As 
 marrow, it nourishes the skeleton, and also dis- 
 tributes the shock of any jar the limb may sustain. 
 
 It is noticeable, however, that fat does not gather 
 within the cranium, the lungs, or the eyelids, where 
 its accumulation would clog the organs. 
 
 4. THE TEETH. 
 
 The Teeth J are thirty-two in all, there being 
 eight in each half-jaw, similarly shaped and ar- 
 ranged. In each set of eight, the two nearest the 
 middle of the jaw have wide, sharp, chisel-like 
 edges, fit for cutting, and hence are called incisors. 
 The next corresponds to the great tearing or holding 
 tooth of the dog, and is styled the canine, or eye- 
 tooth. The next two have broader crowns, with two 
 
 * So tiny are these cells, thnt there are over 65.000,000 in a cubic inch of fat. 
 Valentine. 
 
 t As the cells of the tissue are kept moistened, the liquid does not ooze out, but, 
 on drying, comes to the surface. For this reason, a piece of fat feels oily when 
 exposed to the air. 
 
 $ Although the teeth are always found in connection with the skeleton, and are, 
 therefore, figured as a part of it (Fig. 1), yet they do not properly belong to (he bones 
 of the body, and are merely set in the solid jaw to insure solidity. They arc hard, 
 and resemble bony matter, yet they are neither true bone nor arc thoy formed in the 
 same manner. " They are properly appendages of the mucous membrane, and are 
 developed from it." Leidy. "They belong to the Tegnmentary System, which, 
 speaking generally of animals, includes teeth, nails, horns, scales, and hairs." 
 Marshall. They are therefore classed with the mucous membrane, as are the naila 
 ai.d hair with the ekin. 
 
THE TEETH. 57 
 
 points, or cusps, and are hence termed the bicuspids. 
 The remaining three are much broader, and, as they 
 are used to crush the food, are called the grinders, or 
 molars. The incisors and eye-teeth have one fang, 
 or root, the others have two or three each. 
 
 The Milk-teeth. We are provided with two sets 
 of teeth. The first, or milk-teeth, are small and only 
 twenty in number. In each half -jaw there are two 
 incisors, one canine, and two molars. The middle 
 incisors are usually cut about the age of seven 
 months, the others at nine months, the first molars 
 at twelve months, the canines at eighteen months, 
 and the remaining molars at two or three years of 
 age. The lower teeth precede the corresponding 
 upper ones. The time often varies, but the order 
 seldom. 
 
 Fig. 25. 
 
 The teeth at the age of six and one-half years. I, the Incisors ; O, the canine ; M, 
 the molars ; the last molar is the first of the permanent teeth ; F, sacs of the perma- 
 nent incisors ; C, of the canine ; B, of the bicuspids ; N," of the M molar ; the sac of 
 the 3d molar is empty. MARSHALL. 
 
 The Permanent Teeth. At six years, when the 
 first set is usually still perfect, the jaws contain 
 the crowns of all the second, except the wisdom- 
 teeth. About this age, to meet the wants of the 
 growing body, the crowns of the permanent set 
 
58 
 
 THE SKIN. 
 
 Fig. 27. 
 
 begin to press against the roots of the milk-teeth, 
 which, becoming absorbed, leave the loosened teeth 
 to drop out, while the new ones rise and occupy 
 their places.* 
 
 The central incisors appear at about seven years 
 of age; the others at eight; the first bicuspids at 
 nine, the second at ten ; the canines at eleven or 
 twelve ; the second f molars at twelve or thirteen, 
 and the last, or wisdom-teeth, are sometimes delayed 
 until the twenty-second year, or even later. 
 Structure of the Teeth. The interior of the 
 tooth consists principally of den- 
 tine, a dense substance re- 
 sembling bone.J; The crown of 
 the tooth, which is exposed to 
 wear, is protected by a sheath of 
 enamel. This is a hard, glisten- 
 ^ ing, white substance, containing 
 only two and a half per cent, of 
 animal matter. The fang is cov- 
 ered by a thin layer of true bone 
 (cement). 
 
 At the center of the tooth is a 
 cavity filled with a soft, reddish- 
 white, pulpy substance full of 
 ILTtr^^B&! blood-vessels and nerves. This 
 pulp is very sensitive, and tooth- 
 ache is caused by its irritation. 
 
 Vertical section of a Molar 
 Tooth, moderately magnified. 
 
 
 * If the milk-teeth do not promptly loosen on the appearance of the second set, 
 the former should be at once removed to permit the permanent teeth to assume their 
 natural places. If any fail to come in regularly, or if they crowd the others, a com- 
 petent dentist should be consulted. 
 
 t The first molar appears much earlier. (See Fig. 25.) 
 
 * In the tusk of the elephant this is known as ivory. 
 
THE TEETH. 59 
 
 The Fitting of the Tooth into the Jaw is a most 
 admirable contrivance. It is not set, like a nail in 
 wood, having the fang in contact with the bone ; 
 but the socket is lined with a membrane which 
 forms a soft cushion. While this is in a healthy 
 state, it deadens the force of any shock, but, when 
 inflamed, becomes the seat of excruciating pain. 
 
 The Decay of the Teeth * is commonly caused (1) 
 by portions of the food which become entangled be- 
 tween them, and, on account of the heat and 
 moisture, quickly decompose ; and (2) by the saliva, 
 as it evaporates, leaving on the teeth a sediment, 
 which we call tartar. This collects organic mat- 
 ter that rapidly changes, and also affords a soil in 
 which a sort of fungus speedily springs up. From 
 both these causes, the breath becomes offensive, and 
 the teeth are injured. 
 
 Preservation of the Teeth. Children should early 
 be taught to brush their teeth at least every morn- 
 ing with tepid water, and twice a week with soap 
 and powdered orris-root. They should also be in- 
 structed to remove the particles of food from 
 between the teeth, after each meal, by means of a 
 a quill or wooden tooth-pick. 
 
 The enamel once injured is never restored, and 
 the whole interior of the tooth is exposed to decay. 
 
 * Unlike the other portions of the body, there is no provision made for any change 
 in the permanent teeth. That part, however, which is thus auring life most liable to 
 change, after death resists it the longest. In deep-sea dredgings teeth are found 
 when all traces of the frame to which they belonged have disappeared. Yet hard 
 and incorruptible as they seem, their permanence is only relative. Exposed to 
 injury and disease, they break or decay. Even if they escape accident, they yet wear 
 at the crown, are absorbed at the fang, and, in time, drop out, thus affording another 
 of the many signs of the limitations Providence has fixed to the endurance of our 
 bodies and the length of our lives. 
 
60 THE SKIN. 
 
 We should not, therefore, crack hard nuts, bite 
 thread, or use metal tooth-picks, gritty tooth-pow- 
 ders, or any acid which "sets the teeth on edge," 
 i. e., that acts upon the enamel. It is well also to 
 have the teeth examined yearly by a dentist, that 
 any small orifice may be filled, and further decay 
 revented. 
 
 5. THE GLANDS OF THE SKIN. 
 
 I. The Oil Glands are clusters of tiny sacs which 
 secrete an oil that flows along the duct to the root of 
 the hair, and thence oozes out on the cuticle (Fig. 
 24:.)* This is nature's efficient hair-dressing, and 
 also keeps the skin soft and flexible. These glands 
 are not usually found where there is no hair, as on 
 the palm of the hand, and hence at those points 
 only can water readily soak through the skin into 
 the body. They are of considerable size on the face, 
 especially about the nose. When obstructed, their 
 contents become hard and dark-colored, and are 
 vulgarly called " worms, "f 
 
 II. The Perspiratory Glands are fine tubes about 
 yj^ of an inch in diameter, and a quarter of an inch 
 in length, which run through the cutis, and then 
 coil up in little balls (Fig. 24). They are found in 
 all parts of the body, and in almost incredible num- 
 bers. In the palm of the hand, there are about 2,800 
 in a single square inch. On the back of the neck 
 
 * This secretion is paid to vary in different persona, and on that account the dog 
 Is enabled to trace his master by the scent. 
 
 t Though they are not alive, yet, under the microscope, they are sometimes 
 found to contain a curious parasite called the pimple-mite, which is supposed to 
 consume the superabundant secretion. 
 
THE ABSORBING TOWER OF THE SKIN. 61 
 
 and trunk, where they are fewest, there are yet 
 400 to the square inch. The total number on the 
 body of an adult is estimated at about two and a 
 half million. If they were laid end to end, they 
 would extend nearly ten miles.* The mouths of 
 these glands " pores," as we commonly call them 
 may be seen with a pocket lens along the fine ridges 
 which cover the palm of the hand. 
 
 The Perspiration. From these openings, there 
 constantly passes a vapor, forming what we call the 
 insensible perspiration. Exercise or heat causes it 
 to flow more freely, when it condenses on the sur- 
 face in drops. The perspiration consists of about 
 ninety-nine parts water, and one part solid matter. 
 The amount varies greatly, but on the average is, 
 for an adult, not far from two pounds per day. The 
 importance of this constant drainage has been 
 shown by frequent experiments. Small animals, as 
 the rabbit, when coated with varnish, die within 
 twelve hours, f 
 
 The Absorbing Power of the Skin. We have 
 already described two uses of the skin : (1) Its pro- 
 tective, (2) its exhaling, and now we come to (3) its 
 absorbing power. This is not so noticeable as the 
 others, and yet it can be illustrated. Persons fre- 
 
 * The current statement, that they would extend twenty-eight miles, is undoubt- 
 edly an exaggeration. Krause estimates the total number at 2,381,248, and the 
 length of each coil, when unraveled, at T V of an inch, which would make the total 
 length much less than even the statement in the text. Seguin states that the propor- 
 tion of impurities thrown off by the skin and the lungs, is eleveato seven. 
 
 t On an occasion of great solemnity, Pope Leo X. caused a child to be completely 
 covered with gold leaf, closely applied to the skin, so as to represent, according to 
 the idea of the age, the golden glory of an angel or seraph. Within a few hours 
 after this pageant the child died. The ignorant common people of those days attrib- 
 uted the death to the anger of the Deitv and looked upon it &* an evil omeu 
 
62 THE SKIN. 
 
 quently poison their hands with the common wood- 
 ivy. Contagious diseases are caught by touching a 
 patient, or even his clothing, especially if there be a 
 crack in the cuticle.* Painters absorb so much lead 
 through the pores of their hands that they are 
 attacked with colic, f Snuff and lard are frequently 
 rubbed on the chest of a child suffering with the 
 croup, to produce vomiting. It is said that seamen 
 hi want of water drench their clothing in salt spray, 
 and the skin will absorb enough moisture to quench 
 thirst (see Lymphatic System). 
 
 By carefully conducted experiments, it has been 
 found that the skin acts in the same way as the 
 lungs (see Respiration) in absorbing oxygen from 
 the air, and giving off carbonic acid to a small 
 but appreciable amount. Indeed, the skin has not 
 inaptly been styled the third lung.J 
 
 6. HYGIENE. 
 
 Hints about Washing and Bathing. The moment 
 of rising from bed is the proper time for the full 
 wash or bath with which one should commence the 
 day. The body is then warm, and can endure mod- 
 
 * If one ie called upon to handle a dead body, it is well, especially if the person 
 has died of a contagions disease, to rub the hand with lard or olive-oil. Poisonous 
 matter has been fatally absorbed through the breaking of the cuticle by a hang nail, 
 or a simple scratch. There is a story that Buonaparte, when a lieutenant of artillery, 
 in the heat of battle, seized the rammer and worked the gun of an artillery-man who 
 had fallen. From the wood which the soldier had used, Buonaparte absorbed a poison 
 that gave him a skin-disease, by which he was annoyed the remainder of his? life. 
 
 t Cosmetic", hair-dyes, etc.. are exceedingly injurious, not only because they tend 
 to fill the pores of the skin, but because they often contain poisonous matters that 
 may be absorbed into the system, especially if they are in a solution. 
 
 $ la some of the lower animals, it plays a etill more important part. Frog*, 
 deprived of their lungs, breathe with almost undiminiehcd activity, and often sur- 
 vive for days. 
 
HYGIENE. 63 
 
 erately cold water better than at any other time ; 
 it is relaxed, and needs bracing; and the nerves, 
 deadened by the night's repose, require a gentle 
 stimulus. If the system be strong enough to resist 
 the shock, cold water is the most invigorating ; if 
 not, a tepid bath will answer. * 
 
 Before dressing, the whole body should be thor- 
 oughly rubbed with a coarse towel or flesh-brush. 
 At first, the friction may be unpleasant, but this 
 sensitiveness will soon be overcome, and the keenest 
 pleasure be felt in the lively glow which follows. 
 A bath should not be taken just before nor imme- 
 diately after a meal, as it will interfere with the 
 digestion of the food. Soap should be employed 
 occasionally, but its frequent use tends to make the 
 skin dry and hard. 
 
 Reaction. After taking a cold bath, there should 
 be a prompt reaction. When the surface is chilled 
 by cold water, the blood sets to the heart and other 
 vital organs, exciting them to more vigorous action, 
 and then, being thrown back to the surface, it red- 
 dens, warms, and stimulates the skin to an un- 
 wonted degree. This is called the reaction, and in 
 
 * Many persons have not the conveniences for a bath. To them, the following 
 plan, which the author has daily employed for years, is commended. The necessities 
 are : a basin full of soft water, a rnild soap, a large sponge or a piece of flannel, and 
 two towels one soft, the other rough. The temperature of the water should vary 
 with the season of the year cold in summer and tepid in winter. Rub quickly the 
 entire body with the wet sponge or flannel. (If more agreeable, wash and wipe only 
 a part at a time, protecting the rest in cold weather with portions of clothing.) Dry 
 the skin gently with a soft towel, and when quite dry, with the rough towel or 
 flesh-brush rub the body briskly four or five minutes till the skin is all aglow. The 
 chest and abdomen need the principal rubbing. The roughness of the towel should 
 be accommodated to the condition of the skin. Enough friction, however, must be 
 given to produce at least a gentle warmth, indicative of the reaction necessary to 
 prevent subsequent chill or languor. An invalid will find it exceedingly beneficial 
 if a stout, vigorous person produce the reaction by rubbing with the hands. 
 
64 THE SKIN. 
 
 it lies the invigorating influence of the cold bath. 
 If, on the contrary, the skin be heated by a hot 
 bath, the blood is drawn to the surface, less blood 
 goes to the heart, the circulation decreases, and lan- 
 guor ensues. A dash of cold water is both neces- 
 sary and refreshing at its close.* 
 
 If, after a cold bath, there be felt no glow of 
 warmth, but only a chilliness and depression, we are 
 thereby warned that either proper means were not 
 taken to bring on this reaction, or that the circula- 
 tion is not vigorous enough to make such a bath 
 beneficial. The general effect of a cool bath is 
 exhilarating, and that of a warm one depressing.! 
 Hence the latter should not ordinarily be taken 
 oftener than once a week, while the former may be 
 enjoyed daily. 
 
 Sea-bathing is exceedingly stimulating, on account 
 of the action of the salt and the exciting surround- 
 ings. Twenty minutes is the utmost limit for bath- 
 ing or swimming in salt or fresh water. A chilly 
 sensation should be the signal for instant removal. 
 It is better to leave while the glow and buoyancy 
 which follow the first plunge are still felt. Gentle 
 exercise after a bath is beneficial. 
 
 * The Ruspirms are very fond of vapor baths, taken in the following manner. A 
 large room is heated by stoves. Red-hot stones being brought in, water is thrown 
 upon them, filling the room with pteam. The bathers f-it on benches until they j>er- 
 ppire profusely, when they are rubbed with soapsuds and dashed with cold water. 
 Sometimes, while in this state of excessive perspiration, they run out of doors and 
 leap into snow-banks. 
 
 t The sudden plunge into a cold bath is good for the strong and healthy, but too 
 severe for the delicate. One should always wet first the face, neck, and chest. It is 
 extremely injurious to stand in a bath with only ihe feet and the lower limbs cov 
 ered by the water, for the blood is thus sent from the extremities to the heart and 
 internal organs, and they become so burdened that reaction may be out of their 
 power. A brisk walk, or a thorough rubbing of the skin, before a cold bath or swim, 
 adds greatly to its value and pleasure. 
 
HYGIENE. 65 
 
 Clothing in winter, to keep us warm, should repel 
 the external cold and retain the heat of the body. 
 In summer, to keep us cool, it should not absorb the 
 rays of the sun, and should permit the passage of 
 the heat of the body. At all seasons, it should be 
 porous, to give ready escape to the perspiration, and 
 a free admission of air to the skin. We can readily 
 apply these essential conditions to the different 
 kinds of clothing. 
 
 Linen is soft to the touch, and is a good conductor 
 of heat. Hence it is pleasant for summer wear, but, 
 being apt to chill the surface too rapidly, it should 
 not be worn next the skin. 
 
 Cotton is a poorer conductor of heat and absorber 
 of moisture, and is therefore warmer than linen. It 
 is sufficiently cool for summer wear, and affords bet- 
 ter protection against sudden changes. 
 
 Woolen absorbs moisture slowly, and contains 
 much air in its pores. It is therefore a poor conduc- 
 tor of heat, and guards the wearer against the 
 vicissitudes of our climate. 
 
 The outer clothing may be adapted largely to 
 ornament, and may be varied to suit our fancy and 
 the requirements of society. But the body should 
 be protected by plentiful under-clothing, which 
 should be of itself sufficient to keep us warm. 
 Flannel should be worn next the skin at all times, 
 except in the heat of summer, when cotton flannel 
 may be substituted. In the coldest weather, it 
 should be doubled. Its roughness is sometimes 
 disagreeable, but habit soon overcomes this sensi- 
 tiveness, and renders it exceedingly grateful. 
 
66 THE SKIN. 
 
 Light-colored clothing is not only cooler in sum- 
 mer, but warmer in winter. As the warmth of 
 clothing depends greatly on the amount of air con- 
 tained in its fibers, fine, loose, porous cloth with 
 a plenty of nap is best for winter wear. Firm 
 and heavy goods are not necessarily the warmest. 
 Furs are the perfection of winter clothing, since 
 they combine warmth with lightness. Two light 
 woolen garments are warmer than one heavy one, 
 as there is between them a layer of non-conduct- 
 ing air. 
 
 All the body except the head should be equally 
 protected by clothing. Whatever fashion may dic- 
 tate, no part covered to-day can be uncovered to- 
 night or to-morrow, except at the peril of health. 
 It is a most barbarous and cruel custom to leave the 
 limbs of little children unprotected, when adults 
 would shiver at the very thought of exposure. 
 Equally so is it for children to be thinly clad for the 
 purpose of hardening them. To go shivering with 
 cold is not the way to increase one's power of endur- 
 ance. The system is made more vigorous by exer- 
 cise and food ; not by exposure. In winter, there is 
 more fear of too little than too much clothing. 
 Above all, the feet need heavy shoes with thick 
 soles, and rubbers when it is damp. At night, and 
 after exercise, we require extra clothing. 
 
 Diseases, etc. ERYSIPELAS is an inflammation (see 
 Inflammation) of the skin, and often begins in a 
 spot not larger than a pin-head, which spreads with 
 great rapidity. It is very commonly checked by 
 the application of a solution of iodine. The burn- 
 
DISEASES. 6? 
 
 ing and contracting sensation may be relieved by 
 cloths wrung out of hot water. 
 
 2. DROPSY is a disease in which there is an accu- 
 mulation of water in the system. On account of the 
 free passage between the cells of the connective tis- 
 sue, this liquid gradually settles into the feet when 
 the person is standing ; on reclining, the equilibrium 
 is restored. 
 
 3. CORNS are a thickened part of the cuticle, 
 caused by pressure or friction. They most fre- 
 quently occur on the feet ; but are produced on the 
 shoemaker's knee by constant hammering, and on 
 the soldier's shoulder by the rubbing of his mus- 
 ket. This hard portion irritates the sensitive cutis 
 beneath, and so causes pain. By soaking the feet 
 in hot water, the corn will be softened, when it 
 may be pared with a sharp knife. If the cause be 
 removed, the corn will not return. 
 
 4. IN-GROWING NAILS are caused by pressure, 
 which forces the edge of the toe-nail into the flesh. 
 They may be cured by carefully cutting away the 
 part which has mal-grown, and then scraping the 
 back of the nail till it is thin and no longer resists 
 the pressure. The two portions, uniting, will draw 
 away the nail from the flesh at the edge. They are 
 prevented by paring the nail straight across, thus 
 making the corners right angles, and by wearing 
 broad shoes. 
 
 5. WARTS are overgrown papillae (Fig. 24.). They 
 may generally be removed by the application of 
 glacial acetic acid, or a drop of nitric acid, repeated 
 until the entire structure is softened. Care must be 
 
68 THE SKIN. 
 
 taken to keep the acid from touching the neighbor- 
 ing skin. The capricious character of warts has 
 given rise to the popular delusion concerning the 
 influence of charms upon them. 
 
 6. CHILBLAIN is a local inflammation affecting 
 generally the feet, the hands, or the lobes of the ear. 
 Liability to it usually passes away with manhood. 
 It is not caused by "freezing the feet," as many 
 suppose, though attacks are brought on, or aggra- 
 vated, by exposure to cold and by sudden warming. 
 It is subject to daily congestion (see Congestion), 
 manifested by itching, soreness, etc., commonly 
 occurring at night. The best preventive is a uniform 
 temperature, and careful protection against the cold 
 by warm, loose, and plentiful clothing, especially 
 for the feet. 
 
 7. WENS are caused by an unnatural activity of 
 the arteries, which deposit more nutriment than is 
 needed. Physicians " scatter them," as it is termed, 
 by stimulating the absorbents to carry off the excess. 
 A boil often disappears without "coming to a head" 
 in a somewhat similar way, i. e., by the renewed 
 activity of the absorbing vessels. 
 
 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 1. If a hair be plucked out, will it grow again ? 
 
 2. What causes the hair to "stand on end" when we are fright 
 ened? 
 
 3. Why is the skin roughened by riding in the cold t 
 
PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 69 
 
 4. Why is the back of a washer-woman's hand less water-soaked 
 than the palm ? 
 
 5. What would be the length of the perspiratory tubes in a single 
 square inch of the palm, if placed end to end ? 
 
 6. What colored clothing is best adapted to all seasons ? 
 
 7. What is the effect of paint and powder on the skin ? 
 
 8. Is water-proof clothing healthful for constant wear ? 
 
 9. Why are rubbers cold to the feet ? 
 
 10. Why does the heat seem oppressive when the air is moist? 
 
 11. Why is friction of the skin invigorating after a cold bath? 
 
 12. Why does the hair of domestic animals become roughened in 
 winter ? 
 
 13. Why do fowls shake out their feathers erect before they perch 
 for the night ? 
 
 14. How can an extensive burn cause death by congestion of the 
 lungs ? 
 
 15. Why do we perspire so profusely after drinking cold water ? 
 
 16. What are the best means of preventing skin-diseases, colds, and 
 rheumatism? 
 
 17. What causes the difference between the hard hand of a black- 
 smith and the soft hand of a woman ? 
 
 18. Why should a painter avoid getting paint on the palm of his 
 hand? 
 
 19. Why should we not use the soap or the soiled towel at a hotel ? 
 
 20. Which teeth cut like a pair of scissors ? 
 
 21. Which teeth cut like a chisel ? 
 
 22. Which should be clothed the warmer, a merchant or a farmer ? 
 
 23. Why should we not crack nuts with our teeth ? 
 
 24. Do the edges of the upper and the lower teeth meet ? 
 
 25. When fatigued, would you take a cold bath ? 
 
 26. Why is the outer surface of a kid glove finer than the 
 inner? 
 
 27. Why will a brunette endure the sun's rays better than a 
 blonde ? 
 
 28. Does patent leather form a healthful covering for the feet ? 
 
70 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 29. Why are men more frequently bald than women? 
 
 30. On what part of the head does baldness commonly occur * 
 Why? 
 
 31. What does the combination in our teeth of canines and grinders 
 suggest as to the character of our food ? 
 
 32. Is a staid, formal promenade suitable exercise ? 
 
 33. Is there any danger in changing the warm clothing of our daily 
 wear for the thin one of a party ? 
 
 34. Should we retain our overcoat, shawl, or furs when -we come 
 into a warm room ? 
 
 35. Which should bathe the oftener, students or out-door labor- 
 ers? 
 
 36. Is abundant perspiration injurious ? 
 
 37. How often should the ablution of the entire body be performed ? 
 
 38. Why is cold water better than warm, for our daily ablution? 
 
 39. Why should our clothing always fit loosely ? 
 
 40. Why should we take special pains to avoid clothing that is 
 colored by poisonous dye stuffs ? 
 
 41. What general principles should guide us as to the length and 
 frequency of baths in salt or fresh water? 
 
 42. What is the beneficial effect of exercise upon the functions of the 
 skin? 
 
 43. How can we best show our admiration and respect for the human 
 body? 
 
 44. Why is the scar of a severe wound upon a negro sometimes 
 white ? 
 
IV. 
 
 RESPIRATION 
 
 AND 
 
 THE VOICE. 
 
 " The smooth soft air with pulse-like waves 
 Plows murmuring through its hidden caves, 
 Whose streams of brightening purple rush, 
 Fired with a new and livelier blush ; 
 While all their burthen of decay 
 The ebbing current steals away. " 
 
1. ORGANS or VOICE 
 
 II: 
 
 The Larynx. 
 2. The Vocal Cords. 
 
 Different Tones of Voice. 
 
 4. Speech. 
 
 5. Formation of Vocal Sounds. 
 
 2. ORGANS OP RESPERA 
 
 TION. 
 
 3. How WE BREATHE. . 
 
 4. MODIFICATIONS or THE 
 BREATH. 
 
 f" 1, The Trachea. 
 
 12. The Bronchial Tubes. 
 3. The Cells. 
 4. The Lung-wrapping. 
 5. The Cilia. 
 
 j 1. Inspiration. 
 I 2. Expiration. 
 
 1. Sighing. 
 
 2. Coughing. 
 
 3. Sneezing. 
 
 4. Snoring. 
 
 5. Laughing, and Crying. 
 
 6. Hiccough. 
 
 7. Yawning. 
 
 5. CAPACITY OF THE LUNGS. 
 
 6. HTGIENE. 
 
 1. The Need of Air. 
 
 2. Action of Air in the Lungs. 
 
 3. Tests of the Breath. 
 
 4. Analysis of expired Air. 
 
 5. Effect of re-breathed Air. 
 
 The Sources of Im- 
 
 k 
 
 purity, 
 he Sick- 
 
 b. The Sick-room. 
 
 of Ventilation. 
 
 Ie. The Church, 
 f. The School-room. 
 , g. How we should 
 I ventilate. 
 
 7. THE WONDERS OP RESPIRATION. 
 
 8. DISEASES.. 
 
 1. Constriction of the Lungs. 
 
 2. Bronchitis. 
 
 3. Pleurisy. 
 
 4. Pneumonia. 
 
 5. Consumption. 
 
 6. Asphyxia. 
 
 7. Diphtheria. 
 
 8. Croup. 
 
 9. Stammering. 
 
RESPIRATION 
 
 AND 
 
 THE VOICE. 
 
 rpHE ORGANS of Respiration and the Voice are 
 -L the larynx, the trachea, and the lungs. 
 
 Description of the Organs of the Voice. 1. THE 
 LARYNX. In the neck, is a prominence some- 
 times called Adam's apple. It is the front of the 
 larynx. This is a small triangular, cartilaginous box, 
 placed just behind the tongue, and at the top of the 
 windpipe. The opening into it from the throat is 
 called the glottis ; and the cover, the epiglottis (epi, 
 upon ; gldtta, the tongue). The latter is a spoon- 
 shaped lid, which opens when we breathe, but, by a 
 nice arrangement, shuts when we try to swallow, 
 and so lets our food slip over it into the oesophagus 
 (e-sof'-a-gus), the tube leading from the pharynx 
 to the stomach (Fig. 27). 
 
 If we laugh or talk when we swallow, our food is 
 apt to "go the wrong way," i. e., little particles pass 
 into the larynx, and the tickling sensation which 
 
RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 
 
 Fig. 27. 
 
 Passage to the (Esophaau* and Windpipe; c, the tongue : d, the soft palate, finding 
 in g, the uvula ; h, the epiglottis ; i, the glottis; I, the asophagus; f, the pharynx. 
 
 they produce forces us to cough in order to expel 
 the intruders. 
 
 2. THE VOCAL CORDS. On each side of the glottis 
 are the so-called vocal cords. They are not really 
 cords, but merely elastic membranes projecting from 
 the sides of the box across the opening. * When not 
 in use, they spread apart and leave a V-shaped orifice 
 (Fig. 28), through which the air passes to and from 
 the lungs. If the cords are tightened, the edges 
 
 * The cartilages and voral cords of the larynx may be readily seen in that of 
 the ox or sheep. If the flesh be cut off, the cartilages will dry, and will keep 
 for years. 
 
DIFFERENT TONES OF THE VOICE. 
 
 e, e, the vocal cords ; d, the 
 epiglottis. 
 
 approach sometimes within 
 of an inch of each other, and, 
 being thrown into vibration, 
 cause corresponding vibrations 
 in the current of air. Thus 
 sound is produced in the same 
 manner as by the vibrations of 
 the tongues of an accordeon, or 
 the strings of a violin, only in 
 this case the strings are scarcely 
 an inch long. 
 
 Different Tones of the Voice. 
 The higher tones of the voice are produced when 
 the cords are short, tight, and closely in contact ; the 
 lower, by the opposite conditions. Loudness is regu- 
 lated by the quantity of air and force of expulsion. 
 A falsetto voice is thought to be the result of a 
 peculiarity in the pharynx (Fig. 27) at the back part 
 of the nose ; it is more probably produced by some 
 muscular manoeuvre not yet fully understood. When 
 boys are about fourteen years of age, the larynx 
 enlarges, and the cords grow proportionately longer 
 and coarser ; hence, the voice becomes deeper, or, as 
 we say, "changes." The peculiar harshness of the 
 voice at this time seems to be due to a congestion of 
 the mucous membrane of the cords. The change 
 may occur very suddenly, the voice breaking in a 
 single night. 
 
 Speech is voice modulated by the lips, tongue,* 
 
 * The tongue is styled the " unruly member," and held responsible for all the 
 tattling of the world ; but when the tongue is removed, the adjacent organs in some 
 way largely supply the deficiency, so that speech is still possible. Huxley describes 
 the conversation of a man who had two and one-half inches of his tongue preserved 
 
76 
 
 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 
 
 palate, and teeth.* Speech and voice are commonly 
 associated, but speech may, however, exist without 
 the voice ; for when we whisper we articulate the 
 words, although there is no vocalization, i. e., no 
 action of the larynx, f 
 
 Fin. W. 
 
 The Lungs, showing the Larynx. A, the windpipe ; B, Hie bronchial tubes. 
 
 in spirits, and yet conld converse intelligibly. Only the two letters t and d were 
 beyond his power ; hence, tin became " fin," and dog became " thog." 
 
 * An artificial larynx may be made by usintr elastic bands to represent the vocal 
 cords, and by placing above them chambers which by their resonance will produce 
 the same effect as the cavities lying above the larynx. An artificial speaking- 
 machine was constructed by Kempt-Jen, which could pronounce such sentences as, 
 "I love you with all my heart," in different languages, by simply touching the 
 proper keys. 
 
 + We can observe this by placing the hand on the throat, and noticing the absence 
 of vibrations when we whisper, and their presence when we talk. The difference 
 between vocalization and non-vocalization is seen In a High and a groan, tde latter 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANS OF RESPIRATION. 77 
 
 Formation of Vocal Sounds. The method of mod- 
 ulating voice into speech may be seen by producing 
 the pure vowel sounds a, e, etc., from one expiration, 
 the mouth being kept open while the form of the 
 aperture is changed for each vowel by the tongue 
 and the lips. H is only an explosion, or forcible 
 throwing of a vowel sound from the mouth.* 
 
 The consonants, or short sounds, may also be made 
 without interrupting the current of air, by various 
 modifications of the vocal organs. In sounding 
 singly any one of the letters, we can detect its pecu- 
 liar requirements. Thus m and n can be made only 
 by blocking the air in the mouth and sending it 
 through the nose ; / lets the air escape at the sides 
 of the tongue ; r needs a vibratory movement of 
 the tongue ; b and p stop the breath at the lips ; 
 d and , at the back of the palate. Consonants like 
 b and d are abrupt, or, like I and s, continuous. 
 Those made by the lips are termed labials ; those by 
 pressing the tongue against the teeth, dentals; those 
 by the tongue, linguals. 
 
 The child gains speech slowly, first learning to 
 pronounce the vowel a, the consonants 6, m, and p, 
 and then their unions ba, ma, pa. 
 
 Description of the Organs of Respiration. Beneath 
 the larynx is the wind-pipe, or trachea (see Fig. 29), 
 so called because of its roughness. It is strength- 
 being the former vocalized. Whistling is a pure mouth-sound, and does not depend 
 on the voice. Laughter is vocal, being the aspirated vowels, a, e, or o, convulsively 
 repeated. 
 
 * When, in sounding a vowel, the sound coincides with a sudden change in the 
 position of the vocal cords from one of divergence to one of approximation, the 
 vowel is pronounced with the spiritits asper. When the vocal cords are brought 
 together before the blast of air begins, the vowel is pronounced with the sjAritus 
 lento. Foster. 
 
RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 
 
 ened by C- shaped cartilages with the openings 
 behind, where they are attached to the oesophagus. 
 
 At the lower end, the tra- 
 chea divides into two 
 branches, called the right 
 and left bronchi. These 
 subdivide in the small 
 bronchial tubes, which 
 ramify through the lungs 
 like the branches of a 
 tree, the tiny twigs of 
 which at last end in clus- 
 ters of cells so small that 
 there are 600,000,000 in- 
 all. This cellular struc- 
 ture renders the lungs 
 exceedingly soft, elastic, 
 and sponge-like.* 
 
 The stiff, cartilaginous rings, so noticeable in the 
 rough surface of the trachea and the bronchi, dis- 
 appear as we reach the smaller bronchial tubes, so 
 that while the former are kept constantly open for 
 the free admission of air, the latter are provided with 
 elastic fibers by which they may be almost closed. 
 
 Wrappings of the Lungs. The lungs are invested 
 with a double covering the pleura one layer being 
 attached to the lungs and the other to the walls of 
 the chest. It secretes a fluid which lubricates it, so 
 that the layers glide upon each other with perfect 
 
 * The lungn of slaughtered animals are vulgarly called " lights," probably on 
 account of their lightness. They are similar in structure to those of man. They 
 will float on water, and if a small piece be forcibly squeezed between the fingers 
 (notice the creaking sound it gives), it will still retain sufficient air to make it 
 buoyant. 
 
 Bronchial Tubes, with dusters of cells. 
 
THE CILIA. 
 
 Fig. 31. 
 
 A, the heart ; "B the lungs drawn aside to fhoiv the internal organs ; C, the dia- 
 phragm ; D, the liver ; E, the gall cyst ; F, the stomach ; G, the small intestine ; 
 H, the transverse colon. 
 
 ease.* The lungs are lined with mucous membrane, 
 exceedingly delicate and sensitive to the presence of 
 anything except pure air. We have all noticed this 
 when we have breathed anything offensive. 
 
 The Cilia. Along the air passages are minute 
 filaments (cilia, Fig. 32), which are in constant mo- 
 tion, like a field of grain stirred by a gentle breeze. 
 They serve to fan the air in the lungs, and produce 
 an outward current, which is useful in catching dust 
 and fine particles swept inward with the breath. 
 
 * These pleural sacs are distinct and closed ; hence, when the ribs are raised, a 
 partial vacuum being formed in the sacs, air rushes in, and distends the pulmonary 
 lobules. 
 
80 
 
 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 
 
 B, a section Of the mucous 
 membrane, showing the cilia 
 rising from the peculiar epithe- 
 lial cells on the outside of the 
 mucous membrane lining the 
 tubes; A. a single cell more 
 highly magnified. 
 
 How we Breathe. Respira- 
 tion consists of two acts tak- 
 ing in the air, or inspiration, 
 and expelling the air, or expi- 
 ration. 
 
 1. INSPIRATION. When we 
 draw in a full breath, we 
 straighten the spine and throw 
 the head and shoulders back, 
 so as to give the greatest ad- 
 vantage to the muscles.* At 
 the same time, the diaphragm f descends and presses 
 the walls of the abdomen outward. Both these 
 processes increase the size of the chest. Thereupon, 
 the elastic lungs expand to occupy the extra space, 
 while the air, rushing in through the windpipe, 
 pours along the bronchial tubes and crowds into 
 every cell.J 
 2. EXPIRATION. When we forcibly expel the air 
 
 * If we examine the bony cage of the thorax or chest in Fig. 8, we shall fee that 
 the position of the rihs may alter its capacity in two ways. 1. As they run obliquely 
 downward from the spine, if the sternum or breast-bone be lifted in front, the 
 diameter of the chest will be increased. 2. The rib? are fastened by elastic carti- 
 lages, which stretch as the muscles that lift the ribs contract, and so increase the 
 breadth of the chest. 
 
 t The diaphragm is the muscular partition between the chest and the abdomen. 
 It is always convex toward the former and concave toward the latter (Fig. 31>. Long 
 muscular fibers extend from its center toward the ribs in front and Ihe spine at the 
 back. When these contract, they depress and flatten the diaphragm ; when they 
 relax, it becomes convex again. In the former case, the bowels are pressed down- 
 ward and the abdomen pushed outward; in the latter, the bowels spring upward, 
 and the abdomen is drawn inward. 
 
 $ It is said that in drawing a full breath, the muscles exert a force equal to raising 
 a weight of 759 pounds. When we are about to make a great effort, as in striking a 
 heavy blow, we naturally take a deep inspiration, and shut the glottis. The confined 
 air makes the chest tense and firm, and enables ns to exert a erreater force. As we 
 let slip the blow, thfi glottis opons and the air escapes, often with a curious aspirated 
 sound, as is noticeable in workmen To make a good shot with <i rifle, we should 
 take aim with a full chest and tight breath, since then the arms will have a steadier 
 support. 
 
MODIFICATIONS OF THE BREATH. 81 
 
 from our lungs, the operation is reversed. We bend 
 forward, draw in the walls of the abdomen, and 
 press the diaphragm upward, while the ribs are 
 pulled downward, all together diminishing the size 
 of the chest, and forcing the air outward. 
 
 Ordinary, quiet breathing is performed mainly by 
 the diaphragm, one breath to every four beats of 
 the heart, or eighteen per minute. 
 
 Modifications of the Breath. Sighing is merely a 
 prolonged inspiration followed by an audible expira- 
 tion. Coughing is a violent expiration in which the 
 air is driven through the mouth. Sneezing differs 
 from coughing, the air being forced through the 
 nose. Snoring is a sleeping accompaniment, in 
 which the air passes through both nose and mouth. 
 The peculiar sound is produced by the palate flap- 
 ping in this divided current of air, and so throwing 
 it into vibration. Laughing and crying are very 
 much alike. The expression of the face is necessary 
 to distinguish between them. The sounds are pro- 
 duced by short, rapid contractions of the diaphragm. 
 Hiccough is confined to inspiration. It is caused by 
 a contraction of the diaphragm and a constriction of 
 the glottis ; the current of air just entering, as it 
 strikes the closed glottis, gives rise to the well-known 
 sound. Yawning, or gaping, is like sighing/" It is 
 distinguished by a wide opening of the mouth and 
 a deep, profound inspiration. Both processes furnish 
 additional air, and therefore probably meet a demand 
 
 * Their usefulness lies in bringing up the arrears, as it were, of respiration, when 
 it has fallen behindhand either through fatigue or close attention to other occupa- 
 tion. The stretching of the jaws and limbs may also serve to equalize the nervous 
 influence, certain muscles having become uneasy on account of being stretched or 
 contracted for a long time. 
 
82 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 
 
 of the system for more oxygen. Frequently, how- 
 ever, they are like laughing, sobbing, etc., merely a 
 sort of contagion, which runs through an audience, 
 and seems almost irresistible. 
 
 The Capacity of the Lungs. If we take a deep 
 inspiration, and then forcibly exhale all the air we 
 can expel from the lungs, this amount, which is 
 termed the breathing capacity, will bear a very close 
 correspondence to our stature. For a man of medium 
 height (5 ft. 8 in.) it will be about 230 cubic inches,* 
 or a gallon, and for each inch of height between five 
 and six feet there will be an increase of eight cubic 
 inches. In addition, it is found that the lungs con- 
 tain about 100 cubic inches which cannot be expelled, 
 thus making their entire contents about 330 cubic 
 inches, or eleven pints. The extra amount always 
 on hand in the lungs is of great value, since thereby 
 the action of the air goes on continuously, even 
 during a violent expiration. In ordinary breathing, 
 only about twenty or thirty cubic inches (less than a 
 pint) of air pass in and out. 
 
 The Need of Air. The body needs food, clothing, 
 sunshine, bathing, and drink ; but none of these 
 wants is so pressing as that for air. The other de- 
 mands may be met by occasional supplies, but air 
 must be furnished every moment or we die. Now 
 the vital element of the atmosphere is oxygen gas. f 
 
 * Of this amount, 100 cubic inches can be forced in only by an extra effort, and is 
 available for emergencies, or for purposes of training as in singing, climbing, etc. 
 It is of great importance, since, if the capacity of the lungs only equaled our daily 
 wants, the least obstruction would prove fatal. 
 
 t See Steele's Chemistry, p.nge 43. The atmosphere consists of one-fifth oxygen 
 and four-fifths nitrogen. The former is the active element ; and the latter, the 
 passive. Oxygen alone would be too stimulating, and must be restrained by the 
 neutral nitrogen. 
 
ANALYSIS 0$ THE EXCISED AIR. 83 
 
 This is a stimulating, life-giving principle. No tonic 
 will so invigorate as a few full, deep breaths of cold, 
 pure air. Every organ will glow with the energy of 
 the fiery oxygen. 
 
 Action of the Air in the Lungs. In the delicate 
 cells of the lungs, the air gives up its oxygen to the 
 blood, and receives in turn carbonic-acid gas and 
 water, foul with waste matter which the blood has 
 picked up in its circulation through the body. The 
 blood, thus purified and laden with the inspiring 
 oxygen, goes bounding through the system, while 
 the air we exhale carries off the impurities. In this 
 process, the blood changes from purple to red. If 
 we examine our breath, we can readily see what it 
 has removed from the blood. 
 
 Tests of the Breath.!. Breathe into a jar, and 
 on lowering into it a lighted candle, the flame will 
 be instantly extinguished ; thus indicating the pres- 
 ence of carbonic-acid gas. 2. Breathe upon a mirror, 
 and a film of moisture will show the vapor. * 3. If 
 the breath be confined in a bottle for a time, the 
 animal matter will decompose and give off an offen- 
 sive odor. 
 
 Analysis of the Expired Air shows that it has lost 
 about twenty-five per cent, of its oxygen, and gained 
 an equal amount of carbonic-acid gas, besides 
 moisture, and organic impurities. Our breath, then, 
 is air robbed of its vitality, and containing in its 
 
 * There is a close relation between the functions of the skin, the lungs, and the 
 kidneys the scavengers, of the body. They all carry off water from the blood, 
 and when the function of one of the three is, in this respect, interfered with, the 
 others are called upon to perform its functions. When the function of perspiration 
 is deranged, the lungs and kidneys are required to perform heavier duty, and this 
 may lead to disease (p. 61). 
 
$4 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 
 
 place a gas as fatal to life * as it is to a flame, and 
 effete matter which is disagreeable to the smell, 
 injurious to the health, and may contain the germs 
 of disease. 
 
 The Evil Effect of Re-breathing the air cannot be 
 over-estimated. We take back into our bodies that 
 which has just been rejected. The blood thereupon 
 leaves the lungs, bearing, not the invigorating 
 oxygen, but refuse matter to obstruct the whole sys- 
 tem. We soon feel the effect. The muscles become 
 inactive. The blood stagnates. The heart acts 
 slowly. The food is undigested. The brain is 
 clogged. The head aches. Instances of fatal results 
 are only too frequent, f The constant breathing of 
 even the slightly-impure air of our houses cannot 
 but tend to undermine the health. The blood is not 
 purified, and is thus in a condition to receive the 
 seeds of disease at any time. The system uninspired 
 by the energizing oxygen is sensitive to cold. The 
 pale cheek, the lustreless eye, the languid step, 
 speak but too plainly of oxygen starvation. In such 
 a soil, catarrh, scrofula, and consumption run riot. J 
 
 * Carbonic-acid gas cannot be breathed when undiluted, as the glottis closes and 
 forbids its passage into the lungs. Air containing only three or four per cent, acts 
 as a narcotic poison (Mittei-), and a much smaller proportion will have an injurious 
 effect. The great danger, however, lies in the organic particles constantly exhaled 
 from the lungs and the skin, which, it is believed, are often direct and active 
 poisons. 
 
 t During the English war in India in the last century, 146 prisoners were shut up 
 in a room scarcely large enough to hold them. The air could enter only by two nar- 
 row windows. At the end of eight hours, but twenty-three persons remained alive, 
 and these were in a most deplorable condition. This prison is well called " The 
 Black Hole of Calcutta. 1 ' Percy relates that after the battle of Ansterlitz, 300 Rus- 
 sian prisoners were confined in a cavern, where 260 of thorn perished in a few hours. 
 The stupid captain of the ship Londonderry, during a storm at sea. shut the 
 hatches. There were only seven cubic feet of space left for each person, and in six 
 hours ninety of the passengers were dead. 
 
 % ' One not very strong, or unable powerfully to resist conditions unfavorable to 
 
CONCERNING VENTILATION. 85 
 
 Concerning the Need of Ventilation. The foul air 
 which passes off from the lungs and through the 
 pores of the skin does not fall to the floor, but 
 diffuses itself through the surrounding atmosphere. 
 A single breath will to a trifling but certain extent 
 taint the air of a whole room.* A light will vitiate 
 as much air as a dozen persons. Many breaths and 
 lights therefore rapidly unfit the air for our use. 
 
 The perfection of ventilation is reached when the 
 air of a room is as pure as that out of doors. To ac- 
 complish this result, it is necessary to allow for each 
 person 600 cubic feet of space, while ventilation is 
 still going on in the best manner known. 
 
 In spite of these well-known facts, scarcely any 
 pains are taken to supply fresh air, while the doors 
 and windows where the life-giving oxygen might 
 creep in are hermetically stopped. 
 
 How often is this true of the sick-room. Yet here 
 the danger of bad air is intensified. The expired 
 breath of the patient is peculiarly threatening to 
 himself as well as to others. Nature is seeking to 
 throw off the poison of the disease. The scavengers 
 of the body are all at work. The breath and the in- 
 sensible perspiration are loaded with impurities, f 
 
 health, and with a predisposition to lung disease, will be sure, sooner or later, by 
 partial lung starvation and blood-poisoning, to develop pulmonary consumption. 
 The lack of what is so abundant and so cheap good, pure air is unquestionably the 
 one great cause of this terrible disease." Black's Ten Laws of Health. 
 
 * This grows out of a well-known philosophical principle called the Diffusion of 
 Gases, whereby two gases tend to mix in exact proportions, no matter what may be 
 the quantity of each. Steele's Chemistry, p. 96, and Physics, p. 49. 
 
 t The floating dust in the air, revealed to us by the sunbeam shining through a 
 crack in the blinds, shows the abundance of these impurities, and also the presence 
 of germs -which, lodging in the lungs, may implant disease, unless thrown off by a 
 vigorous constitution. " On uncovering a scarlet-fever patient, a cloud of fine dust 
 is seen to rise from the body contagious dust, that for days will retain its poisonous 
 properties," Youman?. 
 
86 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 
 
 The odor is oftentimes exceedingly offensive. Sick 
 and well alike need an abundance of fresh air. But, 
 too often, it is the only want not supplied. 
 
 Our sitting-rooms, heated by furnaces or red-hot 
 stoves, generally have no means of ventilation, or, 
 if provided, they are seldom used. A window is 
 occasionally dropped to give a little relief, as if pure 
 air were a rarity, and must be doled out to the suf- 
 fering lungs in morsels, instead of full and constant 
 draughts. The inmates are starved by scanty lung- 
 food, and stupefied by foul air. The process goes on 
 year by year. The weakened and poisoned body at 
 last succumbs to disease, while we, in our blindness 
 and ignorance, talk of the mysterious Providence 
 which thus untimely cuts down the brightest intel- 
 lects. The truth is, death is often simply the penalty 
 for violating nature's laws. Bad air begets disease ; 
 disease begets death. 
 
 In our churches, the foul air left by the congrega- 
 tion on Sunday is shut up during the week, and 
 heated for the next Lord's day, when the people 
 assemble to re-breathe the polluted atmosphere. 
 They are thus forced, with every breath they take, 
 to violate the physical laws of Him whom they meet 
 to worship, laws written not 3000 years ago upon 
 Mount Sinai on tables of stone, but to-day engraved 
 . in the constitution of their own living, breathing 
 bodies. On brains benumbed and starving for oxy- 
 gen, the purest truth and the highest eloquence fall 
 with little force. 
 
 We sleep in a small bed-room from which every 
 breath of fresh air is excluded, because we believe 
 
SCHOOL-ROOM VENTILATION. 87 
 
 night-air to be unhealthy,* and so we breathe its 
 dozen hogsheads of air over and over again, and 
 then wonder why we awaken in the morning so dull 
 and unref reshed ! Return to our room after inhaling 
 the fresh, morning air, and the fetid odor we meet on 
 opening the door, is convincing proof how we have 
 poisoned our lungs during the night. 
 
 Each room should be supplied with 2000 feet of 
 fresh air per hour for every person it contains. Our 
 ingenuity ought to find some way of doing this 
 advantageously and pleasantly. A moiety of the 
 care we devote to delicate articles of food, drink, 
 and dress would abundantly meet this prime neces- 
 sity of our bodies. 
 
 Open the windows a little at the top and the bot- 
 tom. Put on plenty of clothing to keep warm by 
 day and by night, and then let the inspiring oxygen 
 come in as freely as God has given it. Pure air is 
 the cheapest necessity and luxury of life. Let it not 
 be the rarest ! 
 
 School-room Ventilation. Who, on going from the 
 open air of a clear, bracing winter's day, into a 
 crowded school-room, late in the session, has not 
 noticed the disagreeable odor, and been for a mo- 
 ment nauseated, and half-stifled by the oppressive 
 atmosphere ! It is not strange. See how many 
 causes here combine to pollute the air. If the room 
 is heated by a stove, quantities of carbonic-oxide 
 
 * There is a singular prejudice against the night air. Yet, as Florence Nightin- 
 gale aptly says, what other air can we breathe at night? We then have the choice 
 between foul air within and pure air without. For, in large cities especially, the 
 night air is far more wholesome than that of the day-time. To secure fresh air all 
 night we must open the wiudpws of our bed -room. 
 
88 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 
 
 and carbonic-acid gases, as well as other products 
 of combustion, driven by downward drafts in the 
 flue, escape through seams and cracks and the 
 occasionally-opened door of the stove. In the case 
 of a furnace, the same effect is too often experi- 
 enced and the odor of coal-gas is a common one, 
 especially when the fire is replenished. The insen- 
 sible perspiration is more active in children than in 
 adults ; they, moreover, rush in with their clothing 
 saturated with the perspiration induced by their 
 sports ; so that, on the average, each pupil, during 
 school hours, loads the air with about half-a-pint of 
 aqueous vapor. The children come, oftentimes, from 
 homes that are close, ill-ventilated, and uncleanly ; 
 and frequently from sick-rooms, bringing in their 
 clothing the germs of disease. Some of the pupils 
 may even bear traces of illness, or have unsound 
 organs, and so their breath and exhalations be 
 poisonous. 
 
 In addition to all this, the air is filled with dust 
 brought in and kept astir by many busy feet ; by 
 ashes from the stove or furnace ; and especially by 
 chalk-dust. The modern method of teaching requires 
 a large amount of black-board work and the air of 
 the school-room is thus loaded with chalk-particles. 
 These collect in the nasal passages, and the upper 
 part of the larynx, and irritate the membrane, per- 
 haps laying the foundation of catarrh. 
 
 The usual school-room atmosphere bears in the 
 pupils the natural fruit of frequent headaches, in- 
 attention, weariness, and stupor : but in the teacher 
 its frightful influence is most apparent. His labor 
 is severe, his worry of mind is constant, and, when 
 
HOW SHALL WE VENTILATE ? 89 
 
 he finishes his day's work, he is generally too tired 
 to take the required exercise. He consequently 
 labors on with impaired health, or breaks down 
 prematurety. 
 
 Instead of six hundred feet of space being allowed 
 for each pupil, as perfect ventilation demands the 
 lowest estimate being 250 feet often not over one 
 hundred feet are afforded. Instead of 2000 cubic 
 feet of fresh air for each pupil being supplied, and 
 as much foul air removed every hour, as all physi- 
 ologists assert is needed for perfect health, perhaps 
 no means of ventilation at all are provided, and 
 none is secured except what an occasionally-opened 
 door, or the benevolent cracks and chinks in the 
 building furnish the suffering lungs.* 
 X How shall We Ventilate ? The usual method of 
 ventilation depends upon the fact that hot air is 
 lighter than cold air, and so the cold air tends, by 
 the force of gravity, to fall and compel the warm 
 air to rise. Thus, if we open the door of a heated 
 room, and hold a lighted candle first at the top, and 
 then at the bottom, we can see, by the deflection of 
 the flame, that there is a current of air setting out- 
 ward at the top, and another setting inward at the 
 bottom of the opening. A handkerchief held loosely, 
 or the smoke of a smoldering match, in front of a 
 fire-place will show a current of air passing up the 
 
 * Imagine fifty pupils put into a class-room thirty feet long, twenty-five feet wide, 
 mid ten feet high. This would generally be considered a very liberal provision. 
 Such a room contains 7500 cubic feet of air. But it furnishes only 150 feet of space 
 for each pupil. Allowing ten cubic feet of air per pupil each minute, in fifteen 
 minutes after assembling, the entire atmosphere of the room is tainted, and unfit to 
 be re-breathed. The demand of health is that at least 1500 cubic feet of pure air 
 should be admitted into this room every minute, and as much bo removed. 
 
90 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE, 
 
 chimney ; this is caused by the difference of tem- 
 perature between the air in the room and the outside 
 atmosphere. Upon this difference of temperature, all 
 ordinary ventilation is based.* A proper treatment 
 of this subject and its practical applications, would 
 require a book by itself. There is room here for 
 only a few general statements and suggestions, 
 
 1. Two openings are always necessary to produce 
 a thorough change of air. (See Chemistry, p. 80.) 
 Put a lighted candle in a bottle. The flame will 
 soon be extinguished. The oxygen of the little air 
 in the bottle is burned out, and carbonic-acid has 
 taken its place. Now place over the mouth of the 
 bottle a lamp-chimney, and insert in the chimney a 
 strip of card-board, thus dividing the passage. On 
 relighting the candle, it will burn freely. The smoke 
 of a bit of smoldering paper will show that two 
 opposite currents of air are established, one setting 
 into the bottle, the other outward. 
 
 2. In the winter, when our school-rooms, churches, 
 public halls, etc., are heated artificially, ventilation 
 is comparatively easy if properly arranged, f The 
 required difference of temperature is kept up with 
 little difficulty. The fresh air admitted to the room 
 should then be heated either by a furnace, or by 
 passing over a stove, or through a coil of steam- 
 
 * Public buildings are sometimes rentflated by mechanical means, {. ., immense 
 fans which arc turned by machinery, and thus set the air in motion. Such methods 
 arc, however, expensive, and rarely adopted, except where power is also used for 
 other purposes. 
 
 t For the escape of bad air, Dr. Bell suggests that an efficient foul-air shift may 
 be fitted to the commonest of stoves by simply inclosing the stove-pipe in a jacket 
 that is, in a pipe two or three inches greater in diameter. This should be braced 
 round the stove-pipe and left open at the end next the stove. At its entry into the- 
 chimney a perforated collar should separate it from the stove-pipe. 
 
HOW SHALL WE VENTILATE ? * 91 
 
 pipes. This cold air should always be taken directly 
 from out-doors, and not from a cellar, or under a 
 piazza where contamination is possible. 
 
 3. In order to remove the impure air, there should 
 be ventilators provided at or near the floor, opening 
 into air-shafts, or pipes leading upward through the 
 roof, with proper orifices at the top. These venti- 
 lating-pipes should be heated artificially so as to 
 produce a draft: They may form one of the flues 
 of a chimney in which there is a constant fire ; or be 
 carried upward in a large flue through the center of 
 which runs the smoke-pipe of the furnace or stove ; * 
 or the ventilating-pipe be itself conveyed through 
 the center of the larger chimney-flue. If the register 
 for hot air be on the floor at one side of the room, 
 two or more ventilators may be placed near the floor 
 on the opposite side. The warm air will thus make 
 the complete circuit of the room, and thoroughly 
 warm it before passing out. 
 
 If the ventilating-shaft be not heated artificially, 
 the ventilator must be placed at the top of the room 
 in order that the hot air may escape through it, thus 
 producing an upward draft. But the objection to 
 this method is that it allows the warmer air to 
 escape, while economy requires that the cooler air 
 at the bottom of the room should be removed and 
 
 * This plan has been adopted in the new school-buildings of Elmira, N. Y. The 
 older buildings were provided with ventilating-pipes. not heated artificially, and 
 hence of no service. These pipes are rendered effective, however, by conducting 
 them into a small room in the garret, heated by a coal-stove. From this room, a 
 lar:e exit-pipe leads to the roof, where it terminates in an Emerson's ventilator. So 
 strong a draft is thus established that throughout the building air is taken from the 
 floors, and consequently the cooler portion of the rooms, at a velocity of three to 
 five feet per second, or 180 to 300 cubic feet per minute for each square foot of flue- 
 opening. In perpendicular flues, heated throughout with a smoke-flue from the fur- 
 nace, ten feet per second is attained. 
 
92 'RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 
 
 the warm air be made to descend, thus securing 
 uniformity of temperature. 
 
 4. In the summer, ventilation may be commonly 
 provided for by opening windows at the top and the 
 bottom, on the sheltered side of the building, so as 
 to avoid drafts of air injurious to the occupants. On 
 a dull, still, hot day, when there is little difference 
 of temperature between the inner and the outer air, 
 ventilation can be secured only by having a fire 
 provided in the ventilating-shaft ; this, by exhaust- 
 ing the air from the room, will cause a fresh current 
 to pour in through the open windows. At recess, all 
 the children should, if the weather permit, be sent 
 out-doors, to allow their clothing to be exposed to 
 the purifying influence of the open air, and the win- 
 dows to be thrown wide open, to ventilate the room 
 thoroughly. In bad weather, rapid marching or 
 calisthenic exercises will furnish exercise, and also 
 permit the airing of the room. 
 
 6. The school and the church are the centers for 
 spreading contagious diseases. The former is espe- 
 cially dangerous, and therefore great pains should 
 be taken to exclude pupils attacked by or recovering 
 from diphtheria, scarlet-fever, whooping-cough, etc., 
 and even those who live in houses where such sick- 
 ness exists. 
 
 G. In our houses,* open fire-places are efficient 
 
 * The air of our homes is often contaminated by decaying vegetables and other 
 filth in the cellar; by bad air drawn up into the cellar from the soil, by the powerful 
 draughts that our fires create ; by defective gas and waste-pipes that let the foul air 
 from cesspool or sewer spread through the house ; and by piles of refuse, or pu-ldles of 
 plops emptied at the back-door. While the water in our wells, or in streams that sup- 
 ply our towns and cities, receives too often the drainage from out-hou^cs and barn- 
 yards, and so introduces into oar systems, in the liquid, and thus easily-assimilated 
 form, the most dangerous poisons. The question of sanitary precautions is there- 
 fore ee that presses upon every th ughtful mind, and demands constant attention. 
 
WONDERS OF RESPIRATION. 93 
 
 ventilators, and they should never be closed for any 
 cause. Fresh air admitted by a hot-air register and 
 impure air passed out by a chimney, form a simple 
 and thorough system. Our sleeping-apartments 
 demand especial care. As soon as the occupants 
 leave the room, the bed-clothes should be removed, 
 and laid on the backs of chairs to air ; the bed be 
 shaken up ; and the windows thrown open. In the 
 summer, the windows may be closed before the sun 
 is high ; the house is then left filled with the cool 
 morning air. In damp and cold weather, a fire 
 should be lighted in sleeping-apartments, particu- 
 larly if used by children or delicate persons, to dry 
 the bed-clothing, and also to prevent a chill on the 
 part of the occupants. It is not necessary to go 
 shivering to bed in order to harden one's consti- 
 tution. 
 
 Wonders of Respiration. The perfection of the 
 organs of respiration challenges our admiration. 
 So delicate are they that the least pressure would 
 cause exquisite pain, yet tons of air surge to and fro 
 through their intricate passages, and bathe their 
 innermost cells. We yearly perform at least 7,000,000 
 acts of breathing, inhaling 100,000 cubic feet of air, 
 and purifying over 3,500 tons of blood. This gigantic 
 process goes on constantly, never wearies or worries 
 us, and we wonder at it only when science reveals 
 to us its magnitude. In addition, by a wise econ- 
 omy, the process of respiration is made to subserve 
 a second use no less important, and the air we 
 exhale, passing through the organs of voice, is 
 transformed into prayers of faith, songs of hope, 
 and words of social cheer. 
 
94 
 
 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 
 
 Diseases, etc. 1. CONSTRICTION OF THE LUNGS is 
 produced by tight clothing. The ribs are thus forced 
 
 Fig. S3, 
 
 A, the natural position of the internal organs. B, when deformed by light lacing. 
 MARSHALL says that the liver and (he stomach have, in this way, been forced down- 
 ward almost as low an the pelvis. 
 
 inward, the size of the chest is diminished, and the 
 amount of inhaled air decreased. Stiff clothing, and 
 especially a garment that will not admit of a full 
 breath without inconvenience, will prevent that free 
 movement of the ribs so essential to health. Any 
 infraction of the laws of respiration, even though it 
 be fashionable, will result in diminished vitality and 
 
DISEASES, ETC. 95 
 
 vigor, and will be fearfully punished by sickness and 
 weakness through the whole life. 
 
 2. BRONCHITIS is an inflammation (see Inflamma- 
 tion) of the mucous membrane of the bronchial 
 tubes. It is accompanied by an increased secretion 
 of mucus, and consequent coughing. 
 
 3. PLEURISY is an inflammation of the pleura. It 
 is sometimes caused by an injury to the ribs, and 
 results in a secretion of water within the membrane. 
 
 4. PNEUMONIA (pneuma, breath) is an inflamma- 
 tion of the lungs, affecting chiefly the air-cells. 
 
 5. CONSUMPTION is a disease which destroys the 
 substance of the lungs. Like other lung difficulties, 
 it is caused largely by a want of pure air, a liberal 
 supply of which is the best treatment that can be 
 prescribed for it.* 
 
 G, ASPHYXIA (as-fix'-i-a). When a person is 
 drowned, strangled, or choked in any way, what is 
 called asphyxia occurs. The face turns black; the 
 veins become turgid ; insensibility and often convul- 
 sions ensue. If relief is not secured within a few 
 minutes, death will be inevitable, f (See Appendix.) 
 
 7. DIPHTHERIA (diphthera, a membrane) is a kind 
 of sore-throat, in which matter exudes from the 
 mucous membrane. This stiffens into a peculiar 
 white substance, patches of which may be seen in 
 
 * ** If I were seriously ill of consumption, I would live out-doors day and night, 
 except in rainy weather or mid-winter ; then I would sleep in an unplastered log- 
 house. Physic has no nutriment, gaspings for air cannot cure you, monkey capers 
 in a gymnasium cannot cure you, and stimulants cannot cure you. What consump- 
 tives want is pure air, not physic pure air, not medicated air plenty of meat and 
 plenty of bread." Dr. Marshall Hall. 
 
 t The lack of oxygen, and the presence of carbonic-acid gas, are the combined 
 causes. Oxygen starvation and carbonic-acid poisoning, each fatal in itself, work 
 together to destroy Ufa 
 
96 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 the back part of the mouth. Fever and debility 
 accompany this disease, which is so sudden and 
 insidious in its advances as to be exceedingly 
 dreaded. 
 
 8. CROUP, which often attacks young children, is 
 an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the 
 larynx and trachea. It is commonly preceded by a 
 cold. The child sneezes, coughs, and is hoarse, but 
 the attack frequently comes on suddenly, and usu- 
 ally in the night. It is accompanied by a peculiar 
 "brassy," ringing cough, which, once heard, can 
 never be mistaken. It may prove fatal within a few 
 hours. (See Appendix.) 
 
 9. STAMMERING depends, not on defects of the 
 muscles, but on a want of due control of the mind. 
 When a stammerer is not too conscious of his lack, 
 and tries to form his words slowly, he speaks plainly, 
 and may sing well, for then his words must come in 
 time. Many persons who stutter in common conver- 
 sation can talk with much fluency when making a 
 speech. The stammerer should find out his peculiar 
 difficulty, and overcome it by exercise, and espe- 
 cially by speaking only after a full inspiration. 
 
 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS 
 
 1. What is the philosophy of " the change of voice " in a boy ? 
 
 2. Why can we see our breath on a frosty morning ? 
 
 3. When a law of health and a law of fashion conflict, which should 
 we obey ? 
 
 4. If we use a " bunk " bed, should we pack away the clothes when 
 we first rise in the morning ? 
 
PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 97 
 
 5. Why should a clothes-press be well ventilated? 
 
 6. Should the weight of our clothing hang from the waist, or the 
 shoulder ? 
 
 7. Describe the effects of living in an overheated room? 
 
 8. What habits impair the power of the lungs ? 
 
 9. For full, easy breathing in singing, should we use the diaphragm 
 and lower ribs, or the upper ribs alone? 
 
 10. Why is it better to breathe through the nose than the mouth ? 
 
 11. Why should not a speaker talk while returning home on a cold 
 night after a lecture ? 
 
 12. What part of the body needs the loosest clothing ? 
 
 13. What part needs the warmest ? 
 
 14. Why is a " spare bed " generally unhealthf ul ? 
 
 15. Is there any good in sighing ? 
 
 16. Should a hat be thoroughly ventilated ? How ? 
 
 17. Why do the lungs of people who live in cities become of a gray 
 color ? 
 
 18. How would you convince a person that a bed-room should be 
 aired? 
 
 19. What persons are most liable to scrofula, consumption, etc. ? 
 
 20. If a person is plunged under water will it enter his lungs ? 
 
 21. Are bed- curtains healthful ? 
 
 22. Why do some people take " short breaths " after a meal ? 
 
 23. What is the special value of public parks ? 
 
 24. Can a person become used to bad air, so that it will not irjure 
 him? 
 
 25. Why do we gape when we are sleepy ? 
 
 26. Is a fashionable waist a mddel of art in sculpture or painting ? 
 
 27. Should a fire-place be closed?* 
 
 28. Why does embarrassment or fright cause a stammerer to stutter 
 still more painfully ? 
 
 * " Thousand of lives would be paved if all fire-places were kept open. If you are 
 so fortunate as to have a fire-place in your room, paint it when not in use, put a 
 bouquet of fresh flowers in it every morning, if you please, or do anything to make 
 it attractive, but never dose it; better use the fire-boards for kindling-wood. It 
 would be scarcely less absurd to take a piece of elegantly-tinted court-plaster and 
 stop up the nose, trusting to the accidental opening and shutting of the mouth for 
 fresh air, because you thought it spoiled the looks of your face to have two such 
 great, ugly holes in it, than to stop your fire-place with elegantly-tintec; paper, 
 or a Japanese fan, because it looks better." Leeds. 
 
98 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 29. In the organs of voice, what parts have somewhat the same effect 
 as the case of a violin and the sounding-board of a piano? 
 
 30. Why should we be careful not to "take the breath of a sick per- 
 son " ? 
 
 31. What special care should be taken with regard to keeping a 
 cellar clean ? 
 
 32. How is the air strained as it passes into the lungs ? 
 
 33. Can one really " draw the air into his lungs"? 
 
 34. How often do we breathe ? 
 
 35. Describe some approved method of ventilation. 
 
 36. What is at once the floor of the chest and the roof of the abdo- 
 men ? 
 
 37. What would you do in a case of apparent death by drowning, or 
 by coal-gas V (See Appendix.) 
 
 38. What would you do in a case of croup, while the doctor was 
 coming? (See Appendix.) 
 
 39. How would you treat a severe burn ? (See Appendix.) 
 
 40. Describe the various ways in which the water in a well is liable 
 to become unwholesome. 
 
V. 
 
 CIRCULATION. 
 
 ; No rest this throbbing slave may ask, 
 For ever quivering o'er his task, 
 While far and ivide a crimson jet 
 Leaps forth to fill the woven net, 
 Which in unnumbered crossing tides 
 The flood of burning life divides, 
 Then, kindling each decaying part, 
 Creeps back to find the throbbing heart." 
 
 HOLMES, 
 
BLACKBOARD ANALYSIS. 
 
 r 1. THE BLOOD. 
 
 2. ORGAN'S OP THE CIR- 
 CULATION. 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 0-1 
 
 3. THE CIRCULATION 
 
 4. THE HEAT OP THE 
 
 BODY. 
 
 5. LIPE ET DEATH. 
 
 1. Its Composition. 
 
 2. Its Uses; 
 
 3. Transfusion. 
 
 4. Coagulation. 
 
 1. Description. 
 
 2. Movements. 
 
 3. Auricles and Ventricles. 
 1. The I (&. Need of. 
 
 Heart. -< b. Trieuspid and Bi- 
 
 4 The Valves -' cuspid. 
 
 ) c. The Strengthening 
 
 of the "Valves. 
 
 x ^d. Semi-lunar Valves. 
 
 ] 2. The ( 1. Description. 
 ! Arteries { 2. The Arterial System. 
 I 3. The Pulse. 
 
 3- The j 1. General Description. 
 Veins. 1 2. Valves. 
 
 4. The ( 1. Description. 
 Capilla-^2. Use. 
 ries. ( 3. Under the Microscope. 
 
 il. The Lesser. 
 2. The Greater. 
 3. The Velocity of the Blood. 
 
 1. Distribution. 
 
 2. Regulation. 
 
 6. CHANGE OP OUR BODIES. 
 
 7. THE THREE VITAL ORGANS. 
 
 8. WOXDEUS OP THE HEART. 
 
 9. THE LYMPHATIC 
 CJLATION. 
 
 CIR- 
 
 1. Description. 
 
 2. The Glands, 
 a The Lymph. 
 
 4. The Office of the Lymphatics. 
 
 10. DISEASES 
 
 1. Congestion. 
 2. Inflammation. 
 3. Bleeding. 
 
 
 1 
 
 4. Scrofula. 
 5. A Cold. 
 6 Catarrh. 
 
 1. Effect of Alcohol 
 
 upon the Circulation. 
 " " Heart. 
 
 11. ALCOHOLIC DRINKS -j 
 AND NARCOTICS. 
 
 4. " " 
 5. " " " 
 
 " " Blood. 
 ' Lungs. 
 
d 
 f 
 
THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 rpHE Organs of the Circulation are the heart, the 
 JL arteries, the veins, and the capillaries. 
 
 The Blood is the liquid by means of which the 
 circulation is effected. It permeates every part of 
 
 Fig. 35. 
 
 A, corpuscles of human blood> highly magnified ; B, corpuscles in the blood of an 
 animal (a non-mammal). 
 
 the body, except the cuticle, nails, hair, etc. The 
 average quantity in each person is about eighteen 
 pounds.* It is composed of a thin, colorless liquid, 
 the plasma, filled with red disks or cells, f so small 
 
 * It is difficult to estimate the exact amount, and therefore authorities disagree. 
 Poster places it at about one-thirteenth of the body-weight. 
 
 t " There is also one white globular cell to every three or four hundred red ones. 
 The blood is no more red than the water of a stream would be if you were to fill it 
 with little red fishes. Suppose the fishes to be very, very small as small as a grain 
 
104 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 that about 3,500 placed side by side would measure 
 only an inch, and it would take 16,000 laid flatwise 
 upon one another to make a column of that height. 
 Under the microscope, they are found to be rounded 
 at the edge and concave on both sides.* They have 
 a tendency to collect in piles like rolls of coin. The 
 size and shape vary in the blood of different 
 animals, f Disks are continually forming in the 
 blood, and as constantly dying 20,000,000 at every 
 breath (Draper). 
 The plasma also contains fibrin4 albumen which 
 
 of sand and closely crowded together through the whole depth of the stream ; the 
 water would look quite red. would it not ? And this is the way in which blood looks 
 red only observe one thing ; a grain of sand is a mountain in comparison with the 
 little red fishes in the blood. If I were to tell you they measured about S i\ Ta of an 
 inch in diameter, you would not be much wiser ; so I prefer saying (by way of giving 
 you a more perfect idea of their minuteness) that there would be about a million in 
 such a drop of blood as would hang on the point of a needle. I say so on the 
 authority of a scientific microscopist M. Bouillet. Not that he has ever counted 
 them, as you may suppose, any more than I have done ; but this is as near an ap- 
 proach as can be made by calculation to the size of s j' ci j part of an inch in diameter." 
 Jean Mace. 
 
 * By pricking the end of the finger with a needle, we can obtain a drop for exami- 
 nation. Place it on the slide, cover with a glass, and put it at once under the micro- 
 ecope. The red disks will be seen to group themselves in rows, while the white 
 disks will seem to draw apart, and to be constantly changing their form. After a 
 gradual evaporation, the crystals (Fig. 36) may be seen. la animals, they have 
 various, though distinctive forms. 
 
 t Authorities differ greatly in their estimate of the size of the disks (corpuscles) 
 in human blood. The fact is that the size varies in different persons, probably also 
 in the same individual. Many of the best microscopists therefore hesitate to state 
 whether a particular specimen of blood belonged to a human being or to an animal. 
 Others claim that they can distinguish with accuracy. Evidently, the question is 
 one of great uncertainty. The following statement of the size of the cells in different 
 animals is taken from Gulliver's tables: Cat, , T Vt f nn i ncn ' n diameter; whale, 
 ,,Vo : moue, sf V T : hog, ,,y, ; camel, 3T V* ; sheep, j^s ; horse, ,^5 ; Virginia deer, 
 S5: dog-faced baboon, nVr 5 brown baboon, ,j' t ji re d monkey, ,^5 black 
 monkey, jftn. 
 
 t It is usual to say that fibrin is contained in the blood. It probably does not 
 exist as such, but there arc present in the blood certain substances known as para- 
 globulin and fibrinogin, which, by the action of the third substance, fibrin-ferment, 
 under certain circumstances, form fibrin and so cause coagulation. The exa-i nature 
 of the process by which fibrin is produced is not understood. See Foster's Text 
 Hook of Physiology, p. 22. 
 
USES OF THE BLOOD. 105 
 
 Fig. SO. 
 
 Blood Crystals. 
 
 is found nearly pure in the white of an egg and 
 also various mineral substances, as iron,* lime, mag- 
 nesia, phosphorus, potash, etc. 
 
 Uses of the Blood. The blood has been called 
 "liquid flesh;" but it is more than that, since it 
 contains the materials for making every organ. The 
 plasma is rich in mineral matter for the bones, and 
 in albumen for the muscles. The red disks are the 
 air-cells of the blood. They contain the oxygen so 
 essential to every operation of life. Wherever there 
 is work to be done or repairs to be made, there the 
 oxygen is needed. It stimulates to action, and tears 
 down all that is worn out. In this process, it com- 
 bines with and actually burns out parts of the 
 muscles and other tissues, as wood is burned in the 
 stove, f The blood, now foul with the burned matter, 
 
 * Enough iron has been found in the ashes of a burned body to form a mourning 
 ring. 
 
 t For the sake of simplicity, perhaps to conceal our own ignorance, we call this 
 process 'burning.'" The simile of a fire is good so far as it goes. But as to the real 
 
106 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 the refuse of this fire, is caught up by the circulation, 
 and whirled back to the lungs, where it is purified, 
 and again sent bounding on its way. 
 
 There are, then, two different kinds of the blood in 
 the body : the red or arterial, and the dark or venous. 
 
 Transfusion. As the blood is really the "vital 
 fluid," efforts have been made to restore the feeble 
 by infusing healthy blood into their veins. If blood 
 be drawn from an animal until it is seemingly dead, 
 and then that from another animal be injected into 
 its veins, its vitality will be restored.* This practice 
 became quite common in the seventeenth century. 
 The operation was even tried on human beings, and 
 
 nature of the change which the physiologist briefly terms " oxidation/' we know 
 nothing. This much only can be asserted positively. A stream of oxygen is carried 
 by the blood to the muscles (in fact to every tissue in the body), while, from the 
 muscles the blood carries away a stream of carbonic-acid and water. But what takes 
 place in the muscles, when and what chemical change occurs, no one can tell. We 
 see the first and the last stage. We know that contraction of the muscles somehow 
 comes about, oxygen disappears, carbonic-acid appears, energy is released, and force 
 is exhibited as motion, heat, and electricity. But the intermediate step is hidden. 
 
 There are certain theories, however, advanced that are worth considering. Some 
 physiologists hold that the muscle has the power of taking up the oxygen from the 
 h-cemojlobin (a body that comprises ninety per cent, of the red corpuscles when 
 dried, and is the oxygen-carrier of the blood), and fixing it, as well as the raw mate- 
 rial (food) furnished by the blood, thus forming a true contractile substance. The 
 breaking-down or decomposition of this contractile piibstance in the muscle, 
 sets free it* potential energy. The process is gentle so long as the muscle is at 
 rest, but becomes excessive and violent when contraction occurs. (See Foster's 
 Physiology, p. 118.) It is also believed by some that the chemical change in the 
 muscle partakes of a fermcntivc character ; that, under the influence of the proper 
 ferments, the substances break up into other and simpler products, thus petting freo 
 heat and force ; and that this chemical change is followed by a secondary oxidation 
 by the oxygen in the arterial blood, thereby forming carbonic-acid and water, as in 
 all putrefactive processes. But these and other views are not as yet fully understood ; 
 while they utterly fail to tell us how a collection of simple cells, filled merely with a 
 semi-fluid mass of matter, can contract and set free muscular power. The common- 
 ness of this act hides from us its wonderful nature. But here, hidden in the cell- 
 Nature's tiny laboratory lies the mystery of life. Before its closed door we ponder 
 in vain, confessing the un?killfnlne<s of our labor, and fearing all the while L-st the 
 Secret of the Cell will always elude our search. 
 
 * Brown-Se"qnard tells of a curious instance in which the blood of a living dog 
 was transferred into one just dead. The animal rose on its feet and wagged its tail, 
 but died a second time twelve and one-hslf hours *ftrwtrd. 
 
THE HEART. 107 
 
 the most extravagant hopes were entertained. A 
 maniac was restored to reason by the blood of a calf. 
 But many fatal accidents occurring, it was forbidden' 
 by law, and soon fell into disuse. It has, however, 
 been successfully practiced in several cases within 
 the last few years, and is a method still in repute 
 for saving life. 
 
 ^Coagulation. When blood is exposed to the air, it 
 coagulates. This is caused by the solidifying of the 
 fibrin, which, entangling the disks, forms the 
 "clot." The remaining clear, yellow liquid is the 
 serum. The value of this peculiar property of the 
 blood can hardly be over-estimated. The coagula- 
 tion soon checks all ordinary cases of bleeding.* 
 When a wound is made, and bleeding commences, 
 the fibrin forms a temporary plug, as it were, which 
 is absorbed when the healing process is finished. 
 Thus we see how a Divine foresight has provided not 
 only for the ordinary wants of the body, but also for 
 the accidents to which it is liable, f 
 
 The Heart is the engine which propels the blood. 
 It is a hollow, pear-shaped muscle, about the size of 
 the fist. It hangs, point downward, just to the left 
 of the center of the chest. (See Fig. 31.) It is en- 
 closed in a loose sac of serous membrane, J called the 
 
 * In the case of the lower animals, which have no means of stopping hemorrhages 
 as we have, the coagulation is far more rapid. 
 
 t The fibrin is not an essential ingredient of the blood. All the functions of life 
 are regularly performed in people whose blood lacks fibrin ; and, in cases of transfu- 
 sion, where blood deprived of its fibrin was used, the vivifying influence seeined to 
 be the same. Its office, therefore, must mainly be to stanch any hemorrhage which 
 may occur. Flint. 
 
 t The mucous membrane lines the open cavities of the body ; the serous, the 
 closed. The pericardium is a sac composed of two layers a fibrous membrane on 
 the outside, and a serous one on the inside. The latter covers the external surface 
 
108 
 
 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 pericardium (peri, about; and kardia, the heart), 
 This secretes a lubricating fluid, and is smooth as 
 satin. 
 The Movements of the Heart consist of an alter- 
 
 FlQ. 57. 
 
 The Heart. 
 
 A, the right ventricle ; B, the left ventricle ; C, the right auricte . 
 D, the left auricle. 
 
 nate contraction and expansion. The former is 
 called the sys'to-le, and the latter the di-as'to-te.^ 
 
 of the heart, and is reflected back upon itself in order to form, like all the membranes 
 of this nature, a sac without an opening. The heart is thus covered by the pecicar- 
 dial sac, but not contained inside its cavity. A correct idea may be formed of the 
 disposition of the pericardium around the heart by recalling a very common and very 
 convenient, though now discarded head-dress, the cotton night cap. The pericardium 
 encloses the heart exactly as this cap covered our forefathers' heads. Wonders ofth$ 
 Human Body. 
 
AURICLES AND VENTRICLES. 109 
 
 During the diastole, the blood flows into the heart, to 
 be expelled by the systole. The alternation of these 
 movements constitutes the beating of the heart 
 which we hear so distinctly between the fifth and 
 sixth ribs.* 
 
 Fig. 38. 
 
 Chambers of the Heart. A, right ventricle; B, left ventricle; C, right auricle; 
 D, left auricle; E, tricuspid valve; F, bicuspid valve; G, semi-lunar valves; H, 
 valve of the aorta ; I, inferior vena cava ; K, superior vena cava ; L, L, pulmonary 
 veins. 
 
 The Auricles and Ventricles. The heart is divided 
 into four chambers. In an adult, each holds about 
 a wine-glassful.. The upper ones, from appendages 
 on the outside resembling the ears of a dog, are 
 
 * " Two sounds are heard if we put our ear over the heart, the first and longer 
 as the blood is leaving the organ, the second as it falls into the pockets of the two 
 arteries, and the valves then striking together cause it. The first sound is mainly 
 the noise made by the muscular tissue. During the first, the two ventricles contract ; 
 during the second, the two auricles do so. The hand may feel the heart striking the 
 ribs as it contracts, a feeling called the impulse, or, if quicker and stronger than 
 usual, palpitation. This is not always a sign of disease, but in hypochondriacs is 
 often an effect of the mind on the nerves of the heart." Mapother. 
 
110 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 called auricles (aures, ears) ; the lower ones are 
 termed ventricles. The auricle and ventricle on each 
 side communicate with each other, but the right and 
 left halves of the heart are entirely distinct, and per- 
 form different offices. The left side propels the red 
 blood ; and the right, the dark. 
 
 The auricles are merely reservoirs to receive the 
 blood, (the left auricle, as it filters in bright and 
 pure from the lungs ; the right, as it returns dark 
 and foul from the tour of the body), and to furnish 
 it to the ventricles as they need. Their work being 
 so light, their walls are comparatively thin and 
 weak. On the other hand, the ventricles force the 
 blood, (the left, to all parts of the body ; the right, 
 to the lungs), and are, therefore, made very strong. 
 As the left ventricle drives the blood so much fur- 
 ther than the right, it is correspondingly thicker 
 and stronger. 
 
 Need of Valves in the Heart. As the auricles do 
 not need to contract with much force simply to 
 empty their contents into the ventricles below them, 
 there is no demand for any special contrivance to 
 prevent the blood from setting back the wrong way. 
 Indeed, it would naturally run down into the ven- 
 tricle, which is at that moment open to receive it. 
 But, when the strong ventricles contract, especially 
 the left one which must drive the blood to the 
 extremities, some arrangement is necessary to pre- 
 vent its escaping into the auricle again. Besides, 
 when they expand, the "suction power" would 
 tend to draw back again from the arteries all the 
 blood just forced out. This difficulty is obviated by 
 
AND BICUSPID VALVES. Ill 
 
 Fig. 89. 
 
 Diagram showing the peculiar Fibrous Structure of the Heart and the Shape of the 
 Valves. A, tricusp'id valve ; B, bicuspid valve ; C, semi-lunar valves of the aorta; D, 
 semi-lunar valves of the pulmonary artery. 
 
 means of little doors, or valves, which will not let it 
 go the wrong way.* 
 
 The Tricuspid and Bicuspid Valves. At the 
 opening into the right ventricle, is a valve consisting 
 of three folds or flaps of membrane, whence it is 
 called the tri-cuspid valve (tri, three ; and cuspides, 
 points), and in the left ventricle, one containing two 
 flaps, and named the bi-cuspid valve. These hang 
 so loosely as to oppose no resistance to the passage 
 of the blood into the ventricles ; but, if any attempts 
 to go the other way, it gets between the flaps and 
 the walls of the heart, and, driving them outward, 
 closes the orifice. 
 
 * The heart of an ox or a sheep may be used to show the chambers and valves. 
 The aorta should be cut as far as possible from the heart, and then by pumping in 
 water the perfection of these valves will be finely exhibited. Cutting the heart 
 across near the middle will show the greater thickness of the left ventricle. 
 
112 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 These Flaps are Strengthened like sails by slender 
 cords, which prevent their being pressed back 
 through the opening. If the cords were attached 
 directly to the walls of the heart, they would be 
 loosened in the systole, and so become useless when 
 most needed. They are, therefore, fastened to little 
 muscular pillars projecting from the sides of the 
 ventricle ; when that contracts the pillars contract 
 also, and thus the cords are held tight. 
 
 The Semi-lunar Valves. In the passages outward 
 from the ventricles, are valves, called from their 
 peculiar half -moon shape semi-lunar valves (semi, 
 half ; Luna, Moon). Each consists of three little 
 pocket-shaped folds of membrane, with their open- 
 ings in the direction which the blood is to take. 
 When it sets back, they fill, and, swelling out, close 
 the passage (Fig. 40). 
 
 The Arteries* are the tube-like canals which convey 
 the blood from the heart. They carry the red blood 
 (see note, p. 118). They are composed of an elastic 
 tissue, which yields at every throb of the heart, and 
 then slowly contracting again, keeps up the motion 
 of the blood until the next systole. The elasticity 
 of the arteries acts like the air-chamber of a fire- 
 engine, which converts the intermittent jerks of the 
 brakes or pump into the steady stream of the hose- 
 nozzle. 
 
 The arteries sometimes communicate by means of 
 branches or by meshes of loops, so that if the blood 
 be blocked in one, it can pass round through another, 
 
 * Aer, air : and tereo, I contain so named because after death they contain air 
 only, and hence the ancients supposed them to be air-tubes leading through the 
 body. 
 
THE PULSE. 113 
 
 and so get by the obstacle.* When an artery pene- 
 trates a muscle, it is often protected by a sheath or 
 by fibrous rings, which prevent its being pulled out 
 of place or compressed by the play of the muscles. 
 
 The arteries are generally located as far as possi- 
 ble beneath the surface, out of harm's way, and 
 hence are found closely hugging the bones or creep- 
 ing through safe passages provided for them. They 
 are generally nearly straight, and take the shortest 
 routes to the parts which they are to supply with 
 blood. 
 
 The Arterial System starts from the left ventricle 
 by a single trunk the aorta which, after giving 
 off branches to the head, sweeps back of the chest 
 with a bold curve the arch of the aorta (c, Fig. 34) 
 and thence runs downward (/), dividing and sub- 
 dividing, like a tree, into numberless branches, 
 which, at last, penetrate every nook and corner of 
 the body. 
 
 The Pulse. At the wrist (k, radial artery) and on 
 the temple (temporal artery) we can feel the expan- 
 sion of *the artery by each little wave of blood set in 
 motion by the contraction of the heart. In health, 
 there are about seventy-two f pulsations per minute. 
 They increase with excitement or inflammation, 
 
 * This occurs especially about the joints, where it serves to maintain the circula- 
 tion during the bending of a limb, or when the main artery is obstructed by disease 
 or injury, or has been tied by the surgeon. In the last case, the small adjacent arte- 
 ries gradually enlarge, and form what is called a collateral circulation. 
 
 t This number varies much with age, sex, and individuals. Napoleon's pulse is 
 said to have been only 40, while it is not infrequent to find a healthy pulse at 100 or 
 over. Shame makes the heart send more blood to the blushing check, and fear 
 almost stops it. The will cannot check the heart. There is said, however, to have 
 been a notable exception to this in the case of one Col. Townsend, of Dublin, who, 
 after having succeeded several times in stopping the pulsation, at last lost his life in 
 the act. 
 
114 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 weaken with loss of vigor, and are modified by 
 nearly every disease. The physician, therefore, 
 finds the pulse a good index of the state of the sys- 
 tem and the character of the disorder. 
 
 The Veins are the tube-like canals which convey 
 the blood to the heart.* They carry the dark or 
 venous blood (note, p. 118). As they do not receive 
 the direct impulse of the heart, their walls are made 
 much thinner and less elastic than those of the arte- 
 ries. At first small, they increase in size and dimin- 
 ish in number as they gradually pour into one an- 
 other, like tiny rills collecting to form two rivers, 
 the vena cava ascending and the vena cava descend- 
 ing (I, m, Fig. 34), which empty into the right auricle. 
 
 Some of the veins creep along under the skin, 
 where they can be seen, as in the back of the hand ; 
 while others accompany the arteries, some of which 
 have two or more of these companions. 
 
 Valves similar in construction to those already 
 described (the semi-lunar valves of the heart, 
 page 112) are placed at convenient intervals, 
 in order to guide the blood in its course, and 
 prevent its setting backward.! We can easily 
 
 * There is one exception to the general coarse of the veins. The portal vein car- 
 ries the blood from the digestive organs to the liver, where it is acted npon, thence 
 poured into the ascending vena cava, and goes back to the heart. 
 
 t "Too much standing, or tight elastics, often swell and spoil the valves of the 
 veins in the leg; they then become varicose, or permanently enlarged, and, if they 
 burst, the bleeding may be profuse and even dangerous. Raising the leg and pressing 
 the finger on the bleeding spot will stay it. Walking does not encourage this disease, 
 for the muscles force on the venous blood. Clerks who are subject to varicose veins 
 should have seats behind the counters where they may rest when not actually 
 employed. A deep breath helps the flow in the veins, and a wound may suck in air 
 with fatal effect. A maimed horse is most mercifully killed by blowing a bubble of 
 air into the veins of his neck. As the pressure deep in the sea would burst valves, 
 there are none in the whale, and hence a small wound by the harpoon causes him to 
 bleed to death. "MapotAer. 
 
1-HE CAPILLARIES. 115 
 
 examine the working of these valves. On baring 
 
 the arm, blue veins may be seen running along the 
 
 arm toward the hand. 
 
 Their diameter is tolerably 
 
 even, and they gradually 
 
 decrease in size. If now 
 
 the finger be pressed on 
 
 the upper part of one of 
 
 these veins, and then Valves of ihe Veins . 
 
 passed downward so as to 
 
 drive its blood backward, swellings like little knots 
 
 will make their appearance. Each of these marks 
 
 the location of a valve, which is closed by the blood 
 
 we push before our finger. Remove the pressure, 
 
 and the valve will swing open, the blood set for- 
 
 ward, and the vein collapse to its former size. 
 
 The Capillaries (capillus, a hair) form a fine net- 
 work of tubes, connecting the ends of the arteries 
 with the veins. They blend, however, with the 
 extremities of these two systems, so that it is not 
 easy to tell just where an artery ends and a vein 
 begins. So closely are they placed, that we cannot 
 prick the flesh with a needle without injuring, per- 
 haps, hundreds of them. The air-cells of the blood 
 deposit there their oxygen, and receive carbonic 
 acid, while in the delicate capillaries of the lungs* 
 they give up their load of carbonic acid in exchange 
 for oxygen. 
 
 If, by means of a microscope, we examine the 
 transparent web of a frog's foot, we can trace the 
 
 * The capillary tubes are there so fine that the disks of the blood have to go one 
 by one, and are sadly squeezed at that. However, their elasticity enables them to 
 resume their old shape as soon as they have escaped from this labyrinth. 
 
116 
 
 THE CIECULATIOK. 
 
 Fig. U. 
 
 ABC 
 
 Circulation of the Blood in the Web of a Frog's Foot, highly magnified. A, an 
 artery ; B, capillaries crowded with disks, owing to a rupture just above, where th 
 disks are jammed into an adjacent mesh ; C, a deeper vein ; the black spots are pig- 
 ment cells. 
 
 route of the blood. * It is an experiment of wonder- 
 ful interest. The crimson stream, propelled by the 
 heart, rushes through the arteries, until it reaches 
 the intricate meshes of the capillaries. Here it 
 breaks into a thousand tiny rills. We can see the 
 disks winding in single file through the devious 
 passages, darting hither and thither, now pausing, 
 swaying to and fro with an uncertain motion, and 
 anon dashing ahead, until, at last, gathered in the 
 veins, the blood sets steadily back on its return to 
 the heart. 
 
 The Circulation f consists of two parts the lesser, 
 and the greater. 
 
 * With small splints and twine, a frog's foot can bo easily stretched and tied so 
 that the transparent web can be placed on the table of the microscope. 
 
 t The circulation of the blood was discovered by Harvey in 1619. For several 
 years, he did not dare to publish his belief When it became known, he was bitterly 
 persecuted, and his practice as a physician greatly decreased in consequence. He 
 lived, however, to see his theory universally adopted, and his name honored. 
 Harvey is paid to have declared that no man over forty years of age accepted his 
 views. 
 
THE LESSER CIRCULATION. 
 
 lit 
 
 A. THE LESSER CIRCULATION. The dark blood 
 from the veins collects in the right auricle, and, 
 going through the tricuspid valve, empties into the 
 
 Fig. 
 
 descending (superior) , 
 ventricle ; E, pulmorx... 
 H, left ventricle ; I, K, aorta. 
 
 right ventricle. Thence it is driven past the semi- 
 lunar valves, through the pulmonary artery, to the 
 lungs. After circulating through the fine capil- 
 laries of the air-cells, it is returned, bright and 
 
THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 red, through the four pulmonary veins,* to the left 
 auricle. 
 
 2. THE GREATER CIRCULATION. From the left 
 auricle, the blood is forced past the bicuspid valve 
 to the left ventricle ; thence it is driven through the 
 semi-lunar valves into the great aorta, the main 
 trunk of the arterial system. Passing through the 
 arteries, capillaries, and veins, it returns through 
 the venae cavae, ascending and descending, gathers 
 again in the right auricle, and so completes the 
 ."grand round" of the body. Both of these circu- 
 lations are going on constantly, as the two auricles 
 contract, and the two ventricles expand simulta- 
 , neously, and vice versa. 
 
 / The Velocity of the Blood varies so much in dif- 
 ferent parts of the body, and is influenced by so 
 many circumstances, that it cannot be calculated 
 with any degree of accuracy. It has been estimated 
 that a portion of the blood will make the tour of the 
 body in about twenty-three seconds (Flint), and that 
 the entire mass passes through the heart in from 
 one to two minutes, f 
 
 Distribution and Regulation of the Heat of the 
 Body. 1. DISTRIBUTION. The natural temperature 
 
 * It is noticeable that the pulmonary Bet of veins circulates red blood, and the 
 pulmonary set of arteries circulates dark blood. Both are connected with the 
 lungs. 
 
 t If a salt which can be easily recognized be inserted in one of the jugular veins 
 of a dog, and blood be drawn as quickly as possible from the opposite jugular, the 
 substance will be detected in from twenty to thirty seconds ; having, in this brief 
 time, passed to the right heart, thence to the lungs, back to the left heart, through 
 the arteries, capillaries, and veins of the fece and neck, and into the jugular vein. 
 The total amount of blood in an adult of average weight is about eighteen pounds. 
 Dividing this by five ounces, the quantity discharged by the left ventricle at each 
 systole, gives fifty-eight pulsations as the number necessary to transmit all the blood 
 in the body. This, however, is an extremely unreliable basis of calculation, as the 
 rapidity of the blood is itself so variable. 
 
HEAT OF THE BODY. 119 
 
 is not far from 98.* This is maintained, as we have 
 already seen, by the action of the oxygen within us. 
 Each capillary tube is a tiny stove, where oxygen is 
 combining with the tissues of the body (see note, 
 p. 105). Every contraction of a muscle develops heat, 
 the latent heat being set free by the breaking up of 
 the tissue. The warmth so produced is distributed 
 by the circulation of the blood. Thus the arteries, 
 veins, and capillaries form a series of hot-water 
 pipes, through which the heated liquid is forced by 
 a pump the heart while the heat is kept up, not 
 by a central furnace and boiler, but by a multi- 
 tude of little firea placed here and there along its 
 course. 
 
 2. REGULATION. The temperature of the body is 
 regulated by means of the pores of the skin and the 
 mucous membrane in the air-passages. When the 
 system becomes too warm, the blood-vessels on the 
 surface expand, the blood fills them, the fluid exudes 
 into the perspiratory glands, pours out upon the ex- 
 terior, and by evaporation cools the body.f When 
 the temperature of the body is too low, the vessels 
 contract, less blood goes to the surface, the perspi- 
 ration decreases, and the loss of heat by evaporation 
 diminishes. 
 
 * " The average temperature is, however, easily departed from. Through some 
 trivial cause the cooling agencies may be interfered with, and then, the heating pro- 
 cesses getting the superiority, a high temperature or fever comes on. Or the reverse 
 may ensue. In Asiatic cholera, the constitution of the blood is so changed that its 
 disks can no longer carry oxygen into the system, the heat-making processes are put 
 a stop to, and, the temperature declining, the body becomes of a marble coldness 
 characteristic of that terrible disease." Draper. 
 
 t Just as water sprinkled on the floor cools a room. (Physics, page 191.) 
 % One can go into an oven where bread is baking, or into the arctic regions 
 where the mountains are snow and the rivers ice, with equal impunity. Even by 
 fbese extremes the temperature of the blo.od will be but slightly affected. In the one 
 
120 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 Life by Death. The body is being incessantly 
 corroded, and portions borne away by the tireless 
 oxygen. The scales of the epidermis are constantly 
 falling off and being replaced by secretion from the 
 c'utis. The disks of the blood die, and new ones 
 spring into being. On the continuance of this inter- 
 change depend our health and vigor. Every act is 
 a destructive one. Not a bend of the finger, not a 
 wink of the eye, not a thought of the brain but is 
 at some expense of the machine itself. Every pro- 
 cess of life is thus a process of death. The more 
 rapidly this change goes on, and fresh, vigorous 
 tissue takes the place of the old, the more elasticity 
 and strength we possess. 
 
 Change of our Bodies. There is a belief that our 
 bodies change once in seven years. From the nature 
 of the case, the rate must vary with the labor we 
 perform ; the organs most used altering oftenest. 
 Probably the parts of the body in incessant employ- 
 ment are entirely reorganized many times within a 
 single year.* 
 
 The Three Vital Organs. Death is produced by 
 the stoppage of the action of any one of the three 
 organs the heart, the lungs, or the brain. They 
 have, therefore, been termed the "Tripod of Life." 
 Really, however, as Huxley has remarked, "Life 
 has but two legs to stand upon." If respiration 
 
 case, the flood-gates of perspiration will be opened and the superfluous heat expended 
 in turning the water to vapor ; and, in the other, they will be tightly^closcd and all 
 the heat retained. 
 
 * To use a homely simile, our bodies are like the Irishman's knife, which, after 
 having had several new blades, and at least one new handle, was yet the same 
 pld knife, 
 
WONDEKS OF THE HEART. 121 
 
 and circulation be kept up artificially, the removal 
 of the brain will not produce death.* 
 
 Wonders of the Heart. The ancients thought the 
 heart to be the seat of love. There were located the 
 purity and goodness as well as the evil passions of 
 the soul, f Modern science has found the seat of the 
 mental powers to be in the brain. But, while it has 
 thus robbed the heart of its romance, it has revealed 
 wonders which eclipse all the mysteries of the past. 
 This marvelous little engine throbs on continually 
 at the rate of 100,000 beats per day, 40,000,000 per 
 year, often 3,000,000,000 without a single stop. It is 
 the most powerful of machines. " Its daily work is 
 equal to one-third that of all the muscles. If it 
 should expend its entire force in lifting its own 
 weight vertically, it would rise 20,000 feet in an 
 hour."J Its vitality is amazing. Lay upon a table 
 the heart from a living sturgeon, all palpitating 
 with life, and it will beat for days as if itself a 
 living creature. The most tireless of organs while 
 life exists, it is one of the last to yield when life 
 expires. So long as a flutter lingers at the heart, 
 we know the spark of being is not quite extin- 
 guished, and there is hope of restoration. During 
 a life such as we sometimes see, it has propelled 
 
 * When death really does take place, i. e., when the vital organs are stopped, it is 
 noticeable that the tissues do not die for some time thereafter. If suitable stimu- 
 lants be applied, as the galvanic battery, transfusion of blood, etc., the muscles may 
 be made to contract, and many of the phenomena of life be exhibited. 
 
 t Our common words, hearty, large-hearted, courage (cor, the heart), are remains 
 of this fanciful theory. 
 
 \ " The greatest exploit ever accomplished by a locomotive, was to lift itself 
 through less than one-eighth of that distance " Vast and constant as is this process, 
 BO perfect is the machinery that there are persons who do not even know where the 
 heart lies until disease or accident reveals its location. 
 
122 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 half a million tons of blood, yet repaired itself as 
 it has wasted, during its patient, unfaltering labor. 
 The play of its valves and the rhythm of its throb 
 have never failed until at the command of the 
 great Master- Workman the "wheels of life have 
 stood still."* 
 
 Fig. 1,3. 
 
 Lymphatics of the head and neck, showing the glands, and, B, the thoracic duct. a 
 it empties into tlw *tfi innominate vein^ at the junction of the left jugular and sub- 
 clavian veins. j ^ ^ 
 
 > "~7 
 
 The Lymphatic Circulation is intimately connected 
 with that of the blood. It is, however, more delicate 
 in its organization, and less thoroughly understood. 
 Nearly every part of the body is permeated by a 
 
 * "Onr brains are seventy-five year clocks. The Angel of Life winds them up 
 once for all, then closes the case, and gives the key into the hand of the Angel of the 
 Resurrection. Tic-tac ! tic-tac ! go the wheels of thought ; our will cannot stop 
 them, they cannot stop themselves ; sleep cannot stop them ; madness only makes 
 them go faster ; death alone can break into the case, and, seizing the ever-swinging 
 pendulum which we call the heart, silence at last the clicking of the terrible escape- 
 ment we have carried so long beneath our wrinkled foreheads." ffotmes r 
 
OFFICE OF THE LYMPHATICS. 
 
 123 
 
 second series of capillaries, closely 
 interlaced with the blood-capilla- 
 ries already described, and 
 termed the Lymphatic system. 
 The larger number converge into 
 the thoracic duct a small tube, 
 about the size of a goose-quill, 
 which empties into the great 
 veins of the neck (Fig. 43). Along 
 their course the lymphatics fre- 
 quently pass through glands, 
 hard, pinkish bodies of all sizes, 
 from that of a hemp-seed to an 
 almond. These glands are often 
 enlarged by disease, and then are 
 easily felt. 
 
 THE LYMPH, which circulates 
 through the lymphatics like blood 
 through the veins, is a thin, 
 colorless liquid, very like the 
 &erum. This fluid, probably in 
 great measure an overflow from 
 the blood-vessels, is gathered up 
 by the lymphatics, undergoes- in 
 the glands some process of prepa- 
 ration not well understood, and is 
 then returned to the circulation. 
 
 Office of the Lymphatics. It is 
 thought that portions of the 
 waste matter of the body capable of further use are 
 thus, by a wise economy, retained and elaborated in 
 the system. 
 
 The lacteals, a class of lymphatics which will be 
 
 Lymphatics in the leg, with 
 glands at the hip. 
 
124 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 described under Digestion (p. 153), aid in taking 
 up the food; after a meal they become milk-white. 
 In the lungs, the lymphatics are abundant ; some- 
 times absorbing the poison of disease, and diffusing 
 it through the system.* 
 
 The lymphatics of the skin we have already 
 spoken of as producing the phenomena of absorp- 
 tion, f Nature in her effort to heal a cut deposits an 
 excess of matter to fill up the breach. Soon, the 
 lymphatics go to work and remove the surplus ma- 
 terial f (Tocher parts of the body. 
 
 Animals that hibernate are supported during the 
 winter by the fat which their absorbents carry into 
 the circulation from the extra supply they have laid 
 up during the summer. In famine or in sickness, a 
 man unconsciously consumes his own flesh. 
 
 Diseases, etc. 1. CONGESTION is an unnatural ac- 
 cumulation of blood in any part of the body. The 
 excess is indicated by the redness. If we put our 
 feet in hot water, the capillaries will expand by the 
 heat, and the blood set that way to fill them. The 
 red nose and purplish face of the drunkard show a 
 congestion of the capillaries. Those vessels have 
 lost their power of contraction, and so are perma- 
 nently increased in size and filled with blood. 
 Blushing is a temporary congestion. The capillaries 
 being expanded only for an instant by the nervous 
 excitement, contract again and expel the blood. J 
 
 * Persons have thus been poisoned by tiny particles of arsenic which evaporate 
 from green wall paper, and float in the air. 
 
 t Pain is often relieved by infusing under the cuticle a solution of morphine, 
 which is taken up by the absorbents, and so carried through the system. 
 
 J " Blushing is a purely local modification of the circulation of this kind, and it will 
 be instructive to consider how a blush is brought about. An emotion sometimes 
 
DISEASES, ETC. 125 
 
 2. INFLAMMATION means simply a burning. If 
 there is irritation or an injury at any spot, the blood 
 sets thither and reddens it. This extra supply, both 
 by its presence and the friction of the swiftly-moving 
 currents, produces heat. The pressure of the dis- 
 tended vessels upon the nerves frets them, and pro- 
 duces pain. The swelling stretches the walls of the 
 blood-vessels, and the serum or lymph oozes through. 
 The four characteristics of an inflammation are red- 
 ness, heat, pain, and swelling. 
 
 3. BLEEDING, if from an artery, will be of red 
 blood, and will come in jets ; if from the veins, it 
 will be of dark blood, and will flow in a steady 
 stream. If only a small vessel be severed, it may be 
 checked by a piece of cloth held or bound firmly 
 
 pleasurable, sometimes painful takes possession of the mind ; thereupon a hot flush 
 is felt, the skin grows red, and according to the intensity of the emotion these change? 
 are confined to the cheeks only, or extend to the ' roots of the hair,' or ' all over.' What 
 is the cause of these changes ? The blood is a red and a hot fluid ; the skin reddens and 
 grows hot, because its vessels contain an increased quantity of this red and hot fluid : 
 and its vessels contain more, because the small arteries suddenly dilate, the natural 
 moderate contraction of their muscles being superseded by a state of relaxation. In 
 other words, the action of the nerves which cause this muscular contraction is sus- 
 pended. On the other hand, in many people, extreme terror causes the skin to grow 
 cold, and the face to appear pale and pinched. Under these circumstances, in fact, 
 the supply of blood to the skin is greatly diminished, in consequence of an excessive 
 stimulation of the nerves of the small arteries, which causes them to contract and so 
 to cut off the supply of blood more or less completely. That this is the real state of 
 the case may be proved experimentally upon rabbits. These animals, it is true, do 
 not blush naturally, but they may be made to blush artificially. If, in a rabbit, the 
 sympathetic nerve which sends branches to the vessels of the head is cut, the ear of 
 the rabbit, which is covered by so delicate an integument that the changes in its 
 vessels can be readily perceived, at once blushes. That is to say, the vessels dilate, 
 fill with blood, and the ear becomes red and hot. The reason of this is, that when 
 the sympathetic nerve is cut, the nervous stimulus which is ordinarily sent along its 
 branches is interrupted, and the muscles of the small vessels, which were slightly 
 contracted, become altogether relaxed. And now it is quite possible to produce 
 pallor and cold in the rabbits car. To do this it is only necessary to irritate the cut 
 end of the sympathetic nerve which remains connected with the vessels. The nerve 
 then becomes excited, so that the muscular fibers of the vessels are thrown into a 
 violent state of contraction, which diminishes their caliber so much that the blood 
 can hardly make its way through them. Consequently, the ear becomes pale and 
 cold.."Huccley's Lessons in Physiology, page 58. 
 
126 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 upon the wound. If a large trunk be cut, especially 
 in a limb, make a knot in a handkerchief and tie it 
 loosely about the limb ; then, placing the knot on 
 the wound, with a short stick twist the handker- 
 chief tightly enough to stop the flow. If you have a 
 piece of cloth to use as a pad, the knot will be un- 
 necessary. If it be an artery that is cut, the pressure 
 should be applied between the wound and the heart ; 
 if a vein, beyond the wound. If you are alone, and 
 are severely wounded, or in an emergency, like a 
 railroad accident, use the remedy which has saved 
 many a life upon the battle-field bind or hold a 
 handful of dry earth upon the wound, elevate the 
 part, and await surgical assistance. 
 
 4. SCROFULA is generally inherited. It is a disease 
 affecting the lymphatic glands, most commonly 
 those of the neck, forming " kernels, 7 ' as they are 
 called. It is, however, liable to attack any organ, 
 and frequently terminates in consumption. Persons 
 inheriting this disease can hope to ward off its in- 
 sidious approaches only by the utmost care in diet 
 and exercise ; by the use of pure air and warm cloth- 
 ing, and by avoiding late hours and undue stimulus 
 of all kinds. Probably the most fatal and common 
 excitants of the latent seeds of scrofula are insuffi- 
 cient or improper food, and want of ventilation. 
 
 5. A COLD. We put on a thinner dress than usual, 
 or, when heated, sit in a cool place. The skin is 
 chilled, and the perspiration checked. The blood, 
 no longer cleansed and reduced in volume by the 
 drainage through the pores, sets to the lungs for 
 purification. That organ is oppressed, breathing 
 becomes difficult, and the extra mucus secreted by 
 
DISEASES. ETC. 127 
 
 the irritated surface of the membrane is thrown off 
 by coughing. The mucous membrane of the nasal 
 chamber sympathizes with the difficulty, and we 
 have " a cold in the head," or a catarrh. In 
 general, the excess of blood seeks the weakest point, 
 and develops there any latent disease.* Where one 
 person has been killed in battle, thousands have 
 died of colds. 
 
 To restore the equipoise must be the object of all 
 treatment. We put the feet in hot water and they 
 soon become red and gorged with the blood which is 
 thus called from the congested organs. Hot foot- 
 baths have saved multitudes of lives. It is well in 
 case of a sudden cold to go immediately to bed, and 
 with hot drinks and extra clothing open the pores, 
 and induce free perspiration. This calls the blood to 
 the surface, and, by equalizing and diminishing the 
 volume of the circulation, affords relief, f 
 
 The rule for the prevention and cure of a cold is to 
 Jceep the blood upon the surface. 
 
 6. CATARRH commonly manifests itself by the 
 symptoms known as those of a "cold in the head," 
 and is produced by the same causes. It is an in- 
 flammation of the mucous membrane lining the 
 nasal and bronchial passages. One going out from 
 
 * A party go out for a walk and are caught in a rain, or, coming home heated from 
 some close assembly, throw off their coats to enjoy the deliciously-cool breeze. The 
 next day, one has a fever, another a slight headache, another pleurisy, another 
 pneumonia, another rheumatism, while some escape without any ill-feeling what- 
 ever. The last had vital force sufficient to withstand the disturbance, but in the 
 others there were weak points, and to these the excess of blood has gone, producing 
 congestion. 
 
 + Severe colds may often be relieved in their first stages by using lemons freely 
 during the day, and taking at night fifteen or twenty grains of sodium bromide. 
 Great care, however, should be observed in employing the latter remedy, except 
 tmder the ndvice of a physician. 
 
128 
 
 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 the hot dry air of a furnace-heated room into the cold 
 damp atmosphere of our climate can hardly avoid 
 irritating and inflaming this tender membrane. If 
 our rooms were heated less intensely, and ventilated 
 more thoroughly, so that we had not the present 
 hot-house sensitiveness to cold air, this disease 
 would be far less universal, and perhaps would dis- 
 appear entirely,* 
 
 ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND NARCOTICS. 
 
 1. ALCOHOL.t 
 
 General Effect of Alcohol upon the Circulation. 
 During the experiment described on page 116, 
 the influence of alcohol upon the blood may be 
 beautifully tested. Place on the web of the frog's 
 
 * Dr. Gray gives the following table based upon measurement of rooms occupied 
 by letter-press printers : 
 
 
 
 
 Number per 
 cent. 
 Spitting Blood. 
 
 Subject to 
 Catarrh. 
 
 104 men having 
 breathe 
 
 less than 
 
 500 cubic feet of air to 
 
 12 50 
 
 12 50 
 
 115 men having 
 breathe 
 
 from 500 t 
 
 o 600 cubic feet of air to 
 
 4.35 
 
 3 53 
 
 101 men having 
 breathe 
 
 more than 
 
 GOO cubic feet of air to 
 
 3 96 
 
 1 98 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 t How Alcohol is formed When any substance containing sugar, as fruit-juice, 
 is caused to ferment, the elements of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen, of which the 
 pu:?ar is composed, rearrange themselves so as to form carbonic acid, alcohol, and 
 certain volatile oils, and ethers. The carbonic acid partly evaporates, and p*tly 
 remains to give life and piquancy to the liquor ; the alcohol is the exciting or 
 intoxicating principle; while the oils and ethers impart the peculiar flavor and 
 aroma. Thus wine is fermented grape-juice and cider is fermented apple-juice, each 
 having its distinctive fragrance. For a full account of the subject of Fermentation, 
 read Steele^a New Chemistry, page 192. 
 
 Manufacture of Beer. The barley used for making beer is first malted, i. o. 
 sprouted, to turn a part of its starch into sugar. When this process has gone far 
 
ALCOHOL. 129 
 
 foot a drop of dilute spirit. The blood-vessels im- 
 mediately expand an effect known as ''Vascular 
 enlargement." Channels before unseen open, and 
 the blood-disks fly along at a brisker rate. Next, 
 touch the membrane with a drop of pure spirit. 
 The blood channels quickly contract ; the cells 
 slacken their speed ; and, finally, all motion ceases. 
 The flesh shrivels up and dies. The circulation thus 
 stopped is stopped forever. The part affected will in 
 time slough off. Alcohol has killed it. 
 
 enough, it is checked by heating the grain in a kiln until the germ is destroyed. 
 The malt is then crushed, steeped, and fermented with hops and yeast. The sugar 
 gradually disappears, alcohol is formed, and carbonic acid escapes into the air. The 
 beer is then put into casks, where it undergoes a second, slower fermentation, the 
 flavor ripens, and the carbonic acid gathers ; when the liquor is drawn, this gas bub- 
 bles to the surface, giving to the beer its sparkling, foamy look. 
 
 Spirits. Alcohol is so volatile that, by the application of heat, it can be driven off 
 as a vapor from the fermented liquid in which it has been produced. Steam and 
 various fragrant substances will pass over with it, and, if they are collected and 
 condensed in a cool receiver v a new and stronger liquor will be formed, having a dis- 
 tinctive odor. 
 
 In this way, the alcohol of commerce is distilled from whisky ; brandy, from wine ; 
 rum, from fermented molasses ; whiskey, from fermented corn, barley or potatoes; 
 and gin, from fermented barley and rye, afterward distilled with juniper berries. In 
 all liquors, the base is alcohol. It comprises from 8 to 8 per cent, of ale and porter, 
 7 to 17 per cent, of wine, and 40 to 50 per cent, of brandy and whisky. They may 
 thereiore be considered as alcohol more and less diluted with water and flavored 
 with various aromatics. The taste, agreeability. etc., of different liquors as brandy, 
 gin, beer, cider, etc. may vary greatly, but they all produce certain physiological 
 effects due to their common ingredient alcohol. 
 
 Properties of Alcohol. Pour a little alcohol into a saucer and apply an ignited 
 match, The liquid will suddenly take fire, burning with intense heat, but feeble 
 light. In this process, alcohol takes up oxygen from the air, forming carbonic acid 
 ga, and water. Hold a red-hot coil of platinum wire in a goblet containing a few 
 drops of alcohol, and a peculiar odor will be noticed. It denotes the formation of 
 ald-hyde a substance produced in the slow oxidation of alcohol. Still further oxi- 
 dized, the alcohol would be changed into acetic acid the sour principle of vinegar. 
 
 One of the most noticeable properties of alcohol is its affinity for water. When 
 strong alcohol is exposed to the air, it absorbs moisture and becomes diluted ; at the 
 same time, the spirit itself evaporates. The commercial or proof -spirit is about 
 one -half water; the strongest holds ten per cent.; and to obtain absolute or 
 waterless alcohol, requires careful distillation in connection with some substance, 
 as lime, that has a still greater affinity for water, and so can despoil the alcohol. 
 Put the white of an egg nearly pure albumen into a cup, and pour upon it some 
 alcohol, or even strong brandy ; the fluid albumen will coagulate, becoming hard 
 and solid. In this connection, it is well to remember that albumen is contained in 
 our food, while the brain is largely an albuminous substance. 
 
130 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 The influence of alcohol upon the human system 
 is similar. Alcohol is a poison. A quart drunk at 
 a time, would kill a man like a bullet. Diluted, as 
 in wine or whiskey, it dilates the blood-vessels, 
 quickens the circulation, hastens the heart-throbs, 
 and accelerates the respiration. 
 
 The Effect of Alcohol upon the Heart What 
 means this rapid flow of the blood ? It shows 
 that the heart is overworking. The nerves that lead 
 to the minute capillaries and regulate the passage 
 of the vital current through the extreme parts of the 
 body, are paralyzed by this active narcotic. The 
 tiny blood-vessels at once expand. This " Vascular 
 enlargement " removes the resistance to the passage 
 of the blood, and hence to the beat of the heart, and 
 the heart flies like the main spring of a clock when 
 the wheels are taken out.* 
 
 Careful experiments show that two ounces of 
 alcohol an amount contained in the daily potations 
 of a very moderate ale or whisky drinker increase 
 the heart-beats 6000 in twenty-four hours ; a degree 
 of work represented by that of lifting up a weight 
 of seven tons to a height of one foot. Reducing this 
 sum to ounces and dividing, we find that the heart is 
 
 * In the text, the researches of Dr. B W. Richardson have been accepted as 
 authoritative on both sides of the Atlantic. His experiments prove that this appar- 
 ently stimulating action of alcohol upon the heart is due to the paralysis of the nerves 
 that control the capillaries (Note, p. 193), which ordinarily check the flow of the 
 blood (p. 116). The heart, like other muscle? under the influence of alcohol, really 
 loses power, and contracts less vigorously (p. 169). Dr. Palmer, of the University 
 of Michigan, also claims that alcohol, in fact, diminishes the strength of the henrt. 
 Prof. Martin, of Johns Hopkins University, from a eeries of experiments upon the 
 isolated hearts of dogs, concludes that blood containing one-fourth per cent, of 
 alcohol almost invariably diminishes within a minute the work done by the heart ; 
 blood containing one-half per cent, always diminishes it, and may reduce the 
 anjotfnt pumped out by the left ventricle so that it is not sufficient t 
 coronary arteries. 
 
ALCOHOL. 131 
 
 driven to do extra work equivalent to lifting seven 
 ounces one foot high 1493 times each hour ! No 
 wonder that the drinker feels a reaction, a physical 
 languor, after the earliest effects of his indulgence 
 have passed away. The heart flags, the brain and 
 the muscles feel exhausted, and rest and sleep are 
 imperatively demanded. During this time of excite- 
 ment, the machinery of life has really been " run- 
 ning down." "It is hard work," says Kichardson, 
 " to fight against alcohol; harder than rowing, walk- 
 ing, wrestling, coal-heaving, or the tread-mill itself." 
 
 All this is only the first effect of alcohol upon the 
 heart. Long-continued use of this disturbing agent 
 causes a "Degeneration of the muscular fiber,"* so 
 that the heart loses its old power to drive the blood, 
 and, after a time, fails to respond even to the spur 
 of the excitant that has urged it to ruin. 
 
 Influence upon the Membranes. The flush of the 
 face and the blood-shot eye, that are such noticeable 
 effects of even a small quantity of liquor, indicate 
 the condition of all the internal organs. The deli- 
 cate linings of the stomach, heart, brain, liver, and 
 lungs, are reddened, and every tiny vein is inflamed, 
 like the blushing nose itself. If the use of liquor is 
 
 * This " Degeneration " of the various tissues of the body, we shall find, as we 
 proceed, is one of the most marked effects of alcoholized blood. The change con- 
 sists in an excess of liquid, or, more commonly, in a deposit of fat. This fatty 
 matter is not an increase of the organ, but it takes the place of a part of its fiber, 
 thus weakening the structure, and reducing the power of the tissue to perform 
 its function. Almost everywhere in the body we thus find cells muscle-cells, 
 liver-cells, nerve-cells, as the case may be changing, one by one, under the influ- 
 ence of this potent disorganizer, into tinhealthy fat-cells. "Alcohol has well been 
 termed," says the London Lancet, "the 'Genius of Degeneration.' " 
 
 The cause of this degeneration can be easily explained. The increased activity 
 of the circulation compels a correspondingly-increased activity of the cell-changes : 
 but the essential condition of healthful change the presence of additional oxygen 
 is wanting (see p. 133), and the operation ie imperfectly performed. (Brodie.) 
 
132 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 habitual, this " Vascular enlargement," that at first 
 slowly passed away after each indulgence, becomes 
 permanent, and now the discolored, blotched skin 
 reveals the state of the entire mucous membrane. 
 
 We learned on page 55 what a peculiar office the 
 membrane fills in nourishing the organs it enwraps. 
 Anything that disturbs its delicate structure must 
 mar its efficiency. Alcohol has a wonderful affinity 
 for water. To satisfy this greed, it will absorb moist- 
 ure from the tissues with which it comes in con- 
 tact, as well as from their lubricating juices. The 
 enlargement of the blood-vessels and their perma- 
 nent congestion must interfere with the filtering 
 action of the membrane. In time, all the membranes 
 become dry, thickened, and hardened ; they then 
 shrink upon the sensitive nerve, or stiffen the joint, 
 or enfeeble the muscle. The function of these mem- 
 branes being deranged, they will not furnish the 
 organs with perfected material, and the clogged 
 pores will no longer filter their natural fluids. 
 Every organ in the body will feel this change. 
 
 Effect upon the Blood.* From the stomach, alco- 
 hol passes directly into the circulation, and so, in a 
 few minutes, is swept through the entire system. 
 If it be present in sufficient amount and strength, 
 its eager desire for water will lead it to absorb 
 moisture from the red corpuscles, causing them 
 to shrink, change their form, harden, and lose 
 some of their ability to carry oxygen ; it may even 
 
 * Dr. Q. B. Ilarriman of Boston states, as the result of his observations, that 
 alcohol acts upon the oxygen -carrier, the coloring matter of the red corpuscles, 
 causing it to settle in one part of the globule, or even to leave the corpuscle, and 
 deposit itself in other elements of the blood. Thus the red corpuscle may become 
 colorless, distorted, shmnken, and even entirely broken up. 
 
ALCOHOL. 133 
 
 make them adhere in masses, and so hinder their 
 passage through the tiny capillaries. Richardson. 
 
 With most persons who indulge freely in alcoholic 
 drinks, the blood is thin, the avidity of alcohol for 
 water causing a burning thirst so familiar to all 
 drinkers, and hence the use of enormous quantities 
 of water, oftener of beer, which unnaturally dilutes 
 the blood. The blood then easily flows from a 
 wound, and, not coagulating, renders an accident or 
 surgical operation very dangerous. 
 
 When the blood tends, as in the case of an ex- 
 cessive use of spirits, to coagulate in the capillaries, 
 there is a liability of an obstruction to the flow 
 of the vital current through the heart,* liver, lungs, 
 etc., that may cause disease, and in the brain may 
 lay the foundation of paralysis, or, in extreme cases, 
 of apoplexy. 
 
 Wherever the alcoholized blood goes through the 
 body, it bathes the delicate cells with an irritating, 
 narcotic poison, instead of a bland, nutritious sub- 
 stance. 
 
 Effect upon the Lungs. Here we can see how 
 certainly the presence of alcohol interferes with the 
 red corpuscles in their task of carrying oxygen. 
 " Even so small a quantity as one part of alcohol to 
 500 of the blood will materially check the absorption 
 of oxygen in the lungs." 
 
 The cells, unable to take up oxygen, retain their 
 carbonic acid gas, and so return from the lungs, car- 
 rying back, to poison the system, the refuse matter 
 
 * Persons have drunk a large quantity of liquor for a wager, and, as the result of their 
 folly, " died upon the spot." The whole of the blood in the heart being turned into 
 a clot, the circulation was instantly stopped, and death was instantaneous. 
 
134 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 the body has sought to throw off. Thus the lungs 
 no longer furnish properly oxygenized blood. 
 
 The rapid stroke of the heart, already spoken of, 
 is followed by a corresponding quickening of the 
 respiration. The flush of the cheek is repeated in 
 the reddened mucous membrane lining the lungs. 
 
 When this " Vascular enlargement " becomes per- 
 manent, and the highly-albuminous membrane of the 
 air-cells is hardened and thickened as well as con- 
 gested, the Osmose of the gases to and fro through 
 its pores can no longer be prompt and free as before. 
 Even when the effect passes off in a few days after 
 the occasional indulgence, there has been, during 
 that time, a diminished supply of the life-giving 
 oxygen furnished to the system ; weakness follows, 
 and, in the case of hard drinkers, there is a marked 
 liability to epidemics.* 
 
 Physicians tell us, also, that there is a peculiar 
 form of consumption known as Alcoholic Phthisis 
 caused by long - continued and excessive use of 
 liquor. It generally attacks those whose splendid 
 physique has enabled them to " drink deep " with 
 apparent impunity. This type of consumption ap- 
 pears late in life and is considered incurable. Severe 
 cases of pneumonia are also generally fatal with 
 inebriates, f 
 
 * >% There h> no doubt that alcohol alters and impairs tissues so that they are more 
 prone to disease." (Ur. O. K. Sabine.) A volume of statistics could be filled with 
 quotations like the following : " Mr. Huber, who paw in one town in Russia two 
 thousand one hundred and sixty persons perish with the cholera in twenty days, 
 said : ' It is a most remarkable circumstance that persons given to drink have been 
 swept away like flies. In Tiflis, with twenty thousand inhabitants, every drunkard 
 has fallen, all are dead, not one remaining. 1 " 
 
 t The Influence of Alcohol is continued in the chapter on Digestion. 
 
PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 135 
 
 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 1. Why does a dry, cold atmosphere favorably affect catarrh ? 
 
 2. Why should we put on extra covering when we lie down to 
 sleep ? 
 
 3. Is it well to throw off our coats or shawls when we come in 
 heated from a long walk ? 
 
 4. Why are close-fitting collars or neck-ties injurious? 
 
 5. Which side of the heart is the more liable to inflammation ? 
 
 6. What gives the toper his red nose ? 
 
 7. Why does not the arm die when the surgeon ties the principal 
 artery leading to it? 
 
 8. When a fowl is angry, why does its comb redden ? 
 
 9. Why does a fat man endure cold better than a led,n one ? 
 
 10. Why does one become thin during a long sickness? 
 
 11. What would you do if you should come home " wet to the skin " ? 
 
 12. When the cold air strikes the face, why does it first blanch and 
 then flush ? 
 
 13. What must be the effect of tight lacing upon the circulation of 
 the blood ? 
 
 14. Do you know the position of the large arteries in the limbs, so 
 that in case of accident you could stop the flow of blood ? 
 
 15. When a person is said to be good-hearted, is it a physical truth? 
 
 16. Why does a hot foofc-bath relieve the headache? 
 
 17. Why does the body of a drowned or strangled person turn blue ? 
 
 18. What are the little "kernels " in the arm-pits? 
 
 19. When we are excessively warm, would the thermometer show 
 any rise of temperature in the body ? 
 
 20. What forces besides that of the heart aid in propelling the blood ? 
 
 21. Why can the pulse be best felt in the wrist? 
 
 22. Why are starving people exceedingly sensitive to any jar ? 
 
 23. Why will friction, an application of horse-radish leaves, or a 
 blister, relieve internal congestion ? 
 
 24. Why are students very liable to cold feet ? 
 
 25. Is the proverb that "blood is thicker than water" literally true? 
 
 26. What is the effect upon the circulation of " holding the breath"? 
 
 27. Which side of the heart is the stronger ? 
 
136 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 28 How is the heart itself nourished ?* 
 
 29. Does any venous blood reach the heart without coming through 
 the venae cavae ? 
 
 30. What would you do, in the absence of a surgeon, in the case of 
 a severe wound ? See Appendix. 
 
 31. What would you do in the case of a fever ? See Appendix. 
 
 32. What is the most injurious effect of alcohol upon the blood ? 
 
 33. Are our bodies the same from day to day ? 
 
 34. Show how life comes by death. 
 
 35. Is not the truth just stated as applicable to moral and intellectual, 
 as to physical life ? 
 
 36. What vein begins and ends with capillaries? Ans. The portal 
 vein commences with capillaries in the digestive organs, and ends with 
 the same kind of vessels in the liver. (See p. 153.) 
 
 37. By what process is alcohol always formed? Does it exist in 
 nature ? 
 
 38. What percentage of alcohol is contained in the different kinds of 
 liquor ? 
 
 39. Does cider possess the same intoxicating principle as brandy 1 
 
 40. Describe the general properties of alcohol. 
 
 41. Show that alcohol is a narcotic poison. 
 
 42. If alcohol is not a stimulant, how does it cause the heart to over- 
 work. 
 
 43. Why is the skin of a drunkard always red and blotched ? 
 
 44. What danger is there in using alcoholic drinks occasionally ? 
 
 45. What is meant by a fatty degeneration of the heart? 
 
 46. What keeps the blood in circulation between the beats of the 
 heart ? 
 
 47. What is the office of the capillaries? (See note, p. 254.) 
 43. Does alcohol interfere with this function ? 
 
 49. How does alcohol interfere with the regular office of the mem- 
 branes? 
 
 50. How does it check the process of oxidation ? 
 
 * The coronary artery, springing from the aorta just after its origin, carries 
 blood to the muscular walls of the heart ; the venous blood comes back through the 
 coronary veins, and empties directly into the right auricle. 
 
vi. 
 
 DIGESTION 
 
 AND 
 
 FOOD. 
 
 A man puts some ashes in a hill of corn and thereby doubles its 
 yield. Then he says, " My ashes have I turned into corn." Weak 
 from his labor, he eats of his corn, and new life comes to him. Again, 
 he says, " / have changed my corn into a man. " This also he feels 
 to be the truth. 
 
 It is the problem of the body, remember, that we are discussing. A 
 man is more than the body ; to confound the body and the man is 
 wtrse than confounding the body and the clothing. JOHN DARBY. 
 
BLACKBOARD ANALYSIS. 
 
 f 1. WHY WE NEED FOOD. 
 
 2. What FOOD DOES. 
 
 f 1. Nitrogenous. 
 
 3. KINDS OF FOOD \ 2. Carbonaceous 
 
 1.3. Minerals. 
 
 4. ONE KIND is INSUFFICIENT. 
 
 5. OBJECT OF DIGESTION. 
 
 
 
 f General Description. 
 1. Mastication and In- { a.The Saliva. 
 
 
 
 salivation 
 
 i b.Processof Swallowing 
 
 
 
 
 ( a. The Stomach. 
 
 
 6. PROCESS OF DIGESTION - 
 
 2. Gastric Digestion. . 
 
 < b. The Gastric Juice. 
 { c. The Chyme. 
 f Description. 
 
 
 
 S.IntestinalDigestion. j J; ^ panc.-eatic Juice. 
 
 
 
 I c. The Small Intestine. 
 
 B 
 
 
 ... t a. By the Veins. 
 I 4 - Absorption } b. By the Lactcals. 
 
 P 
 
 7. COMPLEXITY OF THE PROCESS OF DIGESTION. 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' 1. Length of Time required. 
 
 << i 
 
 
 a I5eer. 
 
 
 
 
 b. Mutton. 
 
 te 
 
 
 
 c- Lamb. 
 
 o 
 
 
 2. Value of different 
 
 d. Pork. 
 
 
 
 kinds of Food. ' 
 
 e. Fish. 
 
 f-i 
 
 
 
 f. Milk. 
 
 c/} 
 
 
 
 s. Cheese. 
 
 W 
 
 
 5 
 
 8 HYGIENE . . 
 
 - , . ' - E Sg*S ctc - 
 ( a. Coffee. 
 3. The Stimulants. 4 b Tea. 
 ( c. Chocolate. 
 
 
 
 
 4. Cooking of Food. 
 
 
 
 
 5. Rapid Eating. 
 6. Quantity and Quality of Food. 
 7. When Food should be taken. 
 
 
 
 8. How 
 
 U 14 
 
 
 
 9. Need of a Variety. 
 
 
 
 9. THE WONDERS OF DIGESTION. 
 
 
 
 10 DISEASES \ *' D 7 8 PP sia - 
 
 
 (I. Is Alcohol a Food? 
 I 2. Effect upon the Digestion. 
 : 8. " " Liver. 
 11. ALCOHOLIC DRINKS 2 4. Kidneys. 
 
 5. Does Alcohol impart lu-nt ? 
 
 6. ** " " strength? 
 
 7. The Effect upon the Waste of the Body. 
 
 8. Alcohol creates a progressive appetite for it- 
 
 self. 
 ,9. Law of Heredity. 
 
 AND NARCOTICS. 
 
DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 "TTTHY we need Food. We have learned that 
 VV our bodies are constantly giving off waste 
 matter the products of the fire, or oxidation, as the 
 chemist terms the change going on within us (note, 
 p. 105). A man without food will starve to death in 
 a few days, i. e., the oxygen will have consumed 
 all the available flesh of his body.* To replace the 
 daily outgo, we need about two and a quarter pounds 
 of food, and three pints of drink, f 
 
 Including the eight hundred pounds of oxygen 
 taken from the air, a man uses in a year about a ton 
 
 * The stories current in the newspapers of persons who live for years without 
 food, are, of course, untrue. The case of the Welsh Pasting Girl, which excited 
 general interest throughout Great Britain, and was extensively copied in our own 
 press, is in point. She had succeeded in deceiving not only the public but, as some 
 claim, her own parents. At last a strict watch was set by day and night, precluding 
 the possibility of her receiving any food except at the hands of the committee, from 
 whom she steadily refused it. In a few days she died from actual starvation. The 
 youth of the girl, the apparent honesty of the parents, and the tragical sequel, make 
 it one of the most remarkable cases of the kind on record. 
 
 t Every cell in the tissues is full of matter ready to set free at call its stored-up 
 energy derived from the meat, bread, and vegetables we have eaten. This energy 
 will pass off quietly when the organs are in comparative rest, but violently when the 
 muscles contract with force. When we send an order through a nerve to any part of 
 the body, a series of tiny explosions run the entire length of the nerve, just as fire 
 runs through a train of gunpowder. The muscle receives the stimulus, and, con- 
 tracting, liberates its energy. The cells of nerve or muscle, whose contents have 
 thus exploded, as it were, are useless, and must be carried off by the blood, just aa 
 ashes must be swept from the hearth, and new fuel be supplied to keep up a fire. 
 
140 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 and a half of material.* Yet during this entire 
 time his weight may have been nearly uniform. \ 
 Our bodies are but molds, in which a certain quan- 
 tity of matter, checked for a time on its ceaseless 
 round, receives a definite form. They may be 
 likened, says Huxley, to an eddy in the river, which 
 retains its shape for a while, yet every instant each 
 particle of water is changing. 
 
 "What Food Does. We make no force ourselves. 
 We can only use that which nature provides. J All 
 our strength comes from the food we eat. Food is 
 force that is, it contains latent within it a power 
 which it gives up when it is decomposed. Oxygen 
 is the magic key which unlocks for our use this hid- 
 
 * The following is the daily ration of a United States soldier. It is said to be the 
 most generous in the world : 
 
 Bread or flour 22 ounces. 
 
 Fresh or salt beef (or pork or bacon, 12 oz.) .... 20 u 
 
 Potatoes (three times per week) 16 li 
 
 Rice , . 1.6 " 
 
 Coffee (or tea, 0.24 oz.) 1.6 " 
 
 Sugar 2.4 " 
 
 Beans 0.64 gill. 
 
 Vinegar 0.32 " 
 
 Salt ... - 0.16 " 
 
 t If, however, he were kept on the scale-pan of a sensitive balance, he would find 
 that his weight is constantly changing, increasing with each meal, and then gradu- 
 ally decreasing. 
 
 $ We draw from nature at once our substance, and the force by which we operate 
 upon her; being, so far, parts of her great system, immersed in it for a short time 
 and to a small extent. Enfolding us, as it were, within her arms. Nature lends ua. 
 her forces to expend; we receive them, and pass them on, giving them the impress 
 
 of our will, and bending them to our designs, for a little while ; and then Yes ; 
 
 then it is all one. The great procession pauses not, nor flags a moment, for our fall. 
 The powers which Nature lent to us she resumes to herself, or lends, it may be, to 
 another ; the use which we have made of them, or might have made and did not, 
 written in her book for eveT.Heaitk and its Conditions 
 
 This force is chemical affinity. It binds together the molecules which compose 
 the food we eat. When oxygen tears the molecules to pieces and makes them up 
 into smaller ones the force is set free. As we shall learn in Physicp, it can be turned 
 into heat, muscular motion, dvctricity, etc. The principle that the different kinds 
 offeree can be changed hi to one another without loss, is called the Conservation of 
 energy, and is one of the grandest discoveries of modern science. (Physics, pages 
 87, 40* 208.) 
 
KINDS OF FOOD NEEDED. 141 
 
 den store.* Putting food into our bodies is like 
 placing a tense spring within a watch ; every motion 
 of the body is only a new direction given to this 
 food-force, as every movement of the hand on the 
 dial is but the manifestation of the power of the 
 bent spring in the watch. We use the pent-up ener- 
 gies of meat, bread, and vegetables which are placed 
 at our service, and transfer them to a higher theater 
 of action, f 
 
 Kinds of Food Needed. From what has been 
 said it is clear that, in order to produce heat and 
 force, we need something that will burn, i. e., with 
 which oxygen can combine. Experiment has 
 proved that to build up every organ, and keep the 
 body in the best condition, we require three kinds 
 of food. 
 
 1. NITROGENOUS FOOD. As nitrogen is a prominent 
 constituent of the tissues of the body, food which 
 contains it is therefore necessary to their growth 
 and repair. J The most common forms are whites 
 of eggs which are nearly pure albumen ; casein 
 the chief constituent of cheese ; lean meat ; and 
 gluten the viscid substance which gives tenac- 
 
 * We have spoken of the mystery that envelops the process of the conversion 
 of food-force into muscular-force (note, p. 105). All physiologists agree that mus- 
 cular power has its source in the chemical decomposition of certain substances 
 whereby their potential energy is released. Probably some of the food undergoes 
 this chemical change before it passes out of the alimentary canal ; possibly some is 
 broken up by the oxygen while it is being swept along by the blood; but, probably 
 by far the largest part is converted into the various tissues of the body, and finally 
 becomes a waste product only after there takes place in the tissue itself that chem- 
 ical disorganization that sets free its stored-up power. Foster's Physiology. 
 
 t It is a grand thought that we can thus transform what is common and gross 
 into the refined and spiritual ; that out of waving, wheat, wasting flesh, running 
 water, and dead minerals, we can realize the glorious? possibilities of human life. 
 
 % Since this kind of food closely resembles albumen, it is sometimes called 
 Albuminous. The term Proteid is also used. 
 
142 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 ity to dough. Bodies having a great deal of nitro- 
 gen readily .oxidize. Hence the peculiar character 
 of the quick-changing, force-exciting muscle. 
 
 2. CARBONACEOUS FOOD i. e., food containing 
 much carbon, consists of two kinds viz., the sugars, 
 and the fats. 
 
 (1.) The sugars contain hydrogen and oxygen in 
 the proportion to form water, and about the same 
 amount of carbon. They may, therefore, be consid- 
 ered as water, with carbon diffused through it. In 
 digestion, starch and gum are changed to sugar, and 
 so are ranked with this class. 
 
 (2) The fats are like the sugars in composition, but 
 contain less oxygen, and not in the proportion to 
 form water. They combine with more oxygen in 
 burning, and so give off more heat. 
 
 The non-nitrogenous elements of the food have, 
 however, other uses than to develop heat.* Fat is 
 essential to the assimilation of the food, while sugar 
 and starch aid in digestion and may be converted 
 into fat.f Fat and carbonaceous material both 
 enter into the composition of the various tissues, 
 and when, by the breaking- up of the contractile 
 substance of the muscle, their latent energy is set 
 free, they become the source of muscular force, as 
 well as heat. While the tendency of the albuminous 
 food is to excite chemical action, and hence the 
 release of energy, the fats and carbonaceous food 
 
 * The heat tbey produce in burning may be turned into motion of the muscles, 
 according to the principle of the Conservation of energy (p. 140, note) ; while all the 
 structures of the body in their oxidation develop heat. 
 
 t In Turkey, the ladies of the harem are fed on honey and thick gruel, to make 
 flesh, which is considered to enhance their beauty. The negroes on the sugar plan- 
 tations of the South always grow fat during the sugar-making season. 
 
THREE KINDS OF FOOD. 143 
 
 may be laid up in the body to serve as a storehouse 
 of energy to supply future needs. 
 
 3. MINEEAL MATTERS. Food should contain water, 
 and certain common minerals, such as iron,* sul- 
 phur, magnesia, phosphorus, salt, and potash. 
 About three pints of water are needed daily to dis- 
 solve the food and carry it through the circulation, 
 to float off waste matter, to lubricate the tissues, 
 and by evaporation to cool the system. It also 
 enters largely into the composition of the body. A 
 man weighing 154 pounds contains 100 pounds of 
 water, about 12 gallons, enough, if rightly ar- 
 ranged, to drown him.f 
 
 Iron goes to the blood disks ; lime combines with 
 phosphoric and carbonic acids to give solidity to the 
 bones and teeth ; phosphorus is essential to the 
 activity of the brain. Salt is necessary to the 
 secretion of some of the digestive fluids, and also to 
 aid in working off from the system its waste prod- 
 ucts. These various minerals, except iron some- 
 times given as a medicine, and salt universally 
 used as a condiment, J are contained in small, but 
 
 * While the body can build up a solid from liquid materials on the one hand, on 
 <he other it can pour iron through its veins and reduce the hardest textures to blood. 
 -Hinton. 
 
 t It is said that Blumenbach had a perfect mummy of an adult Teneriffian, which 
 with the viscera weighed only seven and a half pounds. 
 
 t "Animals will travel long distances to obtain salt. Men will barter gold for 
 it; indeed, among the Gallas and on the coast of Sierra Leone, brothers will sell 
 their sisters, husbands their wives, and parents their children for salt. In the 
 district of Accra, on the gold coast of Africa, a handful of salt is the most valuable 
 thing upon earth after gold, and will purchase a slave. Mungo Park tells us that 
 with the Mandingoes and Bambaras the use of salt is such a luxury that to say of a 
 man ' he flavors his food with salt,' it is to imply that he is rich ; and children will 
 suck a piece of rock-salt as if it were sugar. No stronger mark of respect or affec- 
 tion can be shown in Muscovy, than the sending of salt from the tables of the rich 
 to their poorer friends. In the book of Leviticus it is expressly commanded as one 
 
144 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 sufficient quantities in meat, bread, and vege- 
 tables. 
 
 _ One Kind of Food is Insufficient A person fed 
 on starch alone, would die. It would be a clear case 
 of nitrogen starvation. On the other hand, as nitro- 
 genous food contains carbon, the elements of water, 
 and various mineral matters, life could be supported 
 on that alone. But such a prodigious quantity of 
 lean meat, for example, would be required to furnish 
 the other elements, that not only would it be very 
 expensive, but it is likely that after a time the labor 
 of digestion would be too onerous, and the system 
 would give up the task in despair. The need of a 
 diet containing both nitrogenous and carbonaceous 
 elements is shown in the fact that even in the trop- 
 ical regions oil is relished as a dressing upon salad. 
 Instinct everywhere suggests the blending. Butter 
 is used with bread ; rice is boiled with milk ; cheese 
 is eaten with maccaroni, and beans are baked with 
 pork. 
 
 The Object of Digestion. If our food were cast 
 directly into the blood, it could not be used. For 
 example, although the chemist cannot see wherein 
 the albumen of the egg differs from the albumen of 
 the blood, yet if it be injected into the veins it is 
 
 of the ordinances of Moses, that every ohlation of meat upon the altar shall b 
 seasoned with salt, without lacking; and hence it is called the Salt of the Covenant 
 of God. The Greeks and Romans also used salt in their sacrificial cakes ; and it is 
 still used in the services of the Latin church the ' parva mica, 1 or pinch of ealt, 
 being in the ceremony of baptism, put into the child's mouth, while the priest says, 
 Receive the salt of wisdom, and may it be a propitiation to thee for eternal life.' 
 Everywhere and almost always, indeed, it has been regarded as emblematical of 
 wisdom, wit, and immortality. To taste a man's salt, was to be bound by the rites 
 of hospitality ; and no oath was more solemn than that which was sworn upon 
 bread and salt. To sprinkle the meat with salt was to drive away the devil, and to 
 this day, nothing is more unlucky than to spill the salt." Lethcby, On Food. 
 
MASTICATION AND INSALIVATION. 
 
 145 
 
 unavailable for the pur- 
 poses required, and is 
 thrown out again. In the 
 course of digestion the 
 food is modified in various 
 ways whereby it is fitted 
 for the use of the body. 
 We call this process assim- 
 ilation a name for a work 
 done solely by the vital 
 organs and so mysterious 
 in its nature that the 
 wisest physiologist gets 
 only glimpses here and 
 there of its operations. 
 
 The General Flan of Di- 
 gestion. Nature has pro- 
 vided for this purpose an 
 entire laboratory, furnished 
 with a chemist's outfit of 
 knives, mortars, baths, 
 chemicals, filters, etc. The 
 food is (1) chewed, mixed 
 with the saliva in the mouth, and swallowed ; (2) it is 
 acted upon by the gastric juice in the stomach ; (3) 
 passed into the intestines, where it receives the bile, 
 pancreatic juice, and other liquids which completely 
 dissolve it ;* (4) the nourishing part is absorbed in 
 the stomach and intestines, and thence thrown into 
 the blood-vessels, whence it is whirled through the 
 
 * "Digestion," says Berzelius, "is a process of rinsing." The digestive apparatus 
 secretes, and again absorbs with the food which it has dissolved, not less than three 
 gallons of liquid per day. Barnard, Bidder, Schmidt, and others. 
 
 The Stomach and Intestines. 1, 
 stomach ; 2, duodenum ; 3, small in- 
 testine ; 4, termination of the ileum ; 
 5, ccKcum ; 6, vermiform appendix ; 
 7, ascending colon ; 8, transverse co- 
 lon ; 9, descending colon ; 10, sigmoid 
 flexure of the colon; 11, rectum^; 12. 
 spleen a gland whose action is not 
 understood. 
 
14:6 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 Fig. k6. 
 
 The Parotid one of the salivary glands. 
 
 body by the torrent of the circulation. These 
 processes take place within the alimentary canal, 
 a narrow, tortuous tube which commences at the 
 mouth, and is about thirty feet long.* 
 
 I. Mastication and Insalivation. 1. THE SALIVA. 
 The food while being cut and ground by the teeth is 
 mixed with the saliva. This is a thin, colorless, 
 frothy, slightly alkaline liquid, secreted f by the 
 mucous membrane lining the mouth, and by three 
 pairs of salivary glands (parotid, submaxillary, and 
 sublingual) opening into the mouth through ducts, 
 or tubes. The amount varies, but on the average is 
 about three pounds per day, and in health is always 
 
 * The digestive apparatus is lined with mucous membrane, that possesses func- 
 tions similar to those of the outer skin. It absorbs certain substances and rejects 
 waste matter. On account of this close connection between the inner and the outer 
 skin, it is not surprising to find that in the lowest animals digestion is performed by 
 means of the external skin. The amaeba, which is merely a gelatinous mass, when 
 it takes its food, extemporizes a stomach for the occasion. It simply wraps itself 
 around the morsel, and, like an animated apple-dumpling with the apple for food 
 and the crust for animal, goes on with the process until the operation is completed, 
 when it unrolls itself again and lets the indigestible residue escape. The common 
 hydra of our brooks can live when turned inside out, like a glove : either side 
 serving for skin or stomach, as necessity requires. 
 
 t By secretion is meant merely a separation or picking out from the blood. 
 
GASTRIC DIGESTION. 147 
 
 sufficient to keep the mouth moist.* It softens and 
 dissolves the food, and thus enables us to get the 
 flavor or taste of what we eat. It contains a pecu- 
 liar organic principle called ptyalin,\ which, acting 
 upon the starch of the food, changes it into glucose 
 or grape-sugar. 
 
 2. THE PROCESS OF SWALLOWING. The food thus 
 finely pulverized, softened, and so lubricated by the 
 viscid saliva as to prevent friction as it passes 
 over the delicate membranes, is conveyed by the 
 tongue and cheek to the back of the mouth. The 
 soft palate lifts to close the nasal opening ; the epi- 
 glottis shuts down, and along this bridge the food is 
 borne, without danger of falling into the windpipe 
 or escaping into the nose. The muscular bands of 
 the throat now seize it and take it beyond our con- 
 trol. The fibers of the oesophagus contract above, 
 while they are lax bejow, and convey the food by a 
 worm-like motion into the stomach. J 
 
 II. Gastric Digestion. 1. THE STOMACH is an irreg- 
 ular expansion of the digestive tube. Its shape has 
 
 * The presence and often the thought of food will " make one's mouth water." 
 Fear checks the flow of saliva, and hence the East Indians sometimes attempt to 
 detect theft by making those who are suspected chew rice. The person from whom 
 it comes out driest is adjudged the thief I 
 
 t One part of ptyalin will convert 8,000 parts of starch into sugar. Mialhe. 
 
 The saliva has no chemical action on the fats or the albuminous bodies. Its froth- 
 iness enables it to carry oxygen into the stomach, and this is thought to be of ser- 
 vice. The action of the ptyalin commences with great promptness, and sugar has 
 been detected, it is said, within half a minute after the starch was placed in the 
 mouth. The process, however, is not finished, there, but continues after reaching 
 the stomach. Valentin. 
 
 The saliva thus prepares a small portion of food for absorption at once, and so 
 insures at the very beginning of the operation of digestion a supply of force-pro- 
 ducing material for the immediate use of the system. 
 
 t We can observe the peculiar motion of the oesophagus by watching a horse's 
 neck when he is drinking. 
 
148 
 
 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 Fig. 47 
 
 Diagram of the Digestion of the Food. Notice how the food is submitted to tht action 
 of alkaline, acid, and then alkaline fluids. (See note p. 15t.) 
 
GASTRIC DIGETION. 
 
 been compared to that of a bagpipe. It holds about 
 three pints, though it is susceptible of some dis- 
 tension. It is composed of an inner, mucous mem- 
 brane, which secretes the digestive fluids ; an outer, 
 smooth, well-lubricated serous one, which prevents 
 friction, and between them a stout, muscular coat. 
 The last consists of two principal layers of longi- 
 tudinal and circular fibers. When these contract, 
 they produce a peculiar churning motion, called the 
 peristaltic (peri, round ; stallein, to arrange) move- 
 ment, which thoroughly mixes the contents of the 
 stomach. At the further end, the muscular fibers 
 contracting form a gateway, the pylorus (a gate), as 
 it is called, which carefully guards the exit, and 
 allows no food to pass from the stomach until prop- 
 erly prepared.* 
 
 2. THE GASTRIC JUICE. The lining of the stomach 
 is soft, velvety, and of a pinkish hue ; but, as soon as 
 food is admitted, the blood-vessels fill, the surface 
 becomes of a bright red, and soon there exudes from 
 the gastric glands a thin, colorless fluid the gastric 
 juice. This is secreted to the amount of twelve 
 pounds per day.f Its acidity is probably due to 
 muriatic or lactic acid the acid of sour milk. It 
 contains a peculiar organic principle called pepsin I 
 
 * With a wise discretion, however, it opens for buttons, coins, etc., swallowed 
 by accident ; when we overload the stomach, it seems to become weary of constantly 
 denying egress, and, finally, giving up in despair, lets everything through. 
 
 * The amount secreted by a healthy adult is variously estimated from five to 
 thirty-seven pounds. As it is re-absorbed by the blood, there is no loss. 
 
 % Pepsin is prepared and sold as an article of commerce. The best is said to be 
 made from the stomachs of young, healthy pigs, which, just before being killed, are 
 excited with savory food, that they are not allowed to eat. One grain is sufficient 
 to dissolve 800 grains of coagulated white of egg. A tempemture of 130 renders 
 pepsin inert. 
 
150 
 
 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 ' . 
 
 (peptein, to digest), which acts as a ferment to 
 produce changes in the food, without being itself 
 modified. 
 
 The flow of gastric juice is influenced by various 
 circumstances. Cold water checks it for a time, and 
 ice for a longer period. Anger, fatigue, and anxiety 
 delay and even suspend the secretion. The gastric 
 juice has no effect on the fats or the sugars of the 
 food ; its influence being mainly confined to the 
 albuminous bodies, which it so changes that they 
 become soluble in water.* 
 
 The food, reduced by the action of the gastric 
 juice to a grayish, soupy mass, called chyme (kime), 
 escapes through that jealously- guarded door, the 
 pylorus. 
 
 Fifj. US. 
 
 A vertical Section of the Duodenum, highly magnified. 1, a fold -like 
 2, epithelium, or cuticle ; 3, orifices of intestinal glands ; 5, orifice of duodenal 
 glands ; 4, 7, more highly magnified sections of the cells of a duodenal gland. 
 
 III. Intestinal Digestion. The structure of the 
 intestines is like that of the stomach. There is the 
 
 * The question is often asked why the stomach itself is not digested by the 
 gastric juice, since it belongs to the albuminous substances. Some assign as the 
 reason that life protects that organ, and that living tissues cannot be digested. The 
 fallacy of this has been clearly shown by introducing the legs of live frogs and the 
 ears of rabbits through an opening made in a dog's stomach, where they were readily 
 digested. The latest opinion is that the bloorl which circulates so freely through the 
 vessels of the lining'of the stomach, being alkaline, protects the tissue against the 
 acidity of the gastric juice. 
 
INTESTINAL DIGESTION. 151 
 
 same outer, smooth, serous membrane (peritoneum) 
 to prevent friction, the lining of mucous membrane 
 to secrete the digestive fluids, and the muscular 
 coating to push the food forward. The intestines 
 are divided into the small, and the large. The first 
 part of the former opens out of the stomach, and is 
 called the du-o-de'-num, as its length is equal to the 
 breadth of twelve fingers. Here the chyme is acted 
 upon by the bile, and the pancreatic juice. 
 
 1. THE BILE is secreted by the liver. This gland 
 weighs about four pounds, and is the largest in the 
 body. It is located on the right side, below the dia- 
 phragm. The bile is of a dark, golden color, and 
 bitter taste. About three pounds are secreted per 
 day. When not needed for digestion, it is stored in 
 the gall cyst.* Its action on the food, though not 
 fully understood, is necessary to life, f 
 
 2. THE PANCREATIC JUICE is a secretion of the 
 pancreas, or "sweet-bread" -a gland nearly as 
 large as the hand, lying behind the stomach. It 
 is alkaline, and contains a ferment called trypsin. 
 This juice has the power of changing starch to 
 sugar. Its main work, however, is in breaking up 
 the globules of fat into myriads of minute particles, 
 that mix freely with water, and remain suspended 
 in it like butter in new milk. The whole mass now 
 
 * A gall-bladder can be obtained from a butcher, and the contents kept in a bottle 
 for examination. 
 
 t Experiments have been made with animals by opening the gall-bladder and 
 allowing the gall as secreted to flow out of the body without entering the stomach. 
 Flint describes a case where a dog was thus treated. Although plentifully fed, he 
 died in thirty-eight days. He suffered no pain, and death came gradually, merely 
 through a failure of the vital powers. The alkaline bile, by neutralizing the acid 
 contents of the stomach as they flow into the duodenum, prepares the way for the* 
 pancreatic juice, while the bile has also a slight emulsifying power (note p. 154). 
 
152 
 
 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 Fig. l#. 
 
 The Mucous Membrane of the Ilium, highly magnified. 1, cettulir structure of the 
 epithelium, or outer layer ; 2. a rein ; 3, fibrous layer ; 4. villi covered unth epithelium ; 
 5, a villus in section, showing its lining of epithelium, with its blood-ressels and lym- 
 phatics ; 6, a vttlus partially uncovered ; 7, a villus stripped of its epithelium ; 8, lym- 
 phatics or lacteals; S, orifices of the glands opening between the rilli ; 10, 11, 12, 
 glands ; 13, capillaries surrounding the orifices of the gland. 
 
 assumes a milky look, whence it is termed chyle 
 (klle), and passes on to the small intestine.* 
 
 3. THE SMALL INTESTINE is an intricately-folded- 
 tube, about twenty feet long, and from an inch to 
 an inch and one-half in diameter. As the chyle 
 passes through this tortuous channel, it receives 
 
 * "It IB curious to observe that while the gastric jnice is decidedly acid, the fluids 
 with which the food next comes into contact are alkaline. It is thus submitted to 
 the operation alternately of alkaline, acid, and again of alkaline secretions. In the 
 herbivora there is also a second acid juice. The reason of these alternations is not 
 known, but it can hardly be doubted that they serve to make the digestion of the 
 food more perfect. And although the solvent power of the gastric juice is placid in 
 abeyance when its acidity is neutralized by the alkaline fluids, yet it appears to be 
 the case here, as in respect to the saliva, that effects are produced by the mixture of 
 the various secretions which are poured together into the digestive tube, that would 
 not result from either alone.' 1 Hinton. 
 
ABSORPTION. 153 
 
 along the entire route secretions which seem to 
 combine the action of all the previous ones starch, 
 ^ fat, and albumen being equally affected. 
 
 IV. Absorption is performed in two ways, by the 
 veins, and the lacteals. (1.) The veins in the stom- 
 ach * immediately begin to take up the water, salt, 
 grape-sugar, and other substances that need ' no 
 special preparation. The starch, and the albumi- 
 nous bodies are also absorbed as they are properly 
 digested, and this process continues along the whole 
 length of the alimentary canal. In the small intes- 
 tine, there is a multitude of tiny projections (villi) 
 from the folds of the mucous membrane, more than 
 7000 to the square inch, giving it a soft, velvety look. 
 These little rootlets, reaching out into the milky 
 fluid, drink into their minute blood-vessels the 
 nutritious part of every sort of fo.od. (2.) The 
 lacteals f (p. 123), a set of vessels starting in the 
 villi side by side with the veins, absorb the prin- 
 cipal part of the fat. They convey the chyle 
 through the lymphatics and the thoracic duct 
 (Fig. 43) to the veins, and so within the sweep of 
 the circulation. 
 
 The Portal Vein J carries to the liver the food 
 absorbed by the veins of the stomach and the villi 
 of the intestines. On the way, it is greatly modified 
 
 * The veins and the lacteals are separated from the food by a thin, moist mem- 
 brane, through the pores of which the fluid-food rapidly passes, in accordance with 
 a beautiful law (Physics, page 50) called the Osmose of liquids. If two liquids of dif- 
 ferent densities are separated by an animal membrane, they will mix with consider- 
 able force. There is a similar law regulating the interchange of gases through a 
 porous partition, in obedience to which the carbonic acid of the blood, and the 
 oxygen of the lungs, are exchanged through the thin membrane of the air-cells. 
 
 t From lac, milk, because of the milky look given to their contents by the chyle. 
 
 $ So named because it enters the liver by a sort of gateway. 
 
154 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 by the action of the blood itself. In the cells of the 
 liver, it undergoes as mysterious a process as that 
 performed by the lymphatic glands, and is then cast 
 into the circulation.* The food, potent with force, 
 is now buried in that river of life from which the 
 body springs momentarily afresh. 
 
 The Complexity of the process of digestion, as 
 compared with the simplicity of respiration and 
 circulation, is very marked. The mechanical opera- 
 tion of mastication ; the lubrication of the food by 
 mucus ; the provision for the security of the respir- 
 atory organs ; the grasping by the muscles of the 
 throat ; the churning movement of the stomach ; 
 the guardianship of the pylorus ; the timely intro- 
 duction by safe and protected channels of the saliva, 
 the gastric juice, the bile, the pancreatic juice, and 
 the intestinal fluids, each with its special adaptation ; 
 the curious peristaltic motion of the intestines ; the 
 twofold absorption by the veins and the lacteals ; 
 the final transformation in the lymphatics, the por- 
 tal vein, and the liver, all these present a com- 
 plexity of detail, the necessity of which can be 
 explained only when we reflect upon the variety of 
 the substances we use for food, and the importance 
 of its thorough preparation before it is allowed to 
 enter the blood. 
 
 The Length of Time Required for digesting a full 
 meal is from two to four hours. It varies with the 
 
 * In these cells, the sugar is changed into a kind of starch called glycogen. This 
 is insoluble, and so is stored up in the liver, and even in the substance of the 
 muscles, until it is needed by the body, when it is once more converted into soluble 
 sugar and taken up by the circulation." The liver also changes the waste and surplus 
 albuminous matter into bile, and into urea and uric acid the forms in which nitro- 
 uenized waste is excreted by the kidneys. 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF FOOD. 155 
 
 kind of food, state of the system, perfection of mas- 
 tication, etc. In the celebrated observations made 
 upon Alexis St. Martin * by Dr. Beaumont, his stom- 
 ach was found empty in two and a half hours after 
 a meal of roast turkey, potatoes, and bread. Pigs' 
 feet and boiled rice were disposed of in an hour. 
 Fresh, sweet apples took one and a half hours;' 
 boiled milk, two hours ; and unboiled, a quarter of 
 an hour longer. In eggs, which occupied the same 
 time, the case was reversed, raw ones being 
 digested sooner than cooked. Roast beef and mut- 
 ton required three, and three and a quarter hours 
 respectively ; veal, salt beef, and broiled chicken 
 remained for four hours ; and roast pork enjoyed 
 the bad pre-eminence of needing five and a quarter 
 hours. 
 
 Value of the Different Kinds of Food. BEEF and 
 MUTTON possess the greatest nutritive value of any 
 of the meats. LAMB is less strengthening, but more 
 delicate. Like the young of all animals, it should 
 be thoroughly cooked, and at a high temperature, 
 properly to develop its delicious flavor. PORK has 
 much carbon. It sometimes contains a parasite 
 called trichina, which may be transferred to the 
 human system, producing disease and often death. 
 
 * In 1822, Alexis St. Martin, a Canadian in the employ of the American Fur 
 Company, was accidentally shot in the left side. Two years after, the wound was 
 entirely healed, leaving, however, an opening about two and a half inches in cir- 
 cumference into the stomach. Through this the mucous membrane protruded, 
 forming a kind of valve which prevented the discharge of food but could be readily 
 depressed by the finger, thus exposing the interior. For several years he was under 
 the care of Dr, Beaumont, a skillful physician, who experimented upon him by giv- 
 ing various kinds of food, and watching their digestion through this opening. By 
 means of these observations, and others performed on Katherine Kutt, a woman 
 who had a similar aperture in the stomach, we have very important information as 
 to the digestibility of different kinds of food. 
 
156 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 The only preventive is thorough cooking. FISH is 
 more watery than flesh, and many find it difficult 
 of digestion. Like meat, it loses its mineral con- 
 stituents and natural juices when salted, and is 
 much less nourishing. Oysters are highly nutri- 
 tious, but are more easily assimilated when raw 
 than when cooked. MILK is a model food, as it con- 
 tains albumen, starch, fat, and mineral matter. No 
 single substance can sustain life for so long a time. 
 CHEESE is very nourishing one pound being equal 
 in value to two of meat, but is not adapted to a 
 weak stomach. EGGS are most easily digested 
 when the white is barely coagulated and the yolk is 
 unchanged. BREAD* should be made of unbolted 
 Hour. The bran of wheat furnishes the mineral 
 matter we need in our bones and teeth, gives the 
 bulk so essential to the proper distension of the 
 organs, and by its roughness gently stimulates them 
 to action. CORN is rich in fat. It contains, how- 
 ever, more indigestible matter than any other grain, 
 except oats, and is less nutritious than wheat, f 
 The POTATO is two-thirds water, the rest being 
 mainly starch. RIPE FRUITS, and those vegetables 
 
 * Very fresh bread, warm biscuit, etc., are condensed by mastication into a pasty 
 mass that is not easily penetrated by the gastric juice, and hence they are not 
 healthful. In Germany, bread is not allowed to be sold at the baker's till it is 
 twenty-four hours old a wise provision for those who have not strength to resist 
 temptation. This rule of eating may well be adopted by every one who cares more 
 for his health than for a gratification of his appetite. 
 
 t Persons unaccustomed to the use of corn find it liable to produce derangement 
 of the digestive organs. This was made fearfully apparent iu the prisons at Andei- 
 sonvillu during the late civil war. The vegetable food of the Federal prisoners had 
 hitherto been chiefly wheat-bread and potatoes, the corn bread so extensively used 
 at the South being quite new to most of them as a constant article of diet. It soon 
 became not only loathsom", but productive of serious diseases. On the other hand, 
 it was the principal article in the rations of the Confederate soldiers, to whom habit 
 mnde it a nutrition? and wholesome form of food, as was shown by tlieir endurance. 
 Fiinfa Physiology of Alan, vol. 2, page 41 
 
THE STIMULANTS. 157 
 
 usually eaten raw, dilute the more concentrated 
 food, and also supply the blood with acids, which 
 are cooling in summer, and useful, perhaps, in 
 -Assimilation . 
 
 The Stimulants. COFFEE is about half nitrogen, 
 and the rest fatty, saccharine, and mineral sub- 
 stances. It is, therefore, of much nutritive value, 
 especially when taken with milk and sugar. Its 
 peculiar stimulating property is due to a principle 
 called caffeine. Its aroma is developed by browning, 
 but destroyed by burning. No other substance so 
 soon relieves the sense of fatigue.* Taken in 
 moderation, it clears the intellect, tranquillizes the 
 nerves, and usually leaves no unpleasant reaction. 
 It serves also as a kind of negative food, since it 
 retards the process of waste. 
 
 In some cases, however, it produces a rush of 
 blood to the head, and should be at once discarded. 
 At the close of a full meal it hinders digestion, and 
 at night produces wakefulness. In youth, when the 
 vital powers are strong, and the functions of nature 
 prompt in rallying from fatigue, it is not needed, 
 and may be injurious in stimulating a sensitive 
 organization. 
 
 TEA possesses an active principle called theine. 
 When used moderately, its effects are similar to 
 those of coffee, except that it rarely produces wake- 
 fulness. It contains tannin, which, if the tea is 
 strong, coagulates the albumen of the food tans it 
 and thus delays digestion. In excess, tea causes 
 
 * In the late civil war, the first desire of the soldiers upon halting after a weari- 
 some march, was to make a cnp of coffee. This was taken without milk, aud olten 
 without sugar, yet was always welcome. 
 
158 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 nervous tremor, disturbed sleep, palpitation of the 
 heart, and indigestion.* 
 
 CHOCOLATE contains much fat, and also nitro- 
 genous matter resembling albumen. Its active 
 principle, theobromine,\ has some of the properties of 
 caffeine and theine. 
 
 The Cooking of Food breaks the little cells, and 
 softens the fibers of which it is composed. In broil- 
 ing or roasting meat, it should be exposed to a strong 
 heat at once, in order to coagulate the albumen 
 upon the outside, and thus prevent the escape of the 
 nutritious juices. The cooking may then be finished 
 at a lower temperature. The same principle applies 
 to boiling meat. In making soups, on the contrary, 
 the heat should be applied slowly, and should reach 
 the boiling point for only a few moments at the close. 
 This prevents the coagulation of the albumen. 
 Frying is an unhealthful mode of cooking food, 
 as thereby the fat becomes partially disorganized. 
 
 Rapid Eating produces many evil results. 1. 
 There is not enough saliva mixed with the food ; 2. 
 The coarse pieces resist the action of the digestive 
 fluids ; 3. The food is washed down with drinks that 
 dilute the gastric juice, and hinder its work ; 4. We 
 do not appreciate the quantity we eat until the 
 stomach is overloaded ; 5. Failing to get the taste of 
 our food, we think it insipid, and hence use condi- 
 
 * Tea and coffee should be made with boiling water, but should not be boiled 
 afterward. During the "steeping' 1 process, BO customary in this country, the vola- 
 tile aroma is lost and a bitter principle extracted. In both Enpland and China it is 
 usual to infnse tea directly in the urn from which it is to be drawn. The tannin in 
 tea is shown when a drop falls on a knife-blade. The black spot is a taunate of 
 iron a compound of the acid in the tea and the metal. 
 
 t It is said that Linnaeus, the great botanist, was PO fond of chocolate that he 
 earned the cocoa-tree " Thcobroma," the food of the gods. 
 
THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF FOOD. 159 
 
 ments that over-stimulate the digestive organs. In 
 these various ways the appetite is depraved, the 
 stomach vexed, the system overworked, and the 
 foundation of dyspepsia laid.* 
 
 The Quantity and Quality of Food required vary 
 with the age and habits of each individual. The 
 diet of a childf should be largely vegetable, and 
 more abundant than that of an aged person. A 
 sedentary occupation necessitates less food than an 
 out-door life. One accustomed to manual labor, 011 
 entering school, should practice self-denial until his 
 system becomes fitted to the new order of things. 
 He should not, however, fall into the opposite error. 
 We read of great men who have lived on bread and 
 water, and the conscientious student sometimes 
 thinks that, to be great, he, too, must starve him- 
 self, t On the contrary, many of the greatest 
 workers are the greatest eaters. A powerful engine 
 needs a corresponding furnace. Only, we should be 
 careful not to use more fuel than is needed to run 
 the machine. 
 
 The season should modify our diet. In winter, we 
 need highly carbonaceous food, plenty of meat, fat, 
 etc. ; but in summer we should temper the heat in 
 our corporeal stoves with fruits and vegetables. 
 
 The climate also has its necessities. The inhabi- 
 
 * When one is compelled to eat in a hurry, as at a railway station, he would do 
 well to confine himself principal!}' to meat ; and to dilute this concentrated food 
 with fruit, crackers, etc., taken afterward more leisurely. 
 
 t In youth, repair exceeds waste, and hence the body grows rapidly, and the form 
 is plump. In middle life, repair and waste equal each other, and growth ceases. 
 In old age, waste exceeds repair, and hence the powers are enfeebled and the skin 
 lies in wrinkles on the shrunken form. 
 
 t As Dr. Holland well remarks, the dispensation of saw-dust has passed away. 
 If we desire a horse to win the race, we must give him plenty of oat. 
 
160 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 tants of the frigid north have an almost insatiable 
 longing for fat.* Thus, in 1812, when the Allies 
 entered Paris, the Cossacks drank all the oil from 
 the lamps, and left the streets in darkness. In trop- 
 ical regions, a low, unstimulating diet of fruits 
 forms the chief dependence, f 
 
 When Food should be Taken. On taking food, 
 the blood sets at once to the alimentary canal, and 
 the energies are fixed upon the proper performance 
 of this work. We should not, therefore, undertake 
 hard study, labor, or exercise directly after a hearty 
 meal. We should give the stomach at least half an 
 hour. He who toils with brain or muscle, and thus 
 centers the blood in any particular organ, before eat- 
 ing, should allow time for the circulation to become 
 equalized. There should be an interval of four to 
 five hours between our regular meals, and there 
 should be no lunching between times. With young 
 children, where the vital processes are more rapid, 
 less time may intervene. Nothing should be eaten 
 within two or three hours of retiring. 
 
 * Dr. Hayes, the arctic explorer, says, that the daily ration of the Esquimaux 
 was from twelve to fifteen pounds of meat, one-third being fat. On one occasion, 
 he saw a man eat ten pounds of walrus flesh and blubber at a single meal. The low 
 temperature had a remarkable effect on the members of his own party, and some 
 of them were in the habit of drinking the contents of the oil-kettle with evident 
 rrlish. Other travelers narrate the most incredible stories of the voracity of the 
 inhabitants of arctic regions. Saritcheff, a Russian admiral, tells of a man who in 
 his presence ate, nt a meal, a mess of twenty-eight pounds of boiled rice and butter, 
 although he had already partaken of bis breakfast. Cnpl. Cochrnnc further adds, 
 in narrating this statement, that he has himself seen three of the savages consume a 
 reindeer at a sitting. 
 
 t A natural appetite for a particular kind of food is an expression not only of 
 desire but of fitness. Thus the craving of childhood for sugar indicates a need of 
 the system. It is questionable how far it is proper to force or persuade one to eat 
 that which he disrelishes, or his stomach loathes. Life within is linked with life 
 without. Each organ requires its peculiar nutriment, and there is often a peculiar 
 influence demanded of which we can have no notice except by natural instinct. 
 Yet, as we are creatures of habit and impulse, we need common sense and good 
 judgment to correct the too often wayward promptings of an artificial craving. 
 
THE WONDERS OF DIGESTION. 161 
 
 How Food should be Taken. A good laugh is 
 the best of sauces. The meal-time should be the 
 happiest hour of the day. Care and grief are the 
 bitter foes of digestion. A cheerful face and a light 
 heart are friends to long life, and nowhere do they 
 serve us better than at the table. God designed 
 that we should enjoy eating, and that, having 
 stopped before satiety was reached, we should have 
 the satisfaction always attendant on a good work 
 well done. 
 
 Need of a Variety. Careful investigations have 
 shown that any one kind of food, however nutri- 
 tious in itself, fails after a time to preserve tho 
 highest working power of the body. Our appetite 
 palls when we confine our diet to a regular routine. 
 Nature demands variety, and she has furnished the 
 means of gratifying it.* 
 
 The Wonders of Digestion. We can understand 
 much of the process of digestion. We can look 
 into the stomach and trace its various steps. In- 
 deed, the chemist can reproduce in his laboratory 
 many of the operations ; '; a step further," as Fonte- 
 nelle has said, "and he would surprise nature in the 
 very act." Just here, when he seems so successful, 
 
 * " She opens her hand, and pours forth to man the treasures of every land and 
 every sea, because she would give to him a wido and vigorous life, participant of all 
 variety. For him the cornfields wave their golden grain wheat, rye, oats, maize, or 
 rice, each different, but alike sufficing. Freely for him the palm, the date, the 
 banana, the bread-fruit tree, the pine, spread out a harvest on the air; and pleasant 
 apple, plum, or peach solicit his ready hand. Beneath his foot lie stored the starch 
 of the potato, the gluten of the turnip, the sugar of the beet ; while all the inter- 
 mediate space is rich with juicy herbs. 
 
 " Nature bids him eat and be merry ; adding to his feast the solid flesh of bird, 
 and beast,-and fish, prepared as victims for Ihe sacrifice: firm muscle to make 
 strong the arm of toil, in the industrious temperate zone ; and massive ribs of 
 fat to kindle inward fires for the sad d\veUe:-i under Arctic skies." Health and its 
 Conditions. Hinton, 
 
162 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 he is compelled to pause. At the threshold of life 
 the wisest physiologist reverently admires, wonders, 
 and worships. 
 
 How strange is this transformation of food to 
 flesh ! We make a meal of meat, vegetables, and 
 drink. Ground by the teeth, mixed by the stomach, 
 dissolved by the digestive fluids, it is swept through 
 the body. Each organ, as it passes, snatches its 
 particular food. Within the cells of the tissues * it 
 is transformed into the soft, sensitive brain, or the 
 hard, callous bone ; into briny tears, or bland saliva, 
 or acrid perspiration ; bile for digestion, oil for the 
 hair, nails for the fingers, and flesh for the cheek. 
 
 Within us is an Almighty Architect, who super- 
 intends a thousand builders, which make in a way 
 past all human comprehension, here a fiber of a 
 muscle, there a filament of a nerve ; here construct- 
 ing a bone, there uniting a tendon, fashioning each 
 with scrupulous care and unerring nicety, f So, 
 without sound of builder or stroke of hammer, 
 goes up, day by day, the body the glorious temple 
 of the soul. 
 
 Diseases, etc. 1. DYSPEPSIA, or indigestion of 
 food, is generally caused by an over-taxing of the 
 digestive organs. Too much food is used, and the 
 
 * As the body is composed of individual organ?, and each organ of separate 
 eo each tissue is made np of minnte cells. Each cell is a little world by 
 itself, too em:\ll to be seen by the naked eye, bat open to the microscope. It has 
 its own form and constitution as much as a special organ hi the body. It 
 absorbs from the blood such food *s suits its purpose? Moreover the number of 
 cells in an organ is as constant as the number of organs. As the organs expand with 
 the growth of the body, so the cells of each tissue enlarge, but shrink again with age 
 and the decline of life. Life begins and ends in a celL See Appleton's Cyclopedia^ 
 Art. "Absorption." 
 
 t See Cooke's Religion and Chemistry, page 236. 
 
ALCOHOL. 163 
 
 entire system is burdened by the excess. Meals are 
 taken at irregular hours, when the fluids are not 
 ready. A hearty supper is eaten when the body, 
 wearied with the day's labor, demands rest. The 
 appetite craves no food when the digestion is en- 
 feebled, but stimulants and condiments excite it, 
 and the unwilling organs are oppressed by that 
 which they cannot properly manage. 
 
 Strong tea, alcoholic drinks, and tobacco derange 
 the alimentary function. 
 
 Too great variety of dishes, rich food, tempting 
 flavors, all lead to an overloading of the stomach. 
 This patient, long-suffering member at last wears 
 out. Pain, discomfort, diseases of the digestive 
 organs, and insufficient nutrition are the penalties 
 of violated laws. 
 
 2. THE MUMPS are a swelling of the parotid one 
 of the salivary glands (Fig. 46). The disease is gen- 
 erally epidemic, and the patient should be carefully 
 secluded for the sake of others as well as himself. 
 The swelling may be allowed to take its course. 
 Relief from pain is often experienced by applying 
 flannels wrung out of hot water. Great care should 
 be used not to check the inflammation, and, on first 
 going out after recovery, not to take cold. 
 
 ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND NARCOTICS. 
 
 1 . ALCOHOL (Continued from p. 1 34). 
 
 Relation of Alcohol to the Digestive Organs. 
 s Alcohol a Food ? To answer this question, let us 
 
164 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 make a comparison. If you receive into your stom- 
 ach a piece of bread or beef, Nature -welcomes its 
 presence. The juices of the system at once take 
 hold of it, dissolve it, and transform it for the uses 
 of the body. A million tiny fingers (lacteals and 
 veins) reach out to grasp it, work it over, and carry it 
 into the circulation. The blood bears it onward 
 wherever it is needed to mend or to build " The 
 house you live in." Soon, it is no longer bread 
 or beef ; it is flesh on your arm ; its chemical 
 energy is imparted to you, and it becomes your 
 strength. 
 
 If, on the other hand, you take into your stomach 
 a little alcohol, it receives no such welcome. Nature 
 treats it as a poison, and seeks to rid herself of the 
 intruder as soon as possible.* The juices of the sys- 
 tem will flow from every pore to dilute and weaken 
 it, and to prevent its shriveling up the delicate 
 membranes with which it comes in contact. The 
 veins will take it up and bear it rapidly through 
 the system. Every organ of elimination, all the 
 scavengers of the body the lungs, the kidneys, 
 the perspiration-glands, at once set to work to 
 
 * Pood is digested, alcohol is not. Pood warms the blood, directly or indirectly ; 
 alcohol lowers the temperature. Food nourishes the body, in the sense of assimi- 
 lating itself to the tissues ; alcohol does not. Food makes blood ; alcohol never 
 does anything more innocent than mixing with it. Food feeds the blood-cells; 
 alcohol destroys them. Food excites, in health, to normal action only ; alcohol 
 tends to inflammation and disease. Food gives force to the body; alcohol excites 
 re iction and wastes force, in the first place, and in the second, as a true narcotic, 
 represses vital action and corresponding nutrition. If alcohol does not net like 
 food, neither does it behave like water. Water is the subtle but innocent vehicle 
 of circulation, which dissolves the solid food, holds in play the chemical and vital 
 reactions of the tissues, conveys the nutritive solutions from cell to cell, from tube 
 to tube, and carries off and expels the effete matter. Water neither irritates tissue, 
 wastes force, nor suppresses vital action : whereas alcohol docs all three. Alcohol 
 hardens solid tissue, thickens the blood narcotizes the m TVCS, and in every con- 
 ceivable direction antagonizes the operation and function of water. Lees'* Text-book. 
 
ALCOHOL. 185 
 
 throw off the enemy. So surely is this the case, 
 that the breath of a person who has drunk only a 
 single glass of the lightest beer will betray the fact. 
 
 The alcohol thus eliminated is entirely un- 
 changed.* Nature apparently makes no effort to 
 appropriate it. It courses everywhere through the 
 circulation, and into the great organs, with all its 
 properties unmodified. "Dr. A. B. Hall of Boston 
 states that he once bled a man who was dead drunk. 
 The blood was caught in a bowl, and, on applying a 
 lighted match, the liquid blazed up at once. Ex- 
 periment shows that to do this it must have con- 
 tained 20 per cent, of alcohol." 
 
 Alcohol, then, is not, like bread or beef, taken 
 hold of, broken up by the mysterious process of diges- 
 tion, and used by the body. " It cannot therefore be 
 regarded as an aliment," or food. (Flint.) "Beer, 
 wine, and spirits," says Leibig, " contain no element 
 capable of entering into the composition of the blood 
 or the muscular fiber." "That alcohol is incapable 
 of forming any part of the body," remarks Cameron, 
 
 * Because of the difficulties of such an experiment, we have not yet been able to 
 account satisfactorily by the excretions for all the alcohol taken into the stomach. 
 This remains as yet one of the unsolved problems of physiological chemistry. To 
 collect the whole of the insensible perspiration, for example, is well nigh impossible. 
 It was supposed at one time that a part of the alcohol is oxidized i. e., burned, in 
 the system. But such c. process would impart heat, and it is now proved that alcohol 
 cools, instead of warms, the blood. Moreover, the closest analysis fails to defect in 
 the circulation any trace of the products of alcoholic combustion, such as aldehyde 
 and acetic acid. " The fact," says Flint, " that alcohol is always eliminated, even 
 when drank in minute quantity, and that it? elimination continues for a considerable 
 time, gradually diminishing, renders it probable that all that is taken into the body 
 is removed." 
 
 The small amount of nutritive substance, chiefly sugar derived from the grain or 
 fruit used in Ihe manufacture of beer or wine, can not, of course, be compared with 
 that contained in bread or beef at the same cost. Leibig says, in his Letters c 
 Chemistry, "We can prove, with mathematical certainty, that as much flour a? 
 
 lie on the point of a table-knife is more nutritious than eight quarts of the be ' 
 
 varian beer." 
 
1GG 
 
 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 ' is admitted by all physiologists. It cannot be con- 
 verted into brain, nerve, muscle, or blood." 
 
 Effect upon the Digestion. Experiments tend to 
 prove that alcohol coagulates and precipitates the 
 pepsin from the" gastric juice, and so puts a stop to 
 its great work in the process of digestion.* 
 
 The greed of alcohol for water causes it to imbibe 
 moisture from the tissues and juices, and to inflame 
 the delicate mucous membrane. It shows the power 
 of nature to adapt herself to circumstances, that the 
 soft, velvety lining of the throat and stomach should 
 come at length to endure the presence of a fiery 
 liquid which, undiluted, would soon shrivel and 
 destroy it. In self-defence, the juices pour in to 
 weaken the alcohol, and it is soon hurried into the 
 circulation. Before this can be done, "it must 
 absorb about three times its bulk of water ; " hence, 
 very strong liquor may be retained in the stomach 
 long enough to interfere seriously with the diges- 
 
 * The experiments of Dr. Henry Munroe, of Hull, published in the London 
 Medical Journal, are here summarized as showing that the tendency to retard 
 digestion is common to all forms of alcoholic drinks. 
 
 FinelyMinced 
 Beef. 
 
 2d Hour. 
 
 4th Hour. 
 
 6th Hour. 
 
 8th Hour. 
 
 10th Hour. 
 
 I. 
 
 Gastric juice 
 and water. 
 
 Beef 
 opaque. 
 
 Digesting and 
 separating. 
 
 Beef much 
 lessened. 
 
 Broken up 
 into nhreds. 
 
 Dissolved 
 like soup. 
 
 ' 
 
 n. 
 
 Gastric juice 
 with alcohol. 
 
 No alteration 
 perceptible. 
 
 Slightly 
 opaque, but 
 beef 
 unchanged. 
 
 Slight coating 
 on beef. 
 
 No visible 
 change. 
 
 Solid on 
 cooling. 
 
 /' /l-'l/l 
 
 precini- 
 
 m. 
 
 *?stric juice 
 ^paleale. 
 
 No 
 change. 
 
 Cloudv, 
 with fur on 
 beef. 
 
 Beef partly 
 loosened. 
 
 No further 
 change. 
 
 No diges- 
 tion. /'(/>- 
 fin pre- 
 cipitated. 
 
 ban 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ceivs 
 
EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL UPON THE STOMACH. 
 
 Healthful 
 
 
 m 
 
 Moderate Drinking. Drunkards. 
 
 Ulcerous. 
 
 Death byDehnumTremens 
 
 The Cancerous Stomach. 
 
ALCOHOL. 16? 
 
 tion, and to injure the lining coat. Habitual use of 
 alcohol permanently dilates the blood-vessels ; thick- 
 ens and hardens the membranes ; in some cases, 
 ulcerates the surface ; and, finally, "so weakens the 
 assimilation that the proper supply of food cannot 
 be appropriated/' (Flint.)* 
 
 Effect upon the Liver. Alcohol is carried by the 
 portal vein directly to the liver. This organ, after 
 the brain, holds the largest share. The influence 
 of the poison is here easily traced. " The color 
 of the bile is soon changed from yellow to green, 
 and even black ; " the connective tissue between 
 the lobules becomes inflamed ; and, in the case of a 
 confirmed drunkard, hardened and shrunk, the sur- 
 face often assuming a nodulated appearance known 
 as the " hob-nailed liver." Morbid matter is some- 
 times deposited, causing what is called " Fatty de- 
 generation," so that the liver is increased to twice 
 or thrice its natural size. 
 
 Effect upon the Kidneys. The kidneys, like the 
 liver, are liable in time to undergo, through the influ- 
 ence of alcohol, a " Fatty degeneration," in which 
 the cells become filled with particles of fat ; f the 
 vessels lose their contractility ; and, worst of all, 
 the membranes may be so modified as to allow the 
 
 * The case of St. Martin (p. 155) gave an excellent opportunity to watch the 
 action of alcohol upon the stomach. Dr. Beaumont summarized his experiments 
 thus : " The free, ordinary use of any intoxicating liquor, when continued for some 
 days, invariably produced inflammation, ulcerous patches, and, finally, a discharge 
 cf morhid matter tinged with hlood." Yet St. Martin never complained of pain in 
 las stomach, the narcotic influence of the alcohol preventing the signal of clanger 
 that Nature ordinarily gives. 
 
 t "Disabled hy the fatty deposits, the kidneys are unable to separate the waste 
 matter coming to them for elimination from the system. The poisonous material ia 
 poured back into the circulation, and often delirium ensues." Hubbard. 
 
168 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 albuminous part of the blood to filter through them, 
 and so rob the body of one of its most valuable con- 
 stituents.* 
 
 Does Alcohol Impart Heat? During the first flush 
 after drinking wine, for example, a sense of warmth 
 is felt. This is due to the tides of warm blood that 
 are being sent to the surface of the body, owing to 
 the "Vascular enlargement" and the rapid pump- 
 ing of the heart. There is, however, no fresh heat 
 developed. On the contrary, the bringing the blood 
 to the surface causes it to cool faster, reaction sets 
 in, a chilliness is experienced as one becomes sober, 
 and a delicate thermometer placed under the tongue 
 of the inebriate may show a fall of even two degrees 
 below the standard temperature of the body. Sev- 
 eral hours are required to restore the usual heat. 
 
 As early as 1850, Dr. N. S. Davis, of Chicago, ex-President of the 
 American Medical Association, instituted an extensive series of experi- 
 ments to determine the effect of the different articles of food and drinks 
 on the temperature of the system. He conclusively proved that, during 
 the digestion of all kinds of food, the temperature of the body is 
 increased, but when alcohol is taken, either in the form of fermented 
 or distilled beverages, the temperature begins to fall within a half- 
 hour, and continues to decrease for two or three hours, and that the 
 reduction of temperature, in extent as well as in duration, is in exact 
 proportion to the amount of alcohol taken. 
 
 It naturally follows that, contrary to the accepted 
 opinion, liquor does not fortify against cold. The 
 experience of travelers at the North coincides with 
 that of Dr. Hayes, the Arctic explorer, who says : 
 
 * This deterioration of structure frequently gives rise to what is known as 
 " Bri^ht's Disease. 11 Bickardson. 
 
ALCOHOL. 169 
 
 " While fat is absolutely essential to the inhabitants 
 and travelers in arctic countries, alcohol is, in 
 almost any shape, not only completely useless, but 
 positively injurious. I have known strong, able- 
 bodied men to become utterly incapable of resisting 
 cold in consequence of the long-continued use of 
 alcoholic drink." 
 
 Does Alcohol Impart Strength? Experience shows 
 that alcohol weakens the power of undergoing severe 
 bodily exertion. * Men who are in training for run- 
 ning, rowing, and other contests where great strength 
 is required, deny themselves all liquors, even when 
 they are ordinarily accustomed to their use. 
 
 Dr. Richardson made some interesting experiments to show the 
 influence of alcohol upon muscular contraction. He carefully weighted 
 the hind leg of a frog, and, by means of electricity, stimula- 
 ting the muscle to its utmost power of contraction, he found out 
 how much the frog could lift. Then administering alcohol, he dis- 
 covered that the response of the muscle to the electrical current became 
 feebler and feebler, as the narcotic began to take effect, until, at last, 
 the animal could raise less than half the amount it lifted by the nat- 
 ural contraction when uninfluenced by alcohol. 
 
 Effect upon the Waste of the Body. The ten- 
 dency of alcohol is to cause a formation of an un- 
 stable substance resembling fat,f and so the use of 
 
 * Dr. McRae, in sneaking of Arctic exploration, at the meeting of the American 
 Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Montreal in 1850, said " Tuo 
 ipoinenl that a man had swallowed a drink of spirits, it was certain that his day's 
 vork was nearly at an end. It was ahsolntely necessary that the rule of totcl 
 abstinence he rigidly enforced, if we would accomplish our day's task. The use of 
 liquor as a beverage when we had work on hand, in that terrific cold, was oat of the 
 question. v 
 
 t "The molecular deposits equalizing the waste of the system do not go on regu- 
 larly under the influence of alcohol ; the tissues are not kept up to their standard ; 
 vi d, in time, their composition is changed hy a deposit of an amorphous matter 
 .esemhling fat. This is an unstable puhstance, and the functions of animal life ali 
 retrograde."- Stf&ioTd on The Opium HaMt and Alcofu>lisr,i. 
 
170 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 liquor for even a short time will increase the 
 weight. But a more marked influence is to check 
 the ordinary waste of the system, so that "the 
 amount of carbonic acid exhaled from the lungs 
 may be reduced as much as 30 to 50 per cent. (Hin- 
 ton.) The life-process is one of incessant change. 
 Its rapidity is essential to vigor and strength. 
 When the functions are in full play, each organ is 
 being constantly torn down, and as constantly re- 
 built with the materials furnished from cur food. 
 Anything that checks this oxidation of the tissues, 
 or hinders the deposition of new matter, disturbs 
 the vital functions. Both these results are the 
 inevitable effects of alcohol ; for, since the blood 
 contains less oxygen and more carbonic acid, and 
 the power of assimilating the food is decreased, it 
 follows that every process of waste and repair must 
 be correspondingly weakened. The person using 
 liquor consequently needs less bread and beef, and 
 so alcohol seems to him a food a radical error, as 
 we have shown. 
 
 Alcohol Creates a Progressive Appetite for itself. 
 When liquor is taken, even in the most moderate 
 quantity, it soon becomes necessary, and then 
 arises a craving demand for an increased amount to 
 produce the original effect. No food creates this 
 constantly-augmenting want. A cup of milk drank 
 at dinner does not lead one to go on, day by day, 
 drinking more and more milk, until to get milk 
 becomes the one great longing of the whole being. 
 Yet this is the almost universal effect of alcohol. 
 Hunger is satisfied by any nutritious food : the 
 dram-drinker's thirst demands alcohol. The com- 
 
ALCOHOL. 171 
 
 mon experience of mankind teaches us the immi- 
 nent peril that attends the formation of this pro- 
 gressive poison-habit. A single glass taken as a 
 tonic may lead to the drunkard's grave. 
 
 Worse than this, the alcoholic craving may be 
 transmitted from father to son, and young persons 
 often find themselves cursed with a terrible disease 
 known as alcoholism a keen, morbid appetite for 
 liquor that demands gratification at any cost 
 stamped upon their very being through the reckless 
 indulgence of this habit on the part of some one 
 of their ancestors.* 
 
 The Law of Heredity is, in this connection, well 
 worth consideration. " The world is beginning to 
 perceive," says Francis Galton, "that the life of 
 each individual is, in some real sense, a continuation 
 of the lives of his ancestors." " Each of us is the 
 footing up of a double column of figures that goes 
 back to the first pair." "We are omnibuses," remarks 
 Holmes, " in which all our ancestors ride." We in- 
 herit from our parents our features, our physical 
 vigor, our mental faculties, and even much of our 
 moral character. Often, when one generation is 
 skipped, the qualities will reappear in the following 
 one. The virtues, as well as the vices, of our fore- 
 fathers, have added to, or subtracted from, the 
 strength of our brain and muscle. The evil tenden- 
 cies of our natures, which it is the struggle of our 
 
 * The American Medical Association, at their meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota 
 (1883), restated in a series of resolutions their conviction, that "Alcohol should be 
 classed with other powerful drugs ; that when prescribed medically, it should be 
 done with conscientious caution and a sense of great responsibility. That used as a 
 beverage it is productive of a large amount of physical and mental disease ; that it 
 entails diseased and enfeebled constitutions upon offspring, and is the cause of a large 
 percentage of the crime and pauperism of our large cities and country." 
 
172 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 lives to resist, constitute a part of our heir-looms 
 from the past. Our descendants, in turn, will have 
 reason to bless us only if we hand down to them a 
 pure healthy physical, mental, and moral being. 
 
 " There is a marked tendency in nature to transmit 
 all diseased conditions. Thus, the children of con- 
 sumptive parents are apt to be consumptives. But 
 of all agents, alcohol is the most potent in establish- 
 ing a heredity that exhibits itself in the destruction 
 of mind and body.* Its malign influence was ob- 
 served by the ancients long before the production of 
 whisky or brandy, or other distilled liquors, and 
 when fermented liquors or wines only were known. 
 Aristotle says, ' Drunken women have children like 
 unto themselves,' and Plutarch remarks, ' One 
 drunkard is the father of another.' The drunkard 
 by inheritance is a more helpless slave than his pro- 
 genitor, and his children are more helpless still, un- 
 less on the mother's side there is an untainted blood. 
 For there is not only a propensity transmitted, but 
 an actual disease of the nervous system." Dr. Wil- 
 lard Parker. \ 
 
 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 1. How do clothing and shelter economize food ? 
 
 2. Is it well to take a long walk before breakfast ? 
 
 * " Nearly all the diseases springing from indulgence in distilled and fermented 
 liquors are liable to become hereditary, and to descend to at least three or four 
 generations, unless starved out by uncompromising abstinence. But the distressing 
 aspect of the heredity of alcohol is the transmitted drink-crave. This is no dream of 
 an enthusiast, but the result of a natural law. Men and women upon whom this 
 dread inheritance has been forced are everywhere around us, bravely struggling to 
 lead a sober life.' 1 Dr. Norman Kerr. 
 
 t The subject of alcohol is continued in the chapter on the Nervous System. 
 
PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 173 
 
 3. Why is warm food easier to digest than cold ? 
 
 4. Why is salt beef less nutritious than fresh ? * 
 
 5. What should be the food of a man recovering from a fever ? 
 
 6. Is a cup of black coffee a healthful close to a hearty dinner ? 
 
 7. Should ice-water be used at a meal ? 
 
 8. Why is strong tea or coffee injurious ? 
 
 9. Should food or drink be taken hot ? 
 
 10. Are fruit-cakes, rich pastry, and puddings wholesome? 
 
 11. Why are warm biscuit and bread hard of digestion? 
 
 12. Should any stimulants be used in youth ? 
 
 13. Why should bread be made spongy? 
 
 14. Which should remain longer in the mouth, bread or meat ? 
 
 15. Why should cold water be used in making soup, and hot water 
 in boiling meat ? 
 
 16. Name the injurious effects of over- eating. 
 
 17. Why do not buckwheat cakes, with syrup and butter, taste as 
 well in July as in January ? 
 
 18. Why is a late supper injurious ? 
 
 19. What makes a man " bilious " ? 
 
 20. What is the best remedy? Am. Diet to give the organs rest, 
 and active exercise to arouse the secretions and the circulation. 
 
 21. What is the practical use of hunger ? 
 
 , -' 22. How can jugglers drink when standing on their heads ? 
 
 23. Why do we relish butter on bread ? 
 
 24. What would you do if you had taken arsenic by mistake ? See 
 Appendix. 
 
 25. Why should ham and sausage be thoroughly cooked ? 
 
 26. Why do we wish butter on fish, eggs with tapioca, oil on salad, 
 and milk with rice ? 
 
 27. Explain the relation of food to exercise. 
 
 * The French Academicians found that flesh soaked in water so as to deprive it 
 of its mineral matter and juices, lost its nutritive value, and that animals fed on it 
 soon died. Indeed, for all purposes of nutrition, liebig said it was no better than 
 stones, and the utmost torments of hunger were hardly sufficient, to induce them to 
 continue the diet. There was plenty of nutritive food, but there was no medium for 
 its solution and absorption, and hence it was useless. 
 
174 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 28. How do you explain the difference in the manner of eating be- 
 tween carnivorous and herbivorous animals ? 
 
 29. Why is a child's face plump and an old man's wrinkled ? 
 
 30. Show how life depends on repair and waste. 
 
 31. What is the difference between the decay of the teeth and the 
 constant decay of the body ? 
 
 32. Should biscuit and cake containing yellow spots of soda be 
 eaten ? 
 
 33. Tell how the body is composed of organs, organs are made up 
 of tissues, and tissues consist of cells. 
 
 34. Why do we not need to drink three pints of water per day ? 
 
 35. Why, during a pestilence, are those who use liquors as a bev- 
 erage the first, and often the only victims ? 
 
 36. What two secretions seem to have the same general use ? 
 
 37. How may the digestive organs be strengthened ? 
 
 38. Is the old rule, " after dinner sit awhile," a good one ? 
 
 39. What would you do if you had taken laudanum by mistake? 
 Paris Green ? Sugar of lead ? Oxalic acid ? Phosphorus from matches? 
 Ammonia ? Corrosive sublimate ? See Appendix. 
 
 40. What is the simplest way to produce vomiting, so essential in 
 case of accidental poisoning V 
 
 41. In what way does alcohol interfere with the digestion? 
 
 42. Is alcohol assimilated ? 
 
 43. What is the effect of alcohol on the albuminous substances? 
 
 44. Is there any nourishment in beer ? . 
 
 45. Show how the excessive use of alcohol may first increase, and, 
 afterward, decrease, the size of the liver. 
 
 46. Will liquor help one to endure cold and exposure? 
 
 47. What is a fatty degeneration of the kidneys? 
 
 48. Contrast the action of alcohol and water in the body. 
 
 49. Is alcohol, in any proper sense of the term, a food? 
 
 50. Does liquor strengthen the muscles of a working man ? 
 
 51. Is liquor a wholesome " tonic " ? 
 
 52. Is it a good plan to take a glass of liquor before dinner? 
 
VII. 
 
 NERVOUS SYSTEM 
 
 Mark then the cloven sphere that holds 
 All thoughts in its mysterious folds, 
 That feels sensation's faintest thrill. 
 And flashes forth the sovereign will y 
 Think on the stormy world that dwells 
 Locked in its dim and clustering cells ; 
 The lightning gleams of power it sheds 
 Along its hollow, glassy threads I " 
 
 " As a king sits high above his szibjects upon his throne, and from it 
 speaks behests that all obey, so from the throne of the brain-cells is all the 
 kingdom of a man directed, controlled, and influenced. For this occupant, 
 the eyes watch, the ears hear, the tongue tastes, the nostrils smell, the skin 
 feels. For it, language is exhatisted of its treasures, and life of its expe- 
 rience ; locomotion is accomplished, and quiet ensured. When it wills, 
 body and spirit are goaded like over-driven horses. When it allows, rest 
 and sleep may come for recuperation. In short, the slightest penetration 
 may not fail to perceive that all other parts obey this part, and are but 
 ministers to its necessities" ODD HOURS OF A PHYSICIAN. 
 
ANALYSIS. 
 
 1. THE STBUCTUBB. 
 
 2. ORGANS OF THE NEB- 
 vous SYSTEM 
 
 1. The Brain 
 
 ji 
 
 a 
 
 I. Description. 
 " The Cerebrum. 
 The Cerebellum. 
 
 3. HYGIENE .... 
 
 2. The Spinal Cord.. . . \ J- s P , ra ^!, ition - 
 
 j 2. Medulla Oblongata. 
 
 f 1. Description. 
 2. Motory and Sensory. 
 I 3. Transfer of Pain. 
 | 4. The Spinal Serves 
 31 Pairs. 
 
 3. The Nerves 5. The Cranial Nerves 
 
 12 Pairs. 
 
 6. Sympathetic System. 
 
 7. Crossing of Cords. 
 
 8. Reflex Action. 
 
 L 9. Uses of Reflex Action 
 
 1. Brain Exercise. 
 2. Connection between Brain-growth and Body- 
 growth. J 
 3. Sleep. 
 4. Effect of Sleeping-draughts. 
 5. Sunlight. 
 
 4. WONDEBS OF THE BBAIN. 
 
 5. ALCOHOLIC DRINKS, 
 AND NARCOTICS. 
 
 3co. l. Alcohol (con'd.) 
 
 1. Effect of Alco- 
 hol upon the 
 Nervous Sys- 
 tem. 
 
 2. Effect upon the 
 3. Effect upon th 
 Powers. 
 
 1. Constituents of 
 2. Physiological E 
 
 I. Stage of Excitement. 
 2. Stage of Muscular 
 Weakness. 
 3. Stage of Mental VVeak- 
 
 II'--.-. 
 
 4. Stage of Uncou scious- 
 
 iit- 
 
 Brain. 
 3 Mental aod the Moral 
 
 Tobacco, 
 ffects. 
 
 I 3. Possible Disturbances produced by smok- 
 
 4. Influence upon the Nervous System 
 | 5. Is Tobacco a Food ? 
 16. Influence of Tobacco upon Yonth. 
 
 3 Oninm J * Description. 
 
 12. Physiological Effects. 
 
 4. Chloral Hydrate. 
 
 5. Chloroform. 
 
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM." 
 
 QTRUCTURE. The nervous system includes the 
 ^ brain, the spinal cord, and the nerves. It is 
 composed of two kinds of matter the white, and the 
 gray. The former consists of minute, milk-white, 
 glistening fibers, sometimes as small as,.- gT 7f jn r of an 
 inch in diameter ; the latter is made up of small, 
 ashen-colored cells, forming a pulp-like substance of 
 the consistency of blanc-mange. f This is often 
 gathered in little masses, termed ganglions (gang- 
 lion, a knot), because, when a nerve passes through 
 a group of the cells, they give it the appearance of a 
 knot. The nerve-fibers are conductors, while the 
 gray cells are generators, of nervous force.J The 
 
 * The organs of circulation, respiration, and digestion, of which we have already 
 spoken', are often called the vegetative functions, because they belong also to the 
 vegetable kingdom. Plants have a circulation of sap through their cells correspond- 
 ing to that of the blood through the capillaries. They breathe the air through their 
 leaves, which act the part of lungs, and they take in food which they change into 
 their own structure by a process which answers to that of digestion. The plant, 
 however, is a mere collection of parts incapable of any combined action. On the 
 other hand, the animal has a nervous system which binds all the organs together. 
 
 t In addition to the cells, the gray substance contains also nerve-fibers continuous 
 with the white-fibers, but generally much smaller. These form half the bulk of the 
 gray substance of the spinal cord, and a large part of the deeper layer of the gray 
 matter in the brain. Leidy^s Anatomy, p. 507. 
 
 % What this force is we do not know. In some respects it is like electricity, but, 
 in others, differs materially. Its velocity is about thirty-three metres per second. 
 (Physics, p. 183.) 
 
178 
 
 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 Fig. 50. 
 
 fhe Nervous System. A, cerebrum ; B, cerebellum. 
 
THE CEREBRUM. 179 
 
 ganglia, or nervous centers, answer to the stations 
 along a telegraphic line, where messages are received 
 and transmitted, and the fibers correspond to the 
 wires that communicate between different parts. 
 
 The Brain is the seat of the mind. * Its average 
 weight is about fifty ounces, f It is egg-shaped, and, 
 soft and yielding, fills closely the cavity of the skull. 
 It reposes securely on a water-bed, being surrounded 
 by a double membrane (arachnoid), delicate as a 
 spider's web, which forms a closed sac filled, like the 
 spaces in the brain itself, with a liquid resembling 
 water. Within this, and closely investing the brain, 
 is a fine tissue (pia mater), with a mesh of blood- 
 vessels which dips down into the hollows, and bathes 
 them so copiously that it uses one-fifth of the entire 
 circulation of the body. Around the whole is wrapped 
 a tough membrane (dura mater), which lines the bony 
 box of the skull, and separates the various parts of 
 the organ by strong partitions. The brain consists 
 of two parts the cerebrum, and the cerebellum. 
 
 The Cerebrum fills the front and upper part of the 
 skull, and comprises about seven-eighths of the en- 
 tire weight of the brain. As animals rise in the 
 scale of life, this higher part makes its appearance. 
 
 * " In proportion to the rest of the nervous matter in the body it is larger in man 
 than in any of the lower animals. It is the function which the brain performs that 
 distinguishes man from all other animals, and it is by the action of his brain that he 
 becomes a conscious, intelligent, and responsible being. The brain is the seat of 
 that knowledge which we express when we say I. I know it, I feel it, I saw it, are 
 expressions of our individual consciousness, the seat of which is the brain. It is 
 when the brain is at rest in sleep that there is least consciousness. The brain may 
 be put under the influence of poisons, such as alcohol and chloroform, and then the 
 body is without consciousness. Prom these and other facts the brain is regarded as 
 the seat of consciousness" Lankester. 
 
 t Cuvier's brain weighed, 63 ozs.; Webster's, 53| ozs.; James Fisk's, 58 ozs. ; 
 RulofTs, 59 ozs. ; an idiot's, 19 ozs. Serf Table in Flint" 1 s Nervous System. 
 
180 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 Fig. 51. 
 
 Surface of the Cerebrum. 
 
 It is a mass of white fibers, with cells of gray matter 
 sprinkled on the outside, or lodged here and there in 
 ganglia. It is so curiously wrinkled and folded as 
 strikingly to resemble the meat of an English wal- 
 nut. This structure gives a large surface for the 
 gray matter, sometimes as much as 670 square 
 inches. The convolutions are not noticeable in an 
 infant, but increase with the growth of the mind, 
 their depth and intricacy being characteristic of high 
 mental power. 
 
 The cerebrum is divided into two hemispheres, 
 connected beneath by fibers of white matter. Thus 
 we have two brains,* as well as two hands and two 
 
 * This doubleness has given rise to some curions speculations. In the case of 
 the baud, eye, etc., we know that the sensation is made more sure. Thus we can see 
 
THE CEREBRUM. 181 
 
 eyes. This provides us with a surplus of brains, as 
 it were, which can be drawn upon in an emergency. 
 A large part of one hemisphere has been destroyed 
 
 Fig. 69. 
 
 Pigeon from which the Cerebrum has been removed. 
 
 without particularly injuring the mental powers,* 
 just as a person has been blind in one eye for a long 
 time without having discovered his loss. The cere- 
 
 with one eye, but not so well as with both. It is perhaps the same with the brain. 
 We may sometimes carry on a train of thought, " build an air-castle " with one-half 
 of our brain, while the other half looks on and watches the operation ; or, may read 
 and at the same time think of something else. So in delirium, a patient often 
 imagines himself two persons, thus showing a want of harmony between the two 
 halves. Draper's Human Physiology, page 329. 
 
 * ' A pointed iron bar, three-and-a-half feet long and one inch and a quarter in 
 diameter, was driven by the premature blasting of a rock completely through the 
 side of the head of a man who was present. It entered below the temple, and made 
 its exit at the top of the forehead, just about the middle line. The man was at first 
 stunned, and lay in a delirious, semi-stupefied state for about three weeks. At the 
 end of sixteen months, however, be was in perfect health, with the wounds healed 
 and with the mental and bodily functions unimpaired, except that the sight was lost 
 in the eye of the injured side." (Dalfon.) It is noticeable, however, that the man 
 became changed in disposition, fickle, impatient of restraint, and profane, which he 
 was not before. He died epileptic, probably from progressive disease of the brain, 
 nearly thirteen years after the injury. The tamping-iron and the skull are pre- 
 served in the Warren Anatomical Museum, Boston. 
 
182 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 brum is the center of intelligence and thought. 
 Pigeons from which it is removed are plunged in 
 profound stupor, and are inattentive to surrounding 
 objects ; they occasionally open their eyes with a 
 vacant stare, and then relapse into their former 
 apathy. 
 
 The Cerebellum lies below the cerebrum, and in 
 the back part of the head (Fig. 50). It is about the 
 size of a small fist. Its structure is similar to that 
 
 Fig.SS. 
 
 Pigeon from which the Cerebellum has been removed. 
 
 of the brain proper, but instead of convolutions it 
 has parallel ridges, which, letting the gray matter 
 down deeply into the white matter within, give it a 
 peculiar appearance, called the arbor-vitce, or tree 
 of life (Fig. 55). This part of the brain is the center 
 for the control of the voluntary muscles. Persons 
 in whom it is injured or diseased walk as if intoxi- 
 cated, and cannot perform any orderly work. 
 
TRANSFER OF PAIN. 183 
 
 Pigeons from which it is removed are excited, ner- 
 vous, and try to escape with uncertain, sprawling 
 movements. 
 
 ** The Spinal Cord occupies the cavity of the back- 
 bone. It is protected by the same membranes as the 
 brain, but, unlike it, the white matter is on the out- 
 side, and the gray matter is within. Deep fissures 
 separate it into halves (Fig. 50), which are, however, 
 joined by a bridge of the same substance. Just as it 
 starts from the brain, there is an expansion called 
 the medulla oblongata (Fig. 55). 
 
 The Nerves are glistening, silvery threads, com- 
 posed, like the spinal cord, of white matter without 
 and gray within. They ramify to all parts of the 
 body. Often they are very near each other, yet are 
 perfectly distinct, each conveying its own impres- 
 sion.* Those which carry the orders of the mind to 
 the different organs are called the motory nerves ; 
 while those which bring back impressions which 
 they receive are styled sensory nerves. If the sen- 
 sory nerve leading to any part be cut, all sensation 
 in that spot will be lost, while motion will remain ; 
 if the motory nerve be cut, all motion will be de- 
 stroyed, while sensation will exist as before. 
 
 Transfer of Pain. Strictly speaking, pain is not in 
 any organ, but in the mind, since only that can feel. 
 When any nerve brings news to the brain of an in- 
 jury, the mind refers the pain to the end of the 
 nerve. A familiar illustration is seen in the "funny 
 
 * Press two fingers together, and, closing the eyes, let some one pass the point of 
 a pin lightly from one to the other; you will be able to tell which is touched, yet if 
 the nerves came in contact with each other anywhere in their long route to the 
 brain, you could not thus distinguish. 
 
184 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 bone" behind the elbow. Here the nerve (ulnar) 
 gives sensation to the third and fourth fingers, in 
 which, if this bone be struck, the pain will seem to 
 be. Long after a limb has been amputated, pain 
 will be felt in it, as if it still formed a part of the 
 body any injury in the stump being referred to the 
 point to which the nerve formerly led. * 
 
 The nerves are divided into three general classes 
 the spinal, the cranial, and the sympathetic. 
 
 
 A, posterior root of a spinal nerve ; E, ganglion; B, anterior root; D, spinal nerve . 
 The white portions of the figure represent the white fibers ; and the dark, tJie gray. 
 
 The Spinal Nerves, of which there are thirty-one 
 pairs, issue from the spinal cord through apertures 
 provided for them in the backbone. Each nerve 
 arises by two roots ; the anterior is the motory, and 
 the posterior the sensory one. The posterior alone 
 connects directly with the gray matter of the cord, 
 
 * Only about five per cent, of those who suffer amputation lose the feeling of the 
 part taken away. There is something tragical, almost ghastly, in the idea of a spirit 
 limb haunting a man through his life, and betraying him in unguarded moments into 
 some effort, the failure of which suddenly reminds him of his loss. A gallant fellow, 
 who had left an arm at Shiloh, once, when riding, attempted to use his lost hand to 
 grasp the reins while with the other he struck his horse. A terrible fall was the re- 
 sult of his mistake. When the current of a battery is applied to the nerves of an 
 arm-stump, the irritation is carried to the brain, and referred to all the regions of the 
 lost limb. On one occasion a man's shoulder was thus electrized three inches above 
 the point where the limb was cut off. For two years he had ceased to be conscious 
 of his limb. As the current passed through, the man. ignorant of its possible effects, 
 started up, crying, " Oh. the hand ! the hand ! " and tried to seize it with the living 
 grasp of the sound fingers. No resurrection of the dead could have been more start- 
 ling -Or. M&hdlon '"Phantom Limfa" in UppincotVs Magazine. 
 
THE CKANIAL NERVES. 185 
 
 and has a small ganglion of gray matter of its own 
 at a little distance from its origin. These roots soon 
 unite, i. e., are bound up in one sheath, though they 
 preserve their special functions. When the posterior 
 root of a nerve is cut, the animal loses the power of 
 feeling, and when the anterior root is cut, that of 
 motion. 
 
 r The Cranial Nerves, twelve pairs in number, 
 spring from the lower part of the brain and the 
 medulla oblongata. 
 
 Fig. 55. 
 
 The Brain and the origin of the twelve pairs of Cranial Nerves. F, E, the cere- 
 brum ; D, the cerebettum, showing the arbor-vitas ; G, the eye H, the medulla ob- 
 longata; A, the spinal cord ; C and B, the first two pairs of spinal nerves. 
 
 1. The olfactory, or first pair of nerves, ramify through the nostrils, 
 and are the, nerves of smell. 
 
 2. The optic, or second pair of nerves, pass to the eyeballs, and are 
 the nerves of vision, 
 
186 
 
 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 3, 4, 6. The motores oculi (eye-movers) are three pairs of nerves used 
 to move the eyes, 
 
 5. The tri-fadal, or fifth pair of nerves, divide each into three 
 branches hence the name : the first to the upper part of the face, 
 eyes, and nose; the second to the upper jaw and teeth ; the third 
 to the lower jaw and the mouth, where it forms the nerve of 
 taste. These nerves are implicated when we have the toothache or 
 neuralgia. 
 
 7. The facial, or seventh pair of nerves, are distributed over the 
 face, and give to it expression.* 
 
 Qfij 
 
 j L ^^^s, -' "' "^ 
 
 Spinal Nerves, Sympathetic Cord, and the Net-work of Sympathetic Nerves around 
 the Internal Organs. K, aorta; A, oesophagus : B, diaphragm ; 0, stomach. 
 
 * " If it is palsied, on one side there will be a blank, while the other side will 
 laugh or cry, and the whole face will look funny indeed. There were some cruel 
 people in the middle a<res who used to cut the nerve and deform children's faces in 
 this way, for the purpose of making money of them at shows. When this nerve was 
 wrongly supposed to be the seat of neuralgia, or tic-douloureux, it was often cut by 
 surgeons. The patient Buffered many dangers, and no relief of pain was gained." 
 Mapother. 
 
THE CRANIAL NERVES. 187 
 
 8. The auditory, or eiglitli pair of nerves, go to the ears, and are the 
 nerves of hearing. 
 
 9. The glos-so-pMryu'-ge-a!, or ninth pair of nerves, are distributed 
 over the mucous membrane of the pharynx, tonsils, etc. 
 
 10. The pneu-mo-gas' -trie, or tenth pair of nerves, preside over the 
 larynx, lungs, liver, stomach, and one branch extends to the heart. 
 This is the only nerve which goes so far from the head. 
 
 11. The accessory, or eleventh pair of nerves, rise from* the spinal 
 cord, run up to the medulla oblongata, and thence leave the skull at 
 the same opening with the ninth and tenth pairs. They regulate the 
 vocal movements of the larynx. 
 
 12. The hyp-o-glos'-sal, or twelfth pair of nerves, give motion to the 
 tongue. 
 
 -7 
 
 The Sympathetic System contains the nerves of 
 organic life. It consists of a double chain of gan- 
 glia on either side of the backbone, extending into 
 the chest and abdomen. From these, delicate 
 nerves, generally soft and of a grayish color, run to 
 the organs on which life depends the heart, lungs, 
 stomach, etc. to the blood-vessels, and to the spinal 
 and cranial nerves over the body. Thus the entire 
 system is bound together with cords of sympathy, so 
 that, " if one member suffers, all the members suffer 
 with it." 
 
 Here lies the secret of the control exercised by the 
 brain over all the vital operations. Every organ 
 responds to its changing moods, especially those of 
 respiration, circulation, digestion, and secretion, 
 processes intimately linked with this system, and 
 controlled by it. 
 
 Crossing of Cords. Each half of the body is pre- 
 sided over, not by its own half of the brain, but that 
 of the opposite side. The motory nerves, as they 
 descend from the brain, in the medulla oblongata, 
 
188 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 cross each other to the opposite side of the spinal 
 cord. So the motor-nerves of the right side of the 
 body are connected with the left side of the brain, 
 and vice versa. Thus a derangement in one half of 
 the brain may paralyze the opposite half of the body. 
 The nerves going to the face do not thus cross, and 
 therefore the face may be motionless on one side, 
 and the limbs on the other. Each of the sensory 
 fibers of the spinal nerves crosses over to the 
 opposite side of the spinal cord, and so ascends to 
 the brain : an injury to the spinal cord may, there- 
 fore, cause a loss of motion in one leg and of feeling 
 in the other. 
 
 Reflex Action. Since the gray matter generates 
 the nervous force, a ganglion is capable of receiving 
 an impression, and of sending back or reflecting it 
 so as to excite the muscles to action. This is done 
 without the consciousness of the mind. ::: Thus we 
 wink involuntarily at a flash of light or a threatened 
 blow, f We start at a sudden sound. We jump back 
 
 * Instances of an nnconscions working of the mind are abundant. Abercrombte, 
 in his Intellectual Powers, gives the following : 
 
 "A lawyer had been excessively perplexed about a rery complicated question. 
 An opinion was required from him, but the question was one of such difficulty that 
 lie felt very uncertain how he should render it. The decision had to be given at a 
 certain time, and he awoke in the morning of that clay with a feeling of great dis- 
 tress. He said to his wife, 1 1 had a dream, and the whoie thing was clearly 
 arranged before my mind, and I would giTe anything to recover the train of 
 thought.' H! wife said to him, " Go and look on your table.* She had seen him get 
 np in the night snd go to his table and eit down and write. He did so. and found 
 there the opinion which ho had been most earnestly endeavoring to recover, lying in 
 his own handwriting. There was no doubt about it whatever." 
 
 In this case the action of the brain was clearly automatic, i. e.. reflex. The lawyer 
 hnd worried his brain by his anxiety, nnd thus prevented his mind from doing it.- 
 bcpt. But it had received an impulse in a certain direction, and when left to itself, 
 worked out the result. (See Appendix for other illustrations.) 
 
 t " A very eminent chemist a fow years ago was making an experiment upon 
 pome extremely explosive compound which he had discovered. He had a small 
 qmntity of this compound in a bottle, and was holding it up to the light, looking at 
 it intently ; and whether it was a shake of the bottle or the warmth of his hand, I do 
 
USES OF REFLEX ACTION. 189 
 
 from a precipice before the mind has time to reason 
 upon the danger. The spinal cord conducts certain 
 impressions to the brain, but responds to others 
 without troubling that organ.* The medulla ob- 
 longata carries on the process of respiration. The 
 great sympathetic system binds together all the 
 organs of the body. 
 
 Uses of Reflex Action. We breathe eighteen 
 times .every minute ; we stand erect without a con- 
 sciousness of effort ;f we walk, eat, digest, and at 
 the same time carry on a train of thought. Our 
 brain is thus emancipated from the petty detail of 
 life. If we were obliged to attend to every breath, 
 every pulsation of the heart, every wink of the eye, 
 our time would be wasted in keeping alive. Mere 
 standing would require our entire attention. 
 
 not know, but it exploded in his hand, and the bottle was shivered into a million of 
 minute fragments, which were driven in every direction. His first impression was, 
 that they had penetrated his eyes, but to his intense relief he found presently that 
 they had only struck the outside of his eyelids. You may conceive how infinitesi- 
 mally short the interval was between the explosion of the bottles and the particles 
 reaching his eyes ; and yet in that interval the impression had been made upon his 
 eizht, the mandate of the reflex action, so to speak, had gone forth, the muscles of 
 his eyelids had been called into action, and he had closed his eyelids before the par- 
 ticles h id reached them, and in this manner his eyes were saved. You see what a 
 wonderful proof this is of the way in which the automatic action of our nervous 
 apparatus enters into the sustenance of our lives, and the protection of our most 
 important organs from injury." #/'. Carpenter. 
 
 * There is a story told of a man. who, having injured his spinal cord, had lost 
 feeling and motion in his lower extremities. Dr. John Hunter experimented upon 
 him. Tickling his feet, he asked him if he felt it; the man, rointing to his limbs 
 which were kicking vigorously about, answered. '' No, but you see my legs do." 
 Illustrations of this independent action of the spinal cord are common in animals 
 A headless wasp will ply its sting energetically. A fowl, after its head is cut off, 
 will flap its wings and jump r.bout as if in pain, although of course all sensation 
 has ceased. "A water beetle, having had its head removed, remained motionless as 
 long as it rested on a dry surface, but when cast into water, it executed the usual 
 swimming motions with groat energy and rapidity, striking nil its comra es to one 
 side by its violence, and persii-ting in these for more than half an hour." 
 
 | In this way we account for the perilous feats performed by the somnambulist. 
 He is not conscious, as his operations are not directed by the cerebrum, but by the 
 other nervous centers. 
 
190 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 Besides, an act which at first demands all our 
 thought soon requires less, and at last becomes 
 mechanical,* as we say, i. e., reflex. Thus we play 
 a familiar tune upon an instrument and carry on a 
 conversation at the same time. All the possibilities 
 of an education and the power of forming habits are 
 based upon this principle. No act we perform ends 
 with itself. It leaves behind it in the nervous cen- 
 ters a tendency to do the same thing again. Our 
 physical being thus conspires to fix upon us the 
 habits of a good or an evil life. Our very thoughts 
 are written in our muscles, so that the expression of 
 our face and even our features grow into harmony 
 with the life we live. 
 
 Brain Exercise. The nervous system demands its 
 life and activity. The mind grows by what it feeds 
 on. One who reads mainly light literature, who 
 lolls on the sofa or worries through the platitudes of 
 an idle or fashionable life, decays mentally ; his 
 system loses tone, and physical weakness follows 
 mental poverty. On the other hand, an excessive 
 use of the mind withdraws force from the body, 
 whose weakness, reacting on the brain, produces 
 gradual decay and serious diseases. 
 
 The brain grows by the growth of the body. The 
 body grows through good food, fresh air, and work 
 
 * As every ore knows," Fays Huxley, " it takes a soldier a long time to learn 
 Ins drill for instance, to put himself into the attitude of 'attention' at the instant 
 the word of command is heard. But after a time, the sound of the word gives ri?c 
 to the act, whether the soldier be thinking of it or not. There is a story, which is 
 credible enough, though it may not be true, of a practical joker, who, seeing a dis- 
 charged veteran carrying home his dinner, suddenly called out 'Attention^ where- 
 upon the man instantly brought his Lands down, and lost his mutton and potatoes 
 in i he gutter. The drill had been thorough, and its effects had become embodied in 
 the man's nervous structure.' 1 
 
SUNLIGHT. 191 
 
 and rest in suitable proportion. For the full devel- 
 opment and perfect use of a strong mind, a strong 
 body is essential. Hence, in seeking to expand and 
 store the intellect, we should be equally thoughtful 
 of the growth and health of the body. 
 
 Sleep* is as essential as food. During the day, 
 the process of tearing down goes on ; during the 
 night, the work of building up should make good 
 the loss. In youth more sleep is needed than in old 
 age, when nature makes few permanent repairs, and 
 is content with temporary expedients. The number 
 of hours required for sleep must be decided by each 
 person. Napoleon took only five hours, but most 
 people need from six to eight hours, brain-workers 
 even more. In general, one should sleep until ho 
 naturally wakes. If one's rest be broken, it should 
 be made up as soon as possible. 
 
 Sunlight. The influence of the sun's rays upon the 
 nervous system is very marked, f It is said also to 
 
 * Sleep procured by medicine is rarely as beneficial as that secured naturally. 
 The disturbance to the nervous system is often sufficient to counterbalance all the 
 good results. The habit of seeking sleep in this way, without the advice of a phy- 
 sician, is to be most earnestly deprecated. The dose must be constantly increased 
 to produce the effect, and thus great injury may be caused. Often, too, where 
 laudanum or morphine is used, the person unconsciously comes into a terrible and 
 fatal bondage. (See p. 203.) Especially should infants never be dosed with cordials, 
 as is a common family practice. The damage done to helpless childhood by the 
 ignorant and reckless use of soothing syrups is frightful to contemplate. AD the 
 ordinary sleeping-draughts have life-destroying properties, as is proved by the fatal 
 effects of an overdose. At the best, they paralyze the nerve centers, disorder the 
 digestion, and poison the blood. Their promiscuous use is therefore full of danger. 
 
 t " The necessity of light for young children is not half-appreciated. Many of 
 their diseases, and nearly all the cadaverous looks of those brought up in great 
 cities, are ascribable to the deficiency of light and air. When we see the glass-room 
 of the photographers in every street, in the topmost story, we grudge them their 
 application to what is often a mere personal vanity. Why should not a nursery be 
 constructed in the same manner? If parents knew the value of light to the skin, 
 especially to children of a scrofulous tendency, we should have plenty of these glass- 
 house nurseries, where children might run about in a proper temperatnre, frce.from 
 much of that clothing which at present seals up the skin that great supplementary 
 
192 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 have the effect of developing red disks in the blood. 
 All vigor and activity come from the sun. Vege- 
 tables grown in subdued light have a bleached and 
 faded look. An infant kept in absolute darkness 
 would grow into a shapeless idiot. That room is the 
 healthiest to which the sun has the freest access. 
 Epidemics frequently attack the inhabitants of the 
 shady side of a street, and totally exempt those on 
 the sunny side. If, on a slight indisposition, we 
 should go out into the open air and bright sunlight, 
 instead of shutting ourselves up in a close, dark 
 chamber, we might often avoid a serious illness. 
 The sun-bath is doubtless a most efficient remedy 
 for many diseases. Our window blinds and curtains 
 should be thrown back and open, and we should let 
 the blessed air and sun stream in to invigorate and 
 cheer. No house buried in shade, and no room with 
 darkened windows, is fit for human habitation. In 
 damp and darkness, lies in wait almost every dis- 
 ease to which flesh is heir. The sun is their only 
 successful foe. 
 
 "Wonders of the Brain. After having seen the 
 beautiful contrivances and the exquisite delicacy of 
 the lower organs, it is natural to suppose that when 
 we come to the brain we should find the most elabo- 
 rate machinery. How surprising, then, it is to have 
 revealed to us only cells and fibers ! The brain is 
 the least solid and most unsubstantial looking organ 
 in the body. Eighty per cent, of water, seven of 
 albumen, some fat, and a few minor substances 
 
 sunlight and oxygen. They would save many a weakly child who 
 now perishes from lack of these necessaries of infant life." Dr. Winter. 
 
ALCOHOL. 193 
 
 constitute tho instrument which rules the world. 
 Strangest of all, the brain, which is the seat of 
 sensation, is itself without sensation. Every nerve, 
 every part of the spinal cord, is keenly alive to the 
 slightest touch, yet "the brain may be cut, burned, 
 or electrified without producing pain." 
 
 ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND NARCOTICS. 
 
 ALCOHOL (Continued from p. 172). 
 
 Effect upon the Nervous System. In the progres- 
 sive influence of alcohol upon the nervous system, 
 there are, according to the researches of Dr. Rich- 
 ardson, four successive stages. 
 
 1. The Stage of Excitement. * The first effect of alcohol, as 
 we have already described on page 180, is to paralyze the nerves that 
 lead to the extreme and minute blood-vessels, and so regulate the 
 passage of the blood through the capillary system. The vital force, 
 thus drawn into the nervous centers, drives the machinery of life 
 with tremendous energy. The heart jumps like the main-spring 
 of a watch, when the resistance of fie wheels is removed. The 
 blood surges through the body with increased force. Every capil- 
 lary tube in the system is swollen and flushed, like the reddened nose 
 and cheek. 
 
 * "The pupil should be careful to note here that alcohol does not act upon the 
 heart directly, and cause it to contract with more force. The idea that alcohol 
 gives energy and activity to the muscles is entirely false. It really, as we have seen 
 (p. 169), weakens muscular contraction. The enfeeblement begins in the first stage 
 and continues in the other stages with increased effect. The heart beats quickly 
 merely because the resistance of the minute controlling vessels is taken off, and it 
 works without being uncfer proper regulation. What is called a stimulation or 
 excitement is, in absolute fact, a relaxation, a partial paralysis of one of the most 
 important mechanisms in the animal body. Alcohol should be ranked among the 
 narcotics." Richardson. 
 
194 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 In all tliis there is exhilaration, but no nourishment ; there is anima- 
 tion, but no permanent power conferred on brain or muscle. Alcohol 
 may cheer for the moment. It may set the sluggish blood in motion, 
 start the flaw of thought, and excite a temporary gayety. " It may eii. 
 able a wearied or feeble organism to do brisk work for a short time. It 
 may make the brain briefly brilliant. It may excite muscle to quick 
 action, but it does nothing at its own cost, fills up nothing it has de- 
 stroyed, and itself leads to destruction." Even the mental activity it 
 has excited is an unsafe state of mind, for that just poise of the fac- 
 ulties so essential to good judgment is disturbed by the presence of the 
 intruder. Johnson well remarked, " Wine improves conversation by 
 taking the edge off the understanding." 
 
 2. The Stage of Muscular Weakness. If the action of the 
 alcohol be still continued, the spinal cord is next affected by this 
 powerful narcotic. The control of some of the muscles is lost. Those 
 of the lower lip usually fail first, then those of the lower limbs, and the 
 staggering, uncertain steps betray the result. The muscles them- 
 selves, also, become feebler as the power of contraction diminishes. 
 The temperature, which, for a time, was slightly increased, soon begins 
 to fall as the heat is radiated ; the body is cooled, and the well-known 
 '* alcoholic chill " is felt. 
 
 3. The Stage of Mental Weakness. The cerebrum is now 
 implicated. The ideal and emotional faculties are quickened, while tho 
 will is weakened. The center of thought being overpowered, the mind 
 is a chaos. Ideas flock in thick and fast. The tongue is loosened. The 
 judgment loses its hold on the acts. The reason giving way, the animal 
 instincts generally assume the mastery of the man. The hidden nature 
 comes to the surface. All the gloss of education and social restraint 
 falls off, and the lower nature stands revealed. The coward shows 
 himself more craven, the braggart more boastful, the bold more daring, 
 and the cruel more brutal. The inebriate is liable to become the victim 
 of any outrage that the slightest provocation may suggest. 
 
 4 The Stage of Unconsciousness. At last, prostration 
 ensues, and the wild, mad revel of the drunkard ends with utter sense- 
 lessness. In common speech, the man is " dead drunk." Brain and 
 spinal cord are lx>t!i benumbed. Fortunately, the two nervous centers 
 which supply the heart and the diaphragm are the slowest to be 
 influenced. So, even in this final stage, the breathing and the circula- 
 
ALCOHOL. 195 
 
 tion still go on, though the other organs have stopped. Were it not 
 for this, every person thoroughly intoxicated would die.* 
 
 Effect upon the Brain. Alcohol seems to have a 
 special affinity for the brain. This organ absorbs 
 more than any other, and its delicate structure is 
 correspondingly affected. The "Vascular enlarge- 
 ment" here reaches its height. The tiny vessels 
 become clogged with blood that is unfitted to nour- 
 ish, because loaded with carbonic acid, and deprived 
 of the usual quantity of the life-giving oxygen. 
 (Hinton.) The brain is, in the language of the 
 physiologist, malfunctioned. The mind but slowly 
 rallies from the stupor of the fourth stage, and a 
 sense of dullness and depression remains to show 
 with what difficulty the fatigued organ recovers its 
 normal condition. So marked is the effect of the 
 narcotic poison that some authorities hold that "a 
 once thoroughly-intoxicated brain never fully be- 
 comes what it was before." 
 
 In time, the free use of liquor hardens and thickens 
 the membrane enveloping the nervous matter ; the 
 nerve-corpuscles undergo a " Fatty degeneration"; 
 the blood-vessels lose their elasticity ; and the vital 
 fluid, flowing less freely through the obstructed 
 channels, fails to afford the old-time nourishment. 
 
 * Cold has a wonderful influence in hastening this stage, so that a person, pre- 
 viously only in the first stage of excitement, on going outdoors on a winter night, 
 may rapidly sink into a lethargy (become comatose), fall, and die. He is then com- 
 monly said to have perished with cold. The signs of this coma are of great prac- 
 tical importance, since so many persons die in police stations and elsewhere who are 
 really comatose, when they are supposed to be only sound asleep. The pulse is slow, 
 and almost imperceptible. The face is pale, and the skin cold. " If the arm be 
 pinched it is not moved; if the eyeballs are touched, the lids will not sink." The 
 respiration becomes slower and slower, and, if the person dies, it is because liquid 
 collects in the bronchial tubes, and stops the passage of the air. The man then 
 actually drowns in his own secretions. 
 
190 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 The consequent deterioration of the nervous sub- 
 stance the organ of thought shows itself in the 
 weakened mind * that we so often notice in a person 
 accustomed to drink, and at last lays the foundation 
 of various nervous disorders epilepsy, paralysis, 
 and insanity, f The law of heredity asserts itself 
 here again, and the inebriate's children often inherit 
 the disease which he has escaped. 
 
 Chief among the consequences of this "perverted 
 and imperfect nutrition of the brain " is that inter- 
 mediate state between intoxication and insanity, 
 well known as Delirium Tremens. "It is charac- 
 terized by a low, restless activity of the cerebrum, 
 manifesting itself in muttering delirium, with occa- 
 sional paroxysms of greater violence. The victim 
 almost always apprehends some direful calamity ; 
 he imagines his bed to be covered with loathsome 
 reptiles ; he sees the walls of his apartment crowded 
 with foul specters ; and he imagines his friends and 
 attendants to be fiends come to drag him down to a 
 fiery abyss beneath." Carpenter. 
 
 Influence upon the Mental and Moral Powers. 
 So intimate is the relation between the body and the 
 mind that an injury to one harms the other. The 
 effect of alcoholized blood is to weaken the will. 
 The one habitually under its influence often shocks 
 us by his indecision and breaking his promise to 
 reform. The truth is, he has lost, in a measure, his 
 power of self-control. At last, he becomes physically 
 
 * "The habitual use of fermented liquors, even to an extent far short of what is 
 necessary to produce intoxication, injures the body, and diminishes the mental 
 power." Sir Henry Thompson. 
 
 t Capper, the great statistician of Berlin, says : "So fur as that city is concerned, 
 one-third of the insane coming from the poorer classes, were made so by spirit- 
 drinking." 
 
ALCOHOL. 197 
 
 unable to resist the craving demand of his morbid 
 appetite. 
 
 Other faculties share in this mental wreck. The 
 intellectual vision becomes less penetrating, the deci- 
 sions of the mind less reliable, and the grasp of 
 thought less vigorous. The logic grows muddy. A 
 thriftless, reckless feeling is developed. Ere long, 
 self-respect is lost, and then ambition ceases to 
 allure, and the high spirit sinks. 
 
 Along with this mental deterioration comes also a 
 failure of the moral sense. The fine fiber of char- 
 acter undergoes a "degeneration." as certain as that 
 of the muscles themselves. Broken promises tell of 
 a lowered standard of veracity, and a dulled sense of 
 honor, quite as much as of an impaired will. Under 
 the subtle influence of the ever-present poison, signs 
 of spiritual weakness multiply fast. Conscience is 
 lulled to rest. Reason is enfeebled. Customary 
 restraints are easily thrown off. The sensibilities 
 are blunted. There is less ability to appreciate nice 
 shades of right and wrong. Great moral principles 
 and motives lose their power to influence. The 
 judgment fools with duty. The future no longer 
 reaches back its hand to guide the present. The 
 better nature has lost its supremacy. 
 
 The wretched victim of appetite will now gratify 
 his tyrannical passion for drink at any expense of 
 deceit or crime. He becomes the blind instrument 
 of his insane impulses, and commits acts from which 
 he would once have shrunk with horror. * Sometimes 
 
 * Richardson sums up the various diseases caused by alcohol, as follows : " (a). 
 Diseases of the brain and nervous system, indicated by such names as apoplexy, 
 epilepsy, paralysis, vertigo, softening of the brain, delirium tremens, dipsomania or 
 inordinate craving for drink, loss of memory, and that general failure of the mental 
 
198 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 he even takes a malignant pleasure in injuring those 
 whom Nature has ordained he should protect.* 
 
 
 
 II. TOBACCO. 
 
 The Constituents of Tobacco Smoke are numer- 
 ous, but the prominent ones are carbonic acid, car- 
 bonic oxide, and ammonia gases ; carbon, or soot ; and 
 nicotine. The proportion of these substances varies 
 with different kinds of tobacco, the pipe used, and the 
 rapidity of the combustion. Carbonic acid tends to 
 produce sleepiness and headache. Carbonic oxide, 
 in addition, causes a tremulous movement of the 
 muscles, and so of the heart. Ammonia bites the 
 tongue of the smoker, excites the salivary glands, 
 and causes dryness of the mouth and throat. Nico- 
 tine is a powerful poison. The amount contained in 
 one or two strong cigars, if thrown directly into the 
 
 power, called dementia, (b). Diseases of the lungs : one form of consumption, con- 
 gestion, and subsequent bronchitis, (c). Diseases of the heart: irregular beat, 
 feebleness of the muscular walls, dilatation, disease of the valves, (d). Diseases of 
 the blood : scurvy, excess of water or dropsy, separation of fibrin, (e). Diseases of 
 the stomach : feebleness of the stomach, indigestion, flatulency, irritation, and 
 sometimes inflammation. (/). Diseases of the bowels: relaxation or purging, irri- 
 tation. (<7). Diseases of the liver: congestion, hardening and shrinking, cirrhosis. 
 (A). Disease? of the kidneys: change of structure into fatty or waxy-likc condition 
 and other results leading to dropsy, or sometimes to fatal sleep. (). Diseases of the 
 muscles : fatty change in the muscle?, by which they lose their power for proper 
 active contraction, (ft. Diseases of the membranes of the body: thickening and 
 loss of elasticity, by which the parts wrapped up in the membrane are impaired f&r 
 use, and premature decay is induced." 
 
 * It ha* been argued that a man should not be punished for any crime he may com 
 mit durinor intoxication, but rather for knowingly giving up the reins of reason and 
 conscience, and thus subjecting himself to the rule of his evil passions. Voluntarily 
 to stimulate the mind and put it into a condition where it may drive one to ruin, is 
 very like the act of an engineer who should get up steam in his engine, and then, 
 having opened the valves, desert his post, and let the monster go thundering down 
 the track to sure destruction. Certain persons are thrown into the stage of mental 
 weakness by a single glass of liquor. How can they be excused when the fact ot 
 their peculiar liability lends additional force to the argument of abstemiousness, and 
 they know that their only safety lies in total abstinence 1 Carpenter's Physiology. 
 
TOBACCO. 199 
 
 blood, would cause death. Nicotine itself is com 
 plex, yielding a volatile substance that gives the 
 odor to the breath and clothing ; and also a bitter 
 extract which produces the sickening taste of an 
 old pipe. In smoking, some of the nicotine is 
 decomposed, forming pyridine, picoline, and other 
 poisonous alkaloids.* 
 
 Physiological Effects. The poison of tobacco, set 
 free by the process either of chewing or smoking, 
 when for the first time it is swept through the 
 system by the blood, powerfully affects the body. 
 Nausea is felt, and the stomach seeks to throw off 
 the offending substance. The brain is inflamed, 
 and headache follows. The motor-nerves becoming 
 irritated, giddiness ensues. Thus Nature earnestly 
 protests against the formation of this habit. But, 
 after repeated trials, the system adjusts itself to 
 the new conditions. A "tolerance" of the poison 
 is finally established, and smoking causes none of 
 the former symptoms. Such powerful substances 
 cannot, however, be constantly inhaled without 
 producing marked changes. The three great elim- 
 inating organs the lungs, the skin, and the kid- 
 neys throw off a large part of the products, but 
 much remains in the system. When the presence 
 of the poison is constant, and especially when the 
 smoking or chewing is excessive, the disturbance 
 that at first is merely functional, must neces- 
 
 * The analysis of tobacco as given by different authorities varies greatly. The 
 one stated in the text suffices for the purposes of this chapter. Von Eulenberg 
 names several other products of the combustion. One hundred pounds of the dry 
 leaf may yield as high as seven pounds of nicotine. Havana tobacco contains about 
 two per cent, and Virginia about six per cent. See Johnston & Church's Chemistry 
 of Common Life, and Millers Organic Chemistry. 
 
200 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 sarily, in many cases at least, lead to a chronic 
 derangement. 
 
 Probably in this, as in the case of other deleterious 
 articles of diet, the strong and healthy will seem to 
 escape entirely, while the weak and those predis- 
 posed to disease will be injured in direct proportion 
 to the extent of the indulgence. Those whose em- 
 ployment leads to active, outdoor work, will show 
 no sign of nicotine poisoning, while the man of sed- 
 entary habits will sooner or later be the victim of 
 dyspepsia, sleeplessness, nervousness, paralysis, or 
 other organic difficulties. Even where the user of 
 tobacco himself escapes harm, the law of heredity 
 asserts itself, and the innocent offspring only too 
 often inherit an impaired constitution, and a ten- 
 dency to nervous complaints. 
 
 The Various Disturbances produced in different individuals 
 and constitutions by smoking have bejn summed up by Dr. Richard- 
 son as follows : " (a) In the blood, it causes undue fluidity, and change 
 in the red corpuscles ; (&) in the stomach, it gives rise to debility, 
 nausea, and vomiting ; (r) in the mucous membrane of the mouth, it 
 produces enlargement and soreness of the tonsils smoker's sore throat 
 redness, dryness, and occasional peeling of the membrane, and either 
 unnatural firmness and contraction, or sponginess of the gums ; and, 
 where the pipe rests on the lips, oftentimes ' epithelial cancer'; (d) in 
 the heart, it causes debility of the organ, and irregular action ; (e) in 
 the bronchial surface of the lungs, when that is already irritable, it 
 sustains irritation, and increases the cough ; (/) in the organs of sense, 
 it produces dilation of ihe pupils of the eye, confusion of vision, bright 
 lines, luminous or cobweb specks, and long retention of images on the 
 retina, with analogous symptoms affecting the ear, viz., inability to 
 define sounds clearly, and the occurrence of a sharp, ringing noise like 
 a whistle ; (g) in the brain, it impairs the activity of the organ, oppress- 
 ing it if it be nourished, but soothing it if it be exhausted ; (h) it 
 
TOBACCO. 201 
 
 leads to paralysis in the motor and sympathetic nerves, and to over- 
 secretion from the glands which the sympathetic nerves control." 
 
 Is Tobacco a Food ? Here, as in the case of alco- 
 hol, the reply is a negative one. Tobacco manifests 
 no characteristic of a food. It cannot impart to the 
 blood an atom of nutritive matter for building up 
 the body. It does not add to, but rather subtracts 
 from, the total vital force. It confers no potential 
 power upon muscle or brain. It stimulates by cut- 
 ting off the nervous supply from the extremities and 
 concentrating it upon the centers. But stimulation 
 is not nourishment ; it is only a rapid spending of 
 the capital stock. There is no greater error than to 
 mistake the exciting of an organ for its strengthening. 
 The Influence upon Youth. Here, too, science 
 utters no doubtful voice. Experience asserts only 
 one conviction. Tobacco retards the development of 
 mind and body.* The law of nature is that of steady 
 growth. It cannot admit of a daily, even though it 
 be merely a functional, disturbance that weakens 
 the digestion, that causes the heart to labor exces- 
 sively, that prevents the perfect oxidation of the 
 blood, that interferes with the assimilation, and that 
 deranges the nervous system, f No one has a right 
 
 * Cigarettes are especially injurious from the irritating smoke of the paper 
 covering, taken into the lungs, and also because the poison fumes of the tobacco 
 are more directly inhnled. In ca:=e of the cheap cigarettes often smoked by boys, ihc 
 ingredients used are harmful, while one revolts at the thought of the filthy mate- 
 rials, refuse cigar-stumps, &c., employed in their manufacture. 
 
 t There is one influence of tobacco that every young man should understand. In 
 many caes, like alcohol, it, seems to blunt the sensibilities, and make its user care- 
 less of the rights and feelings of others. This is often noticed in common life. We 
 meet occasionally " devotees of the weed," who, ignoring the fact that tobacco is 
 disagreeable to many persons, think only of the gratification of their selfish appetite. 
 They smoke or chew in any place or company. They permit the cigar fumes to blow 
 
202 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 thus to check and disturb continually the regular 
 processes of his physical and mental progress. 
 Hence, the young man (especially if he be of a 
 nervous, sensitive organization) who uses tobacco 
 deliberately diminishes the possible energy with 
 which he might commence the work of life ; * while 
 he comes under the bondage of a habit that may 
 become stronger than his will, and under the influ- 
 ence of a narcotic that may beguile his faculties 
 and palsy his strength at the very moment when 
 every power should be awake. 
 
 Another peril still lies in the wake of this master- 
 ful poison-habit. Tobacco causes thirst and depres- 
 sion that only too often and naturally lead to the use 
 of liquor. 
 
 III. OPIUM. 
 
 Opium is the dried juice of the poppy. In Eastern 
 countries, this flower is cultivated in immense fields 
 
 into the face? of passers-by. They sit where the wind carries the smoke of their pipes 
 BO that others must iuhale it. They expectorate upon the floor of care, hotels, and 
 even private homes. They take no pains to remove the odor that lingers about their 
 person and clothing. They force all who happen to be near, their companions, their 
 fellow-travelers, to inhale the nauseating odor of tobacco. Everything must be 
 sacrificed to the one primal necessity of such persons a smoke. Now, a young man 
 jnst beginning life, with his fortune to make, and his success to achieve, can not 
 afford to burden himself with a habit that is costly, that will make his presence 
 offensive to many persons, and that may perhaps render him less sensitive to the 
 best influences, and perceptions of manhood. 
 
 * lu tho Polytechnic School at Paris, the pupils were divided into two classes the 
 pmokers, and the non-smokers. The latter not only excelled on the entrance exami- 
 nations, but during the entire course of study. Dr. Decaiene examined thirty-eight 
 boys who smoked, and found twenty-seven of them diseased from nicotine poison- 
 i ig. So long ago as 1863, In consequence of these results, the Minister of P ublic 
 Instruction forbade the use of tobacco by the pupils. 
 
 Dr. Gihon, medical director of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, In his report for 
 1R81. pays : "The most important, matter in the health-history of the students is tint 
 relating to tobacco, and its interdiction is absolutely essential to their future health 
 nnd usefulness. In this view I have been sustained by my colleagues, and all sani- 
 tarians in civil and military life whose views I have been able to obtain." 
 
OPIUM. 203 
 
 for the sake of this product. When a cut is made in 
 the poppy-head, a tiny tear of milky juice exudes, 
 and hardens. These little drops are gathered and 
 prepared for the market, an acre yielding, it is 
 said, about twenty-five pounds. Throughout the 
 East, opium is generally smoked ; but in Western 
 countries laudanum and paregoric (tinctures of 
 opium), and morphine a powerful alkaloid con- 
 tained in opium, are generally used. The drug itself 
 is also eaten. 
 
 Physiological Effect. Opium, in its various forms, 
 acts directly upon the nerves, a small dose quieting 
 pain, and a larger one soothing to sleep. It arouses 
 the brain, and fires the imagination to a wonderful 
 pitch.* The reaction from this unnatural excitant 
 is correspondingly depressing ; and the melancholy, 
 the "overwhelming horror" that ensues, calls for a 
 renewal of the stimulus. The dose must be gradu- 
 ally increased to produce the original exhilaration.! 
 The seductive nature of the drug leads the unfortu- 
 nate victim on step by step until he finds himself 
 fast bound in the fetters of the most tyrannical 
 habit known to man. 
 
 * De Quincy took laudanum for the first time to relieve pain, hut such was the 
 intensity of the feelings he then experienced that, as he tells ue in his "Confessions 
 of an Opium-eater," " The relief from pain seemed a trifle. Here was a panacea for 
 all human woes. Here was the secret of happiness about which philosophers had 
 disputed for so many ages. Happiness might now be bought for a penny, and car- 
 ried in the waistcoat pocket : portable ecstasies might be had corked up in a pint 
 bottle." 
 
 t " The victim of opium is bound to a drag from which he derives no benefits, but 
 which slowly deprives him of health and happiness, finally to end in idiocy or prema- 
 ture death. Whatever the victim's condition or surroundings may be, the opinm 
 must be taken at certain times with inexorable regularity. The liquor or tobacco 
 user can, for a time, go without the use of these agents, and no regular hours are 
 necessary. During sickness, and more especially during the eruptive fevers, he does 
 not desire tobacco or liquor. The opium-eater has no such reprieves ; his dose must 
 
204 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 To go on is to wreck all one's powers physical 
 and mental. To throw off the habit, requires a 
 determination that but few possess. Yet even when 
 the custom is broken, the system is long in recov- 
 ering from the shock. There seems to be a failure 
 of every organ. The digestion is weakened, food 
 is no longer relished, the muscles waste, the skin 
 shrivels, the nervous centers are paralyzed, and a 
 premature old age comes on apace. De Quincy, four 
 months after he had cast away the opium-bonds, 
 wrote, " Think of me as one still agitated, writhing, 
 throbbing, palpitating, shattered." 
 
 No person can be too careful in the use of lau- 
 danum, paregoric, and morphine. They may be 
 taken on a physician's prescription as a sedative 
 from racking pain,* but if followed up for any 
 length of time, the powerful habit may be formed 
 ere one is aware. Then comes the opium-eater's 
 grave, or the opium-eater's struggle for life ! 
 
 IV. CHLORAL HYDRATE. 
 
 Chloral Hydrate is a drug frequently used to 
 cause sleep. It leaves behind no headache or lassi- 
 tude, as is often the case with morphine. It is, how- 
 be taken, and, in painful complications affecting the stomach, a large increase is 
 demanded to sustain the system. If, in forming the habit, two doses are taken each 
 day, the victim is obliged to maintain that number. It is the unceasing, everlasting 
 slavery of regularity that humiliates opium-eaters by a sense of their own weakness. 
 Hubbard on The Opium Habit and Alcoholism. 
 
 * Many persons learn to inject laudanum beneath the skin by means of a " hypo- 
 dermic syringe." The operation is painless, and seems innocent enough. It 
 throws the narcotic directly into the circulation, and relief from pain is often almost 
 instantaneous. But the danger of forming the opium habit is not lessened, and the 
 effect of using the drug in this form for a long time is just as injurious as opium- 
 smoking itself. 
 
CHLOROFORM. 205 
 
 ever, a treacherous remedy. It is cumulative in its 
 effects, i. e., even a small and harmless dose, per- 
 sisted in for a long period, may produce a gradual 
 accumulation of evil results that in the end will 
 prove fatal. 
 
 The Physiological Effect is very marked. The 
 appetite becomes capricious. The secretions are 
 unnatural. Nausea and flatulency often ensue. 
 Then the nervous system is involved. The heart 
 is affected. Sleep is broken. Finally, the hydrate 
 being decomposed, by the action of the soda in the 
 blood, into formic acid and chloroform, a new 
 change takes place. The acid combines with the 
 soda, making sodium formate, and the blood, under 
 the influence of this salt, becomes unduly fluid, as 
 it does in the case of persons deprived of fresh food. 
 A disease resembling scurvy is induced, and the 
 skin breaks out in blotches. 
 
 V. CHLOROFORM. 
 
 Chloroform is a powerful anaesthetic. It is some- 
 times prescribed by a physician, and afterward (as in 
 the case of laudanum, morphine, and chloral) the 
 sufferer, charmed with the release from pain and the 
 peaceful slumber secured, buys the dangerous drug 
 for himself. Its use soon becomes an apparent 
 necessity. The craving for the narcotic at a stated 
 time is almost irresistible. The patient, compelled 
 to give up the use of the chloroform, will demand, 
 entreat, pray for another dose, in a heart-rending 
 manner, never to be forgotten. Paleness and debil- 
 
206 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 ity, the earliest symptoms, are followed by mental 
 prostration. Familiarity with the dangerous drug 
 begets carelessness. Its victims are frequently 
 found dead in their beds, with the handkerchief 
 from which they inhaled the volatile poison clutched 
 in their lifeless hands. 
 
 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 1. Why is the pain of incipient hip-disease frequently felt in the 
 knee? 
 
 2. Why does a child require more sleep than an aged person ? 
 
 3. When you put your finger in the palm of a sleeping child, why 
 will he grasp it ? 
 
 4. How may we strengthen the brain ? 
 
 5. What is the object of pain ? 
 
 6. Why will a blow on the stomach sometimes stop the heart ? 
 
 7. How long will it take for the brain of a man six feet high to 
 receive news of an injury to his foot, and to reply ? 
 
 8. How can we grow beautiful ? 
 
 9. Why do intestinal worms ever affect a child's sight ? 
 
 10. Is there any indication of character in physiognomy? 
 
 11. When one's finger is burned, where is the ache ? 
 
 12. Is a parlor generally a healthful room ? 
 
 13. Why can an idle scholar read his lesson and at the same time 
 count the marbles in his pocket ? 
 
 14. In amputating a limb, what part, when divided, will cause the 
 keenest pain ? 
 
 15. What is the effect of bad air on nervous people ? 
 
 16. Is there any truth in the proverb that "he who sleeps dines?" 
 
 17. What does a high, wide forehead indicate ? 
 
 18. How does indigestion frequently cause a headache ? 
 
PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 207 
 
 19. What is the cause of one's foot being " asleep " ?* 
 
 20. When an injury to the nose has been remedied by transplanting 
 skin from the forehead, why is a touch to the former felt in the 
 latter ? 
 
 21. Are closely-curtained windows healthful? 
 
 22. Why, in falling from a height do the limbs instinct' vely take a 
 position to defend the important organs ? 
 
 23. What causes the pylorus to open and close at the right time ? 
 
 24. Why is pleasant exercise most beneficial ? 
 
 25. Why does grief cause one to lose his appetite ? 
 
 26. Why should we never study directly after dinner ? 
 
 27. What produces the peristaltic movement of the stomach ? 
 
 28. Why is a healthy child so restless and full of mischief? 
 
 29. Why is a slight blow on the back of a rabbit's neck fatal ? 
 
 30. Why can one walk and carry on a conversation at the same 
 time? 
 
 31. What are the dangers of over-study ? 
 
 32. What is the influence of idleness upon the brain ? 
 
 33. State the close relation which exists between physical and men- 
 tal health and disease. 
 
 34. In what consists the value of the power of habit ? 
 
 35. How many pairs of nerves supply the eye ? 
 
 36. Describe the reflex actions in reading aloud. 
 
 37. Under what circumstances does paralysis occur ? 
 
 38. If the eyelids of a profound sleeper were raised, and a candle 
 brought near, would the iris contract ? 
 
 39. How does one cough in his sleep? 
 
 40. Give illustrations of the unconscious action of the brain. 
 
 41. Is chewing tobacco more injurious than smoking? 
 
 42. Ought a man to retire from business while his faculties are still 
 unimpaired ? 
 
 43. Which is the more exhaustive to the brain, worry or severe men- 
 tal application ? 
 
 * " Here the nervous force is prevented from passing by compression. Just how 
 this is done, or what is kept from passing, we cannot tell. If a current of elec- 
 tricity were moving through a rubber tube full of mercury, a slight squeeze would 
 interrupt it. These cases may depend on the same general principle, but we cannot 
 assert it." (Huxley.) The tingling sensation caused by the compression is trans- 
 ferred to the foot, whence the nerve starts. 
 
208 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 44. Is it a blessing to be placed beyond the necessity for work ? 
 46. Show how anger, hate, and the other degrading passions are 
 destructive to the brain.* 
 
 46. Are not amusements, to repair the waste of the nervous energy, 
 especially needed by persons whose life is one of care and toil ? 
 
 47. Is not severe mental labor incompatible with a rapidly -growing 
 body? 
 
 48. How shall we induce the system to perform all its functions 
 regularly ? 
 
 49. How does alcohol interfere with the action of the nerves? 
 
 50. What is the general effect of alcohol upon the character? 
 
 51. Does alcohol tend to produce clearness and vigor of thought V 
 
 52. What is the general effect of alcohol on the muscles ? 
 
 53. Does alcohol have any effect on the bones? The skin? 
 
 54. What is the cause of the " alcoholic chill " ? 
 
 55. Show how alcohol tends to develop man's lower, rather than his 
 higher, nature. 
 
 56. When we wish really to strengthen the brain, should we use 
 alcohol ? 
 
 57. Why is alcohol used to preserve anatomical specimens? 
 
 58. What is meant by an inherited taste for liquor? 
 
 59. Ought a person to be punished for a crime committed during 
 intoxication ? 
 
 60. Should a boy ever smoke ? 
 
 61. To what extent are we responsible for the health of our body ? 
 
 62. Why does alcohol tend to collect in the brain ? 
 
 63. Does the use of alcohol tend to increase crime, and poverty ? 
 
 * " One of the surest means for keeping the body and mind in perfect health con- 
 sists in learning to hold the passions in subservience to the reasoning faculties. 
 This rule applies to every passion. Man, distinguished from all other animals by the 
 peculiarity that his reason is placed above his passions to be the director of his will, 
 can protect himself from every mere animal degradation resulting from passionate 
 excitement. The education of the man should be directed not to suppress such 
 passions as are ennobling, but to bring all under governance, and specially to subdue 
 those most destructive passions, anger, hate, and fear." 
 
VIII. 
 
 SPECIAL SENSES, 
 
 "See how yon beam of seeming white 
 Is braided out of seven-hued light ; 
 Yet in those lucid globes no ray 
 By any chance shall break astray. 
 Hark, how the rolling surge of sound, 
 Arches and spirals circling round, 
 Wakes the hush'd spirit through thine ear 
 With music it is heaven to hear" 
 
 HOLMES. 
 
 " Let us remember that if we get a glimpse of the details of natural 
 phenomena, and of those movements which constitute life> it is not in con- 
 sidering them as a whole, but in analyzing them as far as our limited means 
 will permit. In the vibrations of the globe of air which surrounds our 
 planet, as in the undulations of the ether which fills the immensity of space, 
 it is always by molecules which are intangible for us, put in motion by 
 nature, always by the infinitely little, that she acts in exciting the organs 
 of sense, and she has modeled these organs in a proportion which enables 
 them to partake in the movement which she impresses upon the universe. 
 She can paint with equal facility on a fraction of a line of space on the 
 retina, the grandest landscape or the nerve lets of a rose-leaf; the celestial 
 vault on which Sirius is but a luminous point, or the sparkling dust of a 
 butterfly's wing : the roar of the tempest, the roll of thunder, the echo of an 
 avalanche, find equal place in the labyrinth whose almost imperceptible 
 cavities seem destined to receive only the most delicate sounds." 
 
1. THE TOUCH... 
 
 2. THE TASTE. 
 
 3. THE SMELL... 
 
 4. THE HEARING. 
 
 5. THE SIGHT.. . 
 
 !1. Description of the Organ. 
 2. Its Uses. 
 
 1. Description of the Organ. 
 
 2. Its Uses. 
 
 1. Description of the Organ. 
 
 2. Its Uses. 
 
 1. Description of the Organ. 
 
 2. How we hear. 
 . 3. Hygiene of the Ear. 
 
 a. External Ear. 
 
 b. Middle Ear. 
 
 c. Internal Ear. 
 
 1. Description of the Organ. 
 
 2. Eyelids, and Tears. 
 
 3. Structure of the Retina. 
 
 4. How we see. 
 
 5. The Use of the Crystalline Lens. 
 i 6. Near, and Far Sight. 
 
 7. Color-blindness. 
 
 8. Hygiene of the Eyes. 
 
THE SPECIAL SENSES. 
 
 1. TOUCH. 
 
 "^DESCRIPTION. Touch is sometimes called the 
 -L/ " common sense/' since its nerves are spread 
 over the whole body. It is most delicate, however, 
 in the point of the tongue and the tips of the fingers. 
 The surface of the cutis is covered with minute, 
 conical projections called papillce (Fig. 24).* Each 
 of these contains its tiny nerve-twigs, that receive 
 the impression and transmit it to the brain, where 
 the perception is produced. 
 
 Uses. Touch is the first of the senses used by a 
 child. By it we obtain our idea of solidity, and 
 throughout life rectify all other sensations. Thus, 
 when we see anything curious, our first desire is to 
 handle it. 
 
 The sensation of touch is generally relied upon, 
 yet, if we hold a marble in the manner shown in 
 Fig. 57, it will seem like two marbles ; and if we 
 touch the fingers thus crossed to our tongue, we 
 shall feel two tongues. Again, if we close our eyes 
 and let another person move one of our fingers over 
 
 * In the palm of the hand, where there are at least 12,000 in a square inch, we can 
 see the fine ridges along which they are arranged. 
 
SPECIAL SENSES. 
 
 a plane surface, first lightly, then with greater 
 pressure, and then lightly again, we shall think the 
 surface concave. 
 
 Fig. 57. 
 
 This organ is capable of wonderful cultivation. 
 The physician acquires by practice the tactus erudi- 
 tus,* or learned touch, which is often of great ser- 
 vice. The delicacy of touch possessed by the blind 
 almost compensates the loss of the absent sense, f 
 
 * An educated sense of touch was possessed by the late Dr. March of Albany, to a 
 remarkable degree. It had been cultivated and perfected in the course of extensive 
 surgical practice to such an extent as to become delicate, precise, and nearly unfail- 
 ing as a means of diagnosis. On one occasion the Doctor was summoned to see a 
 man who was supposed to have extensive cancerous disease of the thigh, which had 
 been developing many months. The importance of the case had called an unusual 
 number of physicians to the bedside of the patient, and after very thorough examina- 
 tion of the unyielding swelling by them all, Dr. March subjected it to close scrutiny, 
 using his fingers with astonishing caution and delicacy, and appearing to be absorbed 
 in the investigation. A consultation followed in an adjoining room, and from the 
 youngest to the oldest, opinions were expressed that the tumor was malignant in 
 character and called for amputation of the thigh, as affording the only means of ar- 
 resting the disease, or of saving or prolonging life. Dr. March dissented from this 
 view, and boldly stated that the swelling was an abscess, which could be emptied by 
 a free incision. The reputation of the surgeon, and the positiveness of his assertion, 
 caused his advice to be heeded, and he was permitted to make an attempt to reach 
 the matter, under mental protest of his associates that he would fail in his expecta- 
 tions. The patient, willing to believe almost against hope, suffered the Doctor to 
 proceed with the operation. Taking a scalpel, and guided by his fingers in selecting a 
 location, he made a deep incision through the dense structures of the thigh. Nothing 
 but blood flowed from the wound. A second plunge of the knife brought such an 
 overwhelming discharge of pus from the immensely-distended cavity, as to amount 
 in the quantity collected to several pints. Rapid recovery followed and the limb was 
 saved. Dr. Wm. C. Wey. 
 
 t The sympathy between the different organs shows how they all combine to 
 make a home for the mind. When one sense fails, the others endeavor to remedy 
 the defect. It is touching to see how the blind man gets along without eyes, and the 
 
TASTE. 
 
 213 
 
 The Tongue, showing the three kinds of Papilla (he conical (D), the whip-like (K, 
 I), the circumvallate or entrenched (H, L) ; E, F, G, nerves ; C, glottis. Lankester. 
 
 Description. This sense is located in the papillae of 
 the tongue and palate. These papillae start up when 
 tasting, as you can see by placing a drop of vinegar 
 on another person's tongue, or your own before a 
 
 deaf without ears. Cuthbert, though blind, was the most efficient polisher of tele- 
 scopic mirrors in London. Saunderson, the successor of Newton as professor of 
 mathematics at Cambridge, could distinguish between real and spurious medals. 
 There is an instance recorded of a blind man who could recognize colors. The author 
 knew one who could tell when he was approaching a tree, as he said, by the different 
 feeling of the air. 
 
THE SPECIAL SENSES. 
 
 mirror. The velvety look of this organ is given by 
 hair-like projections of the cuticle upon some of the 
 papillae. They absorb the liquid to be tasted, and 
 convey it to the nerves.* The back of the tongue is 
 most sensitive to salt and bitter substances, and, as 
 this part is supplied by the ninth pair of nerves (Fig. 
 56), in sympathy with the stomach, such flavors, by 
 sympathy, often produce vomiting. The edges of 
 the tongue are most sensitive to sweet and sour sub- 
 stances, and as this part is supplied by the fifth pair 
 of nerves, which also goes to the face, an acid, by 
 sympathy, distorts the countenance. 
 
 The Use of the Taste was originally to guide in 
 the selection of food ; but it has become so depraved 
 by condiments and the force of habit that it would 
 be a difficult task to tell what are one's natural 
 tastes. 
 
 V 3. SMELL. t 
 
 Description. The nose, the seat of this sense, is 
 composed of cartilage covered with muscles and 
 skin, and joined to the skull by small bones. The 
 nostrils open at the back into the pharynx, and are 
 lined by a continuation of the mucous membrane of 
 the throat. The olfactory nerves (first pair, Fig. 55) 
 enter through a sieve-like, bony plate at the roof of 
 the nose, and are distributed over the inner surface 
 of the two olfactory chambers. The object to be 
 
 * An insoluble substance is therefore tasteless. 
 
 t The sense of smell is so intimately connected with that of taste that we often 
 fail to distinguish between them. Garlic, vanilla, coffee, and various spices, which 
 seem to have such distinct taste, have really a powerful odor but a feeble flavor. 
 
SMELL. 
 
 215 
 
 smelled need not touch the nose, but tiny particles 
 borne on the air enter the nasal passages. * 
 
 Fig. 59. 
 
 A, b, c, d, interior of the nose, which is lined by a mucous membrane ; n, (he nose ; 
 e, the wing of the nose ; q, the nose bones ; o, the upper lip ; g, section of the upper 
 jaw-bone; h, the upper part of the mouth, or hard palate; m, frontal bone of the 
 skull ; k, the ganglion or bulb of the olfactory nerve in the skull, from ivhich are seen 
 the branches of the nerve passing in all directions. 
 
 * " Three-quarters of a grain of musk placed in a room cau c e a very powerful 
 smell for a considerable length of time without any sensible diminution in weight, 
 and the box in which musk has been placed retains the perfume for almost an in- 
 definite period. Haller relates that some papers which had been perfumed by a grain 
 of ambergris were still very odoriferous after a lapse of forty years. Odors are 
 transported by the air to a considerable distance. A dog recognizes his master's 
 approach by smell even when he is far away ; and we are assured by navigators that 
 the winds bring the delicious odors of the balmy forests of Ceylon to a distance of 
 ten leagues from the coast. Even after making clue allowance for the effects of the 
 imagination, it is certain that odors act as an excitant on the brain, which may be 
 dangerous when long continued. They are especially dreaded by the Roman women. 
 It is well known that in ancient times the women of Rome indulged in a most im- 
 moderate use of baths and perfumes ; but those of our times have nothing in common 
 with them in this respect ; and the words of a lady are quoted, who said on admiring 
 an artificial rose, 4 It is all the more beautiful that it has no smell.' We are warned by 
 the proverb not to discuss colors or tastes, and we may add odors also. Men and 
 
216 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 
 
 The Uses of the sense of smell are to guide us in 
 the choice of" our food, and to warn us against bad 
 air, and unhealthy localities. 
 
 4. HEARING. 
 Fig. 60. 
 
 . ' 
 
 The Ear. 
 
 Description. The ear is divided into the external, 
 middle, and internal ear. 
 
 1. THE EXTERNAL EAR is a sheet of cartilage 
 curiously folded for catching sound. The auditory 
 canal, B, or tube of this ear-trumpet, is about an 
 inch long. Across the lower end is stretched the 
 membrane of the tympanum or drum, which is kept 
 soft by a fluid wax. 
 
 nations differ singularly in this respect. The Laplander and the Esquimaux find the 
 smell of fish-oil delicious. Wrangel says his compatriots, the Russians, are very 
 fond of the odor of pickled cabbage, which forms an important part of their food ; 
 and asafoetida, it is said, is used as a condiment in Persia, and, in spite of its name, 
 there are persons who do not find its odor disagreeable any more than that of vale- 
 rian." Wonders of (he Human Body. 
 
HEARING. 217 
 
 2. THE MIDDLE EAR is a cavity, at the bottom of 
 which is the Eustachian tube, G, leading to the 
 mouth. Across this chamber hangs a chain of three 
 singular little bones, C, named from their shape the 
 hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup. All together 
 these tiny bones weigh only a few grains, yet they 
 are covered by a periosteum, are supplied with 
 blood-vessels, and they articulate with perfect joints 
 (one a ball-and-socket, the other a hinge), having 
 synovial membranes, cartilages, ligaments, and 
 muscles. 
 
 3. THE INTERNAL EAR, or labyrinth, as it is some- 
 times called from its complex character, is hollowed 
 out of the solid bone. In front is the vestibule or 
 ante-chamber, A, about as large as a grain of wheat ; 
 from it open three semi-circular canals, D, and the 
 winding stair of the cochlea, or snail shell, E. Here 
 expand the delicate fibrils of the auditory nerve. 
 Floating in the liquid which fills the labyrinth is 
 a little bag containing hair-like bristles, fine sand, 
 and two ear-stones (otoliths). All these knocking 
 against the ends of the nerves, serve to increase 
 any impulse given to the liquid in which they lie. 
 Finally, to complete this delicate apparatus, in the 
 cochlea are minute tendrils, named the fibers of 
 Corti, from their discoverer. These are regularly 
 arranged, the longest at the bottom, and the 
 shortest at the top. Could this spiral plate, which 
 coils two and a half times around, be unrolled and 
 made to stand upright, it would form a beautiful 
 microscopic harp of three thousand strings. If it 
 were possible to strike these cords as one can the 
 keyboard of a piano, he could produce in the mind 
 
218 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 
 
 of the person experimented upon every variety of 
 tone which the ear can distinguish. 
 
 How We Hear. Whenever one body strikes an- 
 other in the air, waves are produced, just as when 
 we throw a stone into the water a series of con- 
 centric circles surrounds the spot where it sinks. 
 These waves of air strike upon the membrane. This 
 vibrates, and sends the motion along the chain of 
 bones in the middle ear to the fluids of the laby- 
 rinth. Here bristles, sand, and stones pound away, 
 and the wondrous harp of the cochlea, catching up 
 the pulsations,* carries them to the fibers of the 
 auditory nerve, which conveys them to the brain, 
 and gives the mind the idea of sound. 
 
 Care of the Ear. The delicacy of the ear is such 
 that it needs the greatest care. Cold water should 
 not be allowed to enter the auditory canal. If the 
 wax accumulate, never remove it with a hard instru- 
 ment, lest the delicate membrane be injured, but 
 with a little warm water, after which turn the head 
 to let the water run out, and wipe the ear dry. 
 The hair around the ears should never be left wet, 
 as it may chill this sensitive organ. If an insect 
 get in the external ear, pour in a little oil to kill it, 
 and then remove with tepid water. The object of 
 the Eustachian tube is to admit air into the ear, and 
 thus equalize the pressure on the membrane. If it 
 become closed by a cold, or if, from any cause, the 
 
 * The original motion is constantly modified by the medinm through which it 
 Basses. The bristles, otoliths, and Cortinn fibers of the ear, and the rods and con 
 of the eye (p. 221) serve to convert the vibrations into pulsations which act as stimuli 
 of the appropriate nerve. The molecular change thus produced iu the nerve-fibers i 
 propagated to the brain. (Physics, p. 142.) 
 
SIGHT. 
 
 219 
 
 pressure be made unequal, so as to produce an 
 unpleasant feeling in the ear, relief may often be 
 obtained by grasping the nose and forcibly swal- 
 lowing. 
 
 SIGHT. 
 
 The Eye. 
 
 Description. The eye is lodged in a bony cavity, 
 protected by the overhanging brow. It is a globe, 
 about an inch in diameter. The ball is covered by 
 three coats (1) the sclerotic, d, a tough, horny casing, 
 which gives shape to the eye, the convex, trans- 
 parent part in front forming a window, the cornea, c ; 
 (2) the choroid, e, a black lining, to absorb the super- 
 fluous light ; * and (3) the retina, b, a membrane in 
 
 * Neither white rabbits nor albinos have this black lining, and hence their eight 
 js confused. 
 
220 
 
 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 
 
 which expand fibers of the optic nerve, o. The crys- 
 talline lens, a, brings the rays of light to a focus on 
 the retina. The lens is kept in place by the ciliary 
 processes, g, arranged like the rays in the disk of a 
 passion-flower. Between the cornea and the crys- 
 talline lens is a limpid fluid termed the aqueous 
 humor ; while the vitreous humor a transparent, 
 jelly-like liquid fills the space (h) back of the crys- 
 talline lens. The pupil, k, is a hole in the colored, 
 muscular curtain, i, the iris (rainbow). 
 
 rig. 6* 
 
 The Eyelashes and the Tear-glands. 
 
 Eyelids and Tears. The eyelids are close-fitting 
 shutters to screen the eye. The inner side is lined 
 with a mucous membrane that is exceedingly sensi- 
 tive, and thus aids in protecting the eye from any 
 irritating substance. The looseness of the skin 
 favors swelling from inflammation or the effusion 
 of blood, as in a "black eye." The eyelashes serve 
 as a kind of sieve to exclude the dust, and, with the 
 
STKUCTUKE OF THE RETINA. 
 
 221 
 
 Fig. 
 
 lids, to shield against a blinding light. Just within 
 the lashes are oil glands, which lubricate the edges 
 of the lids, and prevent them from adhering to each 
 other. The tear or lachrymal gland, G, is an oblong 
 body lodged in the bony wall of the orbit. It 
 empties by several ducts upon the inner surface, 
 at the outer edge of the upper eyelid. Thence the 
 tears, washing the eye, run into the 
 lachrymal lake, D, a little basin 
 with a rounded border fitted for 
 their reception. On each side of 
 this lake two canals, (7, (7, drain 
 off the overplus through the duct, 
 B, into the nose. In old age and 
 in disease, these canals fail to con- 
 duct the tears away, and hence the 
 lachrymal lake overflows upon the 
 face. 
 
 Structure of the Retina. In Fig. 
 63 is shown a section of the retina, 
 greatly magnified, since this mem- 
 brane never exceeds -fa of an inch 
 in thickness. On the inner surface 
 next to the vitreous humor, is a 
 lining membrane not shown in the 
 cut. Next to the choroid and com- 
 prising about J the entire thickness 
 of the retina, is a multitude of 
 transparent, colorless, microscopic 
 rods, a, evenly arranged and packed side by side, 
 like the seeds on the disk of a sunflower. Among 
 them, at regular intervals, are interspersed the 
 cones, b. Delicate nerve fibers pass from the ends 
 
 Structure of the Setina. 
 
222 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 
 
 of the rods and cones, each expanding into a granu- 
 lar body, c, thence weaving a mesh, d, and again 
 expanding into the granules, /. Last is a layer of 
 fine nerve-fibers, g, and gray, ganglionic cells, h, 
 like the gray matter of the brain, whence filaments 
 extend into i, the fibers of the optic nerve. 
 
 The layer of rods and cones is to the eye what the 
 bristles, otoliths, and Cortian fibers are to the ear. 
 Indeed, the nerve itself is insensible to light. At 
 the point where it enters the eye, there are no rods 
 
 Fig. 6k. 
 
 and cones, and this is called the blind spot. A sim- 
 ple experiment will illustrate the fact. Hold this 
 book directly before the face, and, closing the left 
 eye, look steadily with the right at the left-hand 
 circle in Fig. 64. Move the book back and forth, 
 and a point will be found where the right-hand 
 circle vanishes from sight. At that moment its 
 light falls upon the spot where the rods and cones 
 are lacking. 
 
 How We See. There is believed to be a kind of 
 universal atmosphere, termed ether, filling all space. 
 This substance is infinitely more subtle than the air, 
 and occupies its pores, as well as those of all other 
 substances, As sound is caused by waves in the 
 
THE USE OF THE CRYSTALLINE LEtfS. 223 
 
 atmosphere, so light is produced by waves in the 
 ether. A lamp-light, for example, sets in motion 
 waves of ether, which pass in through the pupil 
 of the eye to the retina, where the rods and cones 
 transmit the vibration through the optic nerve to 
 the brain, and then the mind perceives the light 
 (note, p. 218). 
 
 The Use of the Crystalline Lens.* A convex 
 lens, as a common burning-glass, bends the rays of 
 
 Flq. 65. 
 
 Diagram showing how an image of an object is formed upon the retina by the 
 Crystalline Lens. 
 
 light which pass through it, so that they meet at a 
 point called the focus. The crystalline lens con- 
 verges the rays of light which enter the eye, and 
 brings them to a focus on the retina, f The healthy 
 lens has a power of changing its convexity so as 
 to adapt I itself to near and to distant objects. 
 (See Fig. 66.) 
 
 * The uses of the eye and ear are dependent upon the principles of Optics and 
 Acoustics. They are therefore best treated in Physics. 
 
 t The cornea and the humors of the eye act in the same manner as the crystalline 
 lens, but not so powerfully. 
 
 t The simplest way of experimenting on the ll adjustment of the eye " is to stick 
 two stout needles upright into a straight piece of wood, not exactly, but nearly in 
 
224 f HE SPECIAL SENSES. 
 
 Near and Far Sight If the lens be too convex, it 
 will bring the rays to a focus before they reach the 
 retina ; if too flat, they will reach the retina before 
 coming to a focus. In either case, the sight will be 
 
 Fig. 66, 
 
 A * 
 
 Adjustment of the Crystalline Lens. A, for far objects, and B,/or near. 
 
 indistinct. A more common defect, however, is in 
 the shape of the globe of the eye, which is either 
 
 Fig. 67. 
 
 Diagram illustrating the position of the Retina. B. in natural sight ; G, in far 
 sight ; and C, in near sight. 
 
 flattened or elongated. In the former case (see G, 
 Fig. 67), objects at a distance can be seen most dis- 
 
 the same straight line, so that, on applying the eye to one end of the piece of wood, 
 one needle (A) shall be seen about six inches off, and the other (S) just on one side 
 of it, at twelve inches distance. If the observer looks at the needle B he will find 
 that he sees it very distinctly, and without the least sense of effort : but the image 
 of A is blurred and more or less double. Now, let him try to make this blurred 
 image of the needle A distinct. He will find he can do so readily enough, but that 
 the act is accompanied by a sense of fatigue. And in proportion as A becomes 
 distinct, B will become blurred. Nor will any effort enable him to see A and B 
 distinctly at the same time. HUXLEY. 
 
COLOR-BLIND PERSONS. 225 
 
 tinctly hence that is called far-sightedness.* In 
 the latter, objects near by are clearer, and hence 
 this is termed near-sightedness. Far-sightedness is 
 remedied by convex glasses ; near-sightedness, by 
 concave. When glasses will improve the sight they 
 should be worn ;f any delay will be liable to injure 
 the eyes, by straining their already impaired power. 
 Cataract is a disease in which there is an opacity of 
 the crystalline lens or its capsules, which obscures 
 the vision. The lens may be caused to be absorbed, 
 or may be removed by a skilful surgeon and the 
 defect remedied by wearing convex glasses. 
 
 Color-blind Persons receive only two of the three 
 elementary color - sensations (green, red, violet). 
 The spectrum appears to them to consist of two 
 decidedly different colors, with a band of neutral tint 
 between. The extreme red end is invisible, and a 
 bright scarlet and a deep green appear alike. They 
 are unable to distinguish between the leaves of a 
 cherry-tree and its fruit by the color of the two, and 
 see no difference between blue and yellow cloth. 
 Whittier, the poet, it is said, cannot tell red from 
 green unless in direct sunlight. Once he patched 
 some damaged wall-paper in his library by matching 
 a green vine in the pattern with one of a bright 
 autumnal crimson. This defect in the eye is often 
 unnoticed, and many railway accidents have doubt- 
 
 * This should not be confounded with the long sight of old people, which is 
 caused by the stiffness of the ciliary muscles, whereby the lens cannot adapt itself to 
 the varying distances of objects. 
 
 t Dr. Henry W. Williams, the celebrated ophthalmologist, says that, in some 
 cases, glasses are more necessary at six or eigjit years of age than to the majority of 
 healthy eyes at sixty. Sometimes children find accidentally that they can see better 
 through grandmother's spectacles. They should then be supplied with their own. 
 
THE SPECIAL 
 
 less happened through an inability to detect the 
 color of signal lights. 
 
 Care of the Eyes. The shape of the eye cannot 
 be changed by rubbing and pressing it, as many 
 suppose, but the sight may thus be fatally injured. 
 Children troubled by near-sightedness should not 
 lean forward at their work, as thereby the vessels 
 of the eye become overcharged with blood. They 
 should avoid fine print, and try, in every possible 
 way, to spare their eyes. If middle age be reached 
 without especial difficulty of sight, the person is 
 comparatively safe. Most cases of squinting are 
 caused by long-sightedness, the muscles being 
 strained in the effort to obtain distinct vision. In 
 childhood, it may be cured by a competent surgeon, 
 who will generally cut the muscle that draws the 
 eye out of place. 
 
 Healthy eyes even should never be used to read 
 fine print or by a dim light. Serious injury may be 
 caused by an imprudence of this kind. Reading 
 upon the cars is also a fruitful source of harm. The 
 lens, striving to adapt itself to the incessantly-vary- 
 ing distance of the page, soon becomes wearied. 
 
 Objects that get into the eye should be removed 
 before they cause inflammation ; rubbing in the 
 mean time only irritates and increases the sensitive- 
 ness. If the eye be shut for a few moments, so as to 
 let the tears accumulate, and the upper lid be then 
 lifted by taking hold of it at the center, the cinder 
 or dust is often washed away at once. Trifling ob- 
 jects can be removed by simply drawing the upper 
 lid as far as possible over the lower one ; when the 
 lid flies back to its place, the friction will detach 
 
CARE OF THE EYES. 
 
 any light substance. If it becomes necessary, turn 
 the upper lid over a pencil, and the intruder may 
 then be wiped off with a handkerchief. "Eye- 
 stones " are a popular delusion. When they seem to 
 take out a cinder, it is only because they raise the 
 eyelid, and allow the tears to wash it out. No one 
 should ever use an eye-wash, except by medical 
 advice. The eye is too delicate an organ to be trifled 
 with, and when any disease is suspected, a reliable 
 physician should be consulted. This is especially 
 necessary, since, when one eye is injured, the other, 
 by sympathy, is liable to become inflamed, and per- 
 haps be destroyed. 
 
 When reading or working, the light should be at 
 one side, and never in front. 
 
 The constant increase of defective eyesight among 
 the pupils in our schools is an alarming fact. Dr. 
 Agnew considers that our school-rooms are fast 
 making us a spectacle-using people. Near-sighted- 
 ness seems to increase from class to class, until, in 
 the upper departments, there are sometimes as high 
 as fifty per cent, of the pupils thus afflicted. The 
 causes are (1), desks so placed as to make the light 
 from the windows shine directly into the eyes of the 
 scholars ; (2), cross-lights from opposite windows ; 
 (3), insufficient light ; (4), small type that strains the 
 eyes ; and (5), the position of the pupil as he bends 
 over his desk or slate, causing the blood to settle in 
 his eyes. All these causes can be remedied ; the 
 position of the desks can be changed ; windows can 
 be shaded, or new ones inserted ; books and news- 
 papers that try the eyes can be rejected ; and every 
 pupil can be taught how to sit at study. 
 
228 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 
 
 \PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 1. Why does a laundress test the temperature of her flat iron by 
 holding it near her cheek ? 
 
 2. When we are cold, why do we spread the palms of our hands 
 before the fire? 
 
 3. What is meant by a " furred tongue " ? 
 
 4. Why has sand or sulphur no taste ? 
 
 5. What was the origin of the word palatable? 
 
 6. Why does a cold in the head injure the flavor of our coffee ? 
 
 7. Name some so-called flavors that are really sensations of touch. 
 
 8. What is the object of the hairs in the nostrils? 
 
 9. What use does the nose subserve in the process of respiration ? 
 
 10. Why do we sometimes hold the nose when we take unpleasant 
 medicine ? 
 
 11. Why was the nose placed over the mouth? 
 
 12. Describe how the hand is adapted to be the instrument of touch ? 
 
 13. Besides being the organ of taste, what use does the tongue sub- 
 serve? 
 
 14. Why is not the act of tasting complete until we swallow? 
 
 15. Why do all things have the same flavor when one's tongue is 
 " furred " by fever ? 
 
 16. Which sense is the more useful hearing or sight ? 
 
 17. Which coat is the white of the eye ? 
 
 18. What makes the difference in the color of eyes ? 
 
 19. Why do we snuff the air when we wish to obtain a distinct 
 smell ? 
 
 20. Why do red-hot iron and frozen mercury (40) produce the same 
 sensation ? 
 
 21. Why can an elderly person drink tea which to a child would be 
 unbearably hot ? 
 
 22. Why does an old man hold his paper so far from his eyes ? 
 
 23. Would you rather be punished on the tips of your fingers than on 
 the palm of your hand ? 
 
 24. What is the object of the eyebrows ? Are the hairs straight ? 
 
 25. What is the use of winking ? 
 
 26. When you wink, do the eyelids touch at once along their whole 
 length? \Vhy? 
 
PRACTICAL QUESTION. 
 
 27. How many rows of hairs are there in the eyebrows? 
 
 28. Do all nations have eyes of the same shape ? 
 
 29. Why does snuff- taking cause a flow of tears ? 
 
 30. Why does a fall cause one to " see stars " ? 
 
 31. Why can we not see with the nose, or smell with the eyes ? 
 
 32. What causes the roughness of a cat's tongue ? 
 
 33. Is the cuticle essential to touch ? 
 
 34. Can one tickle himself ? 
 
 35. Why does a bitter taste often produce vomiting ? 
 
 36. Is there any danger in looking " cross eyed " for fun ? 
 
 37. Should school-room desks face a window ? 
 
 38 Why do we look at a person to whom we are listening atten- 
 tively ? 
 
 39. Do we really feel with our fingers ? 
 
 40. Is the eye a perfect sphere ? (See Fig. 61.) 
 
 41. How often do we wink ? 
 
 42. Why is the interior of a telescope or microscope often painted 
 black V 
 
 43. What is " the apple of the eye " ? 
 
 44. What form of glasses do old people require? 
 
 45. Should we ever wash our ears with cold water? 
 
 46. What is the object of the winding passages in the nose ? 
 
 47. Can a smoker tell in the dark, whether or not his cigar is 
 lighted? 
 
 48. Will a nerve re-unite after it has been cut ? 
 
 49. Will the sight give us an idea of solidity ? * 
 
 * " A case occurred a few years ago, in London, where a friend of my own per- 
 formed an operation upon a young woman who had been born blind, and, though an 
 attempt had been made in early years to cure her, it had failed. She was able just to 
 distinguish large objects, the general shadow, as it were, without any distinct per- 
 ception of form, and to distinguish light from darkness. She could work well with 
 her needle by the touch, and could use her scissors and bodkin and other implements 
 by the training of her hand, so to speak, alone. Well, my friend happened to see 
 her, and he examined her eyes, and told her that he thought he could get her sight 
 restored ; at any rate, it was worth a trial. The operation succeeded ; and, being a 
 man of intelligence and quite aware of the interest of such a case, he carefully 
 studied and observed it ; and he completely confirmed all that had been previously 
 laid down by the experience of similar cases. There was one little incident which 
 will give you an idea of the education which is required for what you would suppose 
 is a thing perfectly simple and obvious. She could not distinguish by sight the 
 things that she was perfectly familiar with by the touch, at least when they were first 
 presented to her eyes. She could not recognize even a pair of scissors. Now, you 
 
230 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 
 
 50. Why can a skillful surgeon determine the condition of the brain 
 and other internal organs by examining the interior of the eye ? * 
 
 51. Is there any truth in the idea that the image of the murderer can 
 be seen in the eye of the dead victim ? 
 
 would have supposed that a pair of scissors, of all things in the world, having been 
 continually used hy her, and their form having become perfectly familiar to her 
 hands, would have been most readily recognized by her sight; and yet she did not 
 know what they were; she had not an idea until she was told, and then she laughed, 
 as she said, at her own stupidity. No stupidity at all ; she had never learned it, and 
 it was one of those things which she could not know without learning. One of the 
 earliest cases of this kind was related by the celebrated Cheselden, a surgeon of the 
 early part of last century. Cheselden relates how a youth just in this condition had 
 been accustomed to play with a cat and a dog ; but for some time after he attained 
 his sight he never could tell which was which, and used to be continually making 
 mistakes. One day, being rather ashamed of himself for having called the cat the 
 dog, he took up the cat in his arms and looked at her very attentively for some time, 
 stroking her all the while ; and in this way he associated the impression derived 
 from the touch, and made himself master (so to speak) of the whole idea of the 
 animal. He then put the cat down, saying, 'Now, puss, I sHall know you another 
 time.' " Carpenter. 
 
 * This is done by means of an instrument called the ophthalmoscope. Light is 
 thrown into the eye with a concave mirror, and the interior of the organ examined 
 with a lens. 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 ~T rALUE of Health. The body is the instrument 
 V which the mind uses. If it be dulled or nicked, 
 the effect of the best labor will be impaired. The 
 grandest gifts of mind or fortune are comparatively 
 valueless unless there be a healthy body to use and 
 enjoy them. The beggar, sturdy and brave with his 
 out-door life, is really happier than the rich man in 
 his palace with the gout to twinge him amid his 
 pleasures. The day has gone by when delicacy is 
 considered an element of beauty. Weakness is 
 timid and irresolute ; strength is full of force and 
 energy. Weakness walks or creeps ; strength speeds 
 the race, wins the goal, and rejoices in the victory. 
 
 False Ideas of Disease. It was formerly supposed 
 that diseases were caused by evil spirits, who en- 
 tered the body and deranged its action. Incanta- 
 tions, spells, etc., were resorted to in order to drive 
 them out. By others, disease was thought to come 
 arbitrarily, or as a special visitation of an over-ruling 
 power. Hence, it was to be removed by fasting and 
 prayer. Modern science teaches us that disease is 
 not a thing, but a state. When our food is properly 
 assimilated, the waste matter promptly excreted, 
 and all the organs work in harmony, we are well ; 
 
232 CONCLUSION. 
 
 when any derangement of these functions occurs, 
 we are sick. Sickness is discord, as health is con- 
 cord. If we abuse or misuse any instrument, we 
 impair its ability to produce a perfect harmony. A 
 suffering body is simply the penalty of violated 
 law. 
 
 Prevention of Disease. Doubtless a large propor- 
 tion of the ills which now afflict and rob us of so 
 much time and pleasure might easily be avoided. A 
 proper knowledge and observance of hygienic laws 
 would greatly lessen the number of such diseases as 
 consumption, catarrh, gout, rheumatism, dyspepsia, 
 scrofula, etc. There are parts of England where 
 one-half the children die before they are five years 
 old. Every physiologist knows that at least nine- 
 tenths of these lives could be saved by an observance 
 of the simple laws of health. Professor Bennet, in a 
 lecture at Edinburgh, estimated that 100,000 persons 
 die annually in Great Britain from causes easily 
 preventable. 
 
 With the advance of science, the causes of many 
 diseases have been determined. Vaccination has 
 been found to prevent or mitigate the ravages of 
 small-pox. Scurvy, formerly so fatal among sailors 
 that it was deemed " a mysterious infliction of 
 Divine Justice against which man strives in vain," 
 is now entirely avoided by the use of vegetables or 
 lime-juice. Cholera, whose approach still strikes 
 dread, and for which there is no known specific, is 
 but the penalty for filthy streets, bad drainage, and 
 over-crowded tenements, and may be controlled, if 
 not prevented, by suitable sanitary measures. It 
 was, no doubt, the intention that we should wear out 
 
CURE OF DISEASE. 233 
 
 by the general decay of all the organs,* rather than 
 by the giving out of any single part, and that all 
 should work together harmoniously until the vital 
 force is exhausted. 
 
 Cure of Disease. The first step in the cure of any 
 disease is to obey the law of health which has been 
 violated. If medicine be taken, it is not to destroy 
 the disease, since that is not a thing to be destroyed, 
 but to hold the deranged action in check while na- 
 ture repairs the injury, and again brings the system 
 into harmonious movement. This tendency of na- 
 ture is our chief reliance. The best physicians are 
 coming to have diminished confidence in medicine 
 itself, and to place greater dependence upon sanitary 
 and hygienic measures, and the efforts which nature 
 always makes to repair injuries and soothe dis- 
 ordered action. They endeavor only to give her a 
 fair chance, and sometimes to assist her by the in- 
 telligent employment of proper medicines. The in- 
 discriminate use of patent nostrums and sovereign 
 remedies of whose constituents we know nothing, 
 and by which powerful drugs are imbibed at hap- 
 hazard, cannot be too greatly deprecated, f When 
 
 * " So long as the phenomena of waste and repair are in harmony so long, in 
 other words, as the builder follows the scavenger so long man exists in integrity 
 and repair just, indeed, as houses exist. Derange nutrition, and at once degenera- 
 tion, or rather let us say, alteration begins. Alas ! that we are so ignorant that there 
 are many things about our house, which, seeing them weaken, we know not how to 
 strengthen. About the brick and the mortar, the frame and the rafters, we are not 
 unlearned ; but within are many complexities, many chinks and crannies, full in 
 themselves of secondary chinks and crannies, and these so small, so deep, so re- 
 cessed, that it happens every day that the destroyer settles himself in some place so 
 obscure, that, while he kills, he laughs at defiance. You or 1 meet with an accident 
 in our watch. We consult the watchmaker, and he repairs the injury. If we were 
 all that watchmakers, like ourselves, sh'ould be, a man could be made to keep time 
 until he died from old age or annihilating accident. This I firmly and fully believe." 
 Odd Hours of a Physician. 
 
 t A traveler in Africa states that be was surprised and delighted to find, in the 
 
234 CONCLUSION. 
 
 one needs medicine, he needs also a competent phy- 
 sician to advise its use. 
 
 Death and Decay. By a mystery we cannot under- 
 stand, life is linked with death, and out of the decay 
 of our bodies they, day by day, spring afresh. At 
 last the vital force which has held death and decay 
 in bondage, and compelled them to minister to our 
 growth, and serve the needs of our life, faints and 
 yields the struggle. These powers which have so 
 long time been our servants, gather about our dying 
 couch, and their last offices usher us into the new 
 life and the grander possibilities of the world to 
 come. This last birth, we who see the fading, not 
 the dawning, life, call death. 
 
 " O Father! grant Thy love divine, 
 To make these mystic temples Thine, 
 When wasting age and wearying strife 
 Have sapp'd the leaning walls of life ; 
 When darkness gathers over all, 
 And the last tottering pillars fall, 
 Take the poor dust Thy mercy warms, 
 And mold it into heavenly forms." 
 
 Holmes. 
 
 possession of the chief medicineman of one of the interior tribes a carefully pre- 
 served copy of the New York Tribune. On inquiry, he found that it was exceedingly 
 valuable, as a minute fragment of it either rubbed on the outside or taken inwardly 
 was a sovereign remedy for as long a list of diseases as ever graced the advertisement 
 of an American pain-killer. The mania which some people possess for tippling with 
 patent medicines is no more sensible than the trust of the poor savage in a .New York 
 iaily. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
HINTS 
 
 ABOUT 
 
 THE SICK-ROOM. 
 
 "\ SICK-ROOM should be the lightest and cheeriest in the house. 
 /*- A small, close, dark bedroom or a recess is bad enough for one 
 in health, but unendurable for a sick person. In a case of fever, and 
 in many acute diseases, it should be remote from the noise of the 
 family ; but when one is recovering from an accident, and in all 
 attacks where quiet is not needed, the patient may be where he can 
 amuse himself by watching the movements of the household, or look- 
 ing out upon the street. 
 
 The ventilation must be thorough. Bad air will poison the sick and 
 the well alike. A fireplace is, therefore, desirable. Windows should 
 open easily. By carefully protecting the patient with extra blankets, 
 the room may be frequently aired. If there be no direct draught, much 
 may be done to change the air, by simply swinging an outer door to 
 and fro many times. 
 
 A bare floor, with strips of carpet here and there to deaden noise, is 
 cleanest, and keeps the air freest from dust. Cane-bottomed chairs 
 are preferable to upholstered ones. All unnecessary furniture should 
 be removed out of the way. A straw bed or a mattress is better than 
 feathers. The bed-hangings, lace curtains, etc., should be taken down. 
 Creaking hinges should be oiled. Sperm candles are better than 
 kerosene lamps. 
 
 Never whisper in a sick-room. All necessary conversation rhould be 
 carried on in the usual tone of voice. Do not call a physician 
 unnecessarily, but if one be employed obey his directions implicitly. 
 
238 WHAT TO DO 
 
 Never give nostrums over-officious friends may suggest. Do not 
 allow visitors to see the patient, except it be necessary. Never bustle 
 about the room, nor go on tip-toe, but move in a quiet, ordinary way. 
 Do not keep the bottles iti the continued sight of the sick person. 
 Never let drinking-water stand in the room. 
 
 Do not raise the patient's head to drink, but have a cup with a long 
 spout, or use a bent tube, or even a straw. Do not tempt the appe- 
 tite when it craves no food. Bathe frequently, but let the physician 
 prescribe the method. Give written directions to the watchers. Have 
 all medicines carefully marked. Remove all soiled clothing, etc., at 
 once from the room. Change the linen much oftener than in health. 
 When you wish to change the sheets, and the patient is unable to rise, 
 roll the under sheet tightly lengthwise to the middle of the bed ; put 
 on the clean sheet, with half its width folded up, closely to the other 
 roll ; lift the patient on to the newly-made part, remove the soiled 
 sheet, and th. n spread out the clean one. 
 
 DISINFECTANTS. 
 
 An excellent disinfectant may be made by dissolving in a pail of 
 water any one of the three following : (i) a fluid ounce of carbolic 
 acid ; (2) half an ounce of permanganate of potash ; (3) a pound of 
 green vitriol. The solution of the first kind may be sprinkled on the 
 floor or on the bedding, or allowed to evaporate in the room. Bed- 
 ding may be washed in the solution of the second substance. Ill 
 odors in the sick-room will be instantly removed by evaporating a few 
 drops of carbolic acid. Vaults, drains, etc., may be purified by the 
 solution of the third kind. Chloride of lime may be used for the same 
 purpose. 
 
 WHAT TO DO TILL THE DOCTOR 
 COMES. 
 
 Burns. When a person's clothes catch fire, quickly lay^im on the 
 ground, wrap him in a coat, mat, shawl, carpet, or in his own clothes, 
 as best you can to extinguish the fire. Pour on plenty of water till 
 the half-burned clothing is cooled. Then carry the suffe/er to a warm 
 
TILL THE DOCTOR COMES. 239 
 
 room, lay him on a table or a carpeted floor, and with a sharp knife or 
 scissors remove his clothing. 
 
 The treatment of a burn consists in protecting from the air.* An 
 excellent remedy is to apply soft cloths kept wet with sweet oil, or 
 cold -water which contains all the " cooking soda " that it will dissolve. 
 Afterward dress the wound with carbolic acid salve. Wrap a dry 
 bandage upon the outside. Then remove the patient to a bed and 
 warmly cover.f Apply cold water to a small burn till the smart 
 ceases, and then cover with ointment. Do not remove the dressings 
 until they become stiff and irritating ; then take them from a part at a 
 time ; dress and cover again quickly. 
 
 Cuts, Wounds, etc. The method of stopping the bleeding has 
 been described on page 126. If an artery is severed, a physician 
 should be called at once. If the bleeding is not profuse, apply cold 
 water until it ceases, dry the skin, draw the edges of the wound to- 
 gether, and secure them by strips of adhesive plaster. Protect with 
 an outer bandage. This dressing should remain for several days. In 
 the meantime wet it frequently with cold water to subdue inflamma- 
 tion. When suppuration begins, wash occasionally with tepid water 
 and Castile soap. 
 
 Dr. Woodbridge, of New York, in a recent address, gave the follow- 
 ing directions as to " What to do in case of a sudden wound when the 
 surgeon is not at hand." " An experienced person would naturally 
 close the lips of the wound as quickly as possible, and apply a band- 
 age. If the wound is bleeding freely, but no artery is spouting blood, 
 the first thing to be done is to wash it with water at an ordinary tem- 
 perature. To every pint of water add either five grains of corrosive 
 sublimate, or two and a half teaspoonfuls of carbolic acid. If the acid 
 is used, add two table-spoonfuls of glycerine, to prevent its irritating 
 the wound. If there is neither of these articles in the house, add four 
 table-spoonfuls of borax to the water. Wash the wound, close it, and 
 apply a compress of a folded square of cotton or linen. Wet it in the 
 
 * It is a great mistake to suppose that salves will " draw out the fire " of a burn, 
 or heal a bruise or cut. The vital force must unite the divided tissue by the deposit 
 of material, and the formation of new cells. 
 
 t If a burn be near a joint or on the face, even if small, let a doctor see it, and do 
 not be in any hurry about having it healed. Remember that with all the care and 
 skill which can be used, contractions will sometimes take place. The danger to life 
 from a burn or scald is not in proportion to its severity, but to its extent- that is, a 
 small part, such as a hand or a foot or a face, may be burned so deeply as to cripple it 
 for life, and yet not much endanger the general health ; but a slight amount of burn- 
 ing, a mere scorching, over two-thirds of the body, may prove fatal. Hoje. 
 
240 WHAT TO DO 
 
 solution used for washing the wound, and bandage down quickly and 
 firmly. If the bleeding is profuse, a sponge dipped in very hot water 
 and wrung out in a dry cloth should be applied as quickly as possible. 
 If this is not available, use ice, or cloths wrung out in ice water. If a 
 large vein or artery is spouting, it must be stopped at once by com- 
 pression. This may be done by a rubber tube wound around the arm 
 tightly above the elbow or above the knee, where the pulse is felt to 
 beat ; or an improvised ' tourniquet ' may be used. A hard apple or 
 a stone is placed in a folded handkerchief, and rolled firmly in place. 
 This bandage is applied so that the hard object rests on the point 
 where the artery beats, and is then tied loosely around the arm. A 
 stick is thrust through the loose bandage and turned till the flow of 
 blood ceases." 
 
 Bleeding from the Nose is rarely dangerous, and often beneficial. 
 When it becomes necessary to stop it, sit upright and compress the 
 nostrils between the thumb and forefinger, or with the thumb press 
 upward upon the upper lip. A piece of ice, a snow-ball, or a com- 
 press wet with cold water may be applied to the back of the neck. 
 
 A Sprain is often more painful and dangerous than a dislocation. 
 Wrap the injured part in flannels wrung out of hot water, and cover 
 with a dry bandage, or, better, with oiled silk. Liniments and stimu- 
 lating applications are injurious in the first stages, but useful when 
 the inflammation is subdued. Do not let the limb hang down. It must 
 be kept quiet, even after all pain has ceased. If used too quickly, 
 dangerous consequences may ensue. 
 
 Diarrhea, Cholera Infantum, etc., are often caused by eating 
 indigestible food or by checking of the perspiration ; but more fre- 
 quently by peculiar conditions of the atmosphere, especially in large 
 cities. If the limbs are cold, give a hot bath, and rub thoroughly. 
 If possible, go to bed and lie quietly on the back. Rest is better than medi- 
 rine. If there be pain, apply repeatedly to the abdomen flannels 
 wrung out of hot water. If medicine is needed, take fifteen drops of 
 peppermint and thirty of paregoric in a wine-glass of warm water ; or 
 an adult may take twenty drops of spirits of camphor and thirty to 
 forty drops of laudanum. Laudanum should rarely be given to an 
 infant, except by a physician's order. Eat no fruit, vegetables, pastry, 
 or pork. If much thirst exist, give small pieces. of ice, or cold tea or 
 toast-water. 
 
 Croup. Send at once for a doctor. Induce vomiting by syrup of 
 ipecac or mustard and water. Put the feet in a hot bath. Apply hot 
 fomentations rapidly r&newed to the chest and throat. 
 
TILL THE DOCTOR COMES. 241 
 
 Sore Throat. Wrap the neck in a wet bandage, and cover with 
 red flannel or a woolen stocking. Gargle the throat frequently with 
 a solution of a tea spoonful of salt in a pint of water, or thirty grains 
 of chlorate of potash in a wine-glass of water. 
 
 Fits, Apoplexy, Epilepsy, etc, Loosen the clothing, and raise 
 the head and shoulders, but do not bend the head forward on the 
 neck. Apply cold to the head, and heat to the feet. Follow with an 
 emetic. In a child, a full hot bath is excellent. When there are con- 
 vulsions, prevent the patient from injuring himself; especially put 
 something in his mouth to keep him from biting his tongue. 
 
 Toothache and Earache. Insert in the hollow tooth, or in the 
 
 ear, cotton wet with laudanum, spirits of camphor, or chloroform. 
 When the nerve is exposed, wet it with creosote or carbolic acid. 
 Hot cloths or a hot brick wrapped in cloth and held to the face will 
 often relieve the toothache. In a similar manner treat the ear, wetting 
 the cloth in hot water, and letting the vapor pass into the ear. 
 
 Choking. Ordinarily a smart blow between the shoulders, causing 
 a compression of the chest and a sudden expulsion of the air from the 
 lungs, will throw out the substance. If the person can swallow, and 
 the object be small, give plenty of bread or potato, and water to wash 
 it down. Press upon the tongue with a spoon, when, perhaps, you 
 may see the offending body, and draw it out with a blunt pair of scis- 
 sors. If neither of these remedies avail, give an emetic of syrup of 
 ipecac or mustard and warm water. 
 
 Frost Bites are frequently so sudden that one is not aware when 
 they occur. In Canada it is not uncommon for persons meeting in 
 the street to say, " Mind, sir, your nose looks whitish." The blood 
 cools and runs slowly, and the blood-vessels become choked and 
 swollen. Keep from the heat. Rub the part quickly with snow, if 
 necessary for hours, till the natural color is restored. If one is 
 benumbed with cold, take him into a cold room, remove the wet 
 clothes, rub the body dry, cover with blankets, and give a little warm 
 tea or other suitable drink. On recovering, let him be brought to 
 a fire gradually.* 
 
 Fevers, and many acute diseases, are often preceded by a loss of 
 appetite, headache, shivering, "pains in the bones," indisposition to 
 
 * If you are caught in a snow-storm, look for a snow-bank in the lee of a hill, or 
 a wood out of the wind, or a hollow in the plain filled with snow. Scrape out a 
 hole big enough to creep into, and the drifting snow will keep you warm. Men and 
 animals have been preserved after days of such imprisonment Remember that if 
 you give way to sleep in the open field, you will never awake, 
 
242 WHAT TO DO 
 
 work, etc. In such cases, sponge with tepid water, and rub the body 
 till all aglow. Go to bed, place hot bricks to the feet, take nothing 
 but a little gruel or beef tea, and drink moderately of warm, cream-of- 
 tartar water. If you do not feel better the next morning, call a phy- 
 sician. If that be impossible, take a dose of castor-oil or Epsom salt. 
 
 Sun-stroke is a sudden prostration caused by intense heat. The 
 same effect is produced by the burning rays of the sun and the fierce 
 fire of a furnace. When a person falls under such circumstances, 
 place your hand on his chest. If the skin be cool and moist, it is not 
 a sun-stroke; but if it be dry and "biting hot," there can be no mis- 
 take. Time is now precious. At once carry the sufferer to the nearest 
 pump or hydrant, and dash cold water on the head and chest until 
 consciousness is restored. Dr. H. C. Wood. 
 
 To prevent sun-stroke, wear a porous hat, and in the top of it place 
 a wet handkerchief; also drink freely of water, not ice cold, to induce 
 abundant perspiration. 
 
 Asphyxia, or apparent death, whether produced by drowning, suf- 
 focation, bad air, or coal gas, requires very similar treatment. Send 
 at once for blankets, dry clothing, and a physician. Treat the sufferer 
 upon the spot, if the weather be not too unfavorable. 
 
 1. Loosen the clothing about the neck and chest. 
 
 2. Turn the patient on his face, open the mouth, draw out the 
 tongue, and cleanse the nostrils, so as to clear the air-passages. 
 
 3. Place the patient on his back, grasp his arms firmly above the 
 elbows, and pull them gently upward until they meet over the head, in 
 order to draw air into the lungs. Then bring the arms back by the side, 
 to expel the air. Repeat the process about fifteen times per minute. 
 Alternate pressure upon the chest, and blowing air into the mouth 
 through a quill or with a pair of bellows, may aid your efforts. Excite 
 the nostrils with snuff or smelling salts, or by passing hartshorn under 
 the nose. Do not cease effort while there is hope. Life has been 
 restored after five hours of suspended animation. 
 
 4. When respiration is established, wrap the patient in dry, warm 
 clothes, and rub the limbs under the blankets or over the dry clothing 
 energetically toward the heart. Apply heated flannels, bottles of hot 
 water, etc., to the limbs, and mustard plasters* to the chest. 
 
 Foreign Bodies in the Ear. Insects may be killed by dropping 
 a little sweet oil into the ear. Beans, peas, matches, etc., may gener- 
 
 * The best mustard poultice is the paper plaster now sold by every druggist. It 
 is always ready, and can be carried by a traveler. It has only to be dipped hi 
 water, and applied at once. 
 
TILL THE DOCTOR COMES. 243 
 
 ally be removed by caittiously syringing the ear out with tepid water. 
 Do not use much force lest the tympanum be injured. If this fail, dry 
 the ear, stick the end of a little linen swab into thick glue, let the 
 patient lie on one side, put this into the ear until it touches the sub- 
 stance, keep it there three-quarters of an hour while it hardens, and 
 then draw them all out together. Be careful that the glue does not touch 
 the skin at any point, and that you are at work upon the right ear. 
 Children often deceive one as to the ear which is affected. 
 
 Foreign Bodies in the Nose, such as beans, cherry-pits, etc., 
 may frequently be removed by closing the opposite nostril, and then 
 blowing into the child's mouth forcibly. The air, unable to escape 
 except through the other nostril, will sweep the obstruction before it. 
 
244 ANTIDOTES TO POISONS. 
 
 ANTIDOTES TO POISONS. 
 
 Acids : Nitric (aqua fortis), hydrochloric (muriatic), sulphuric (oil of 
 vitriol), oxalic, etc. Drink a little water to weaken the acid, or, still 
 better, take strong soap-suds. Stir some magnesia in water, and 
 drink freely. If the magnesia be not at hand, use chalk, soda, lime, 
 whiting, soap, or even knock a piece of plaster from the wall, and 
 scraping off the white outside coat pound it fine, mix with milk or' 
 water, and drink at once. Follow with warm water, or flax-seed tea. 
 
 Alkalies : Potash, soda, ley, ammonia (hartshorn). Drink weak vin- 
 egar or lemon juice. Follow with castor or linseed oil, or thick 
 cream. 
 
 Antimony : Antimonial Wine, tartar emetic, etc. Drink strong, 
 green tea, and in the mean time chew the dry leaves. The direct anti- 
 dote is a solution of nut-gall or oak -bark. 
 
 Arsenic : Cobalt, Sck&Us green, Jly-pou'der, ratsbane, etc. Give plenty 
 of milk, -whites of eggs, or induce vomiting by mustard and warm 
 water, or even soap-suds. 
 
 Bite of a Snake or a Mad Dog 1 . Tie a bandage above the 
 wound, if on a limb. Wash the bite thoroughly, and, if possible, let the 
 person suck it strongly. Rub some lunar caustic or potash in the 
 wound, or heat the point of a small poker or a steel-sharpener white 
 hot, and press it into the bite for a moment. It will scarcely cause 
 pain, and will be effectual in arresting the absorption of the poison, 
 unless a vein has been struck. \ 
 
 Copper: Sulphate of copper (blue vitriol), acetate of copper (verdigris). * 
 Take whites of eggs or soda. Use milk freely. 
 
 Laudanum : Opium, paregoric, soothing cordial, soothing syntp, etc. \ 
 Give an emetic at once of syrup of ipecac, or mustard and warm 
 water, etc. After vomiting, use strong coffee freely. Keep the patient 
 aivake by pinching, pulling the hair, walking about, dashing water in 
 the face, and any expedient possible. 
 
 Lead: White lead, acetate of lead (sugar of lead), red lead. Give an 
 emetic of syrup of ipecac, or mustard and warm water, or salt and 
 water. Follow with a dose of Epsom salt. 
 
 Matches : Phosphorus. Give magnesia, chalk, whiting, or even 
 flour in water, and follow with mucilaginous drinks. 
 
 Mercury ' Calomel, chloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate, bug 
 poison), red precipitate. Drink milk copiously. Take the whites of 
 eggs, or even stir flour in water, and use freely. 
 
ANTIDOTES. 245 
 
 Nitrate Of Silver (lunar caustic). Give salt and water, and follow 
 with castor-oil. 
 
 Nitrate of Potash (salpetre, nitre). Give mustard and warm 
 water, or syrup of ipecac. Follow with flour and water, and cream or 
 sweet oil. 
 
 Pmssic Acid (oil of bitter almonds), cyanide of potassiiim. Take a 
 tea-spoonful of hartshorn in a pint of water. Apply smelling salts 
 to the nose, and dash cold water in the face. 
 
 Sting" of an Insect. Apply a little hartshorn or spirits of cam- 
 phor, or soda moistened with water, or a paste of clean earth and 
 saliva. 
 
 Sulphate Of Iron (green vitriol). Give syrup of ipecac, or mus- 
 tard and warm water, or any convenient emetic; then magnesia and 
 water. 
 
QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 
 
 The questions include the notes. The figures refer to the pages. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 ILLUSTRATE the value of physiological knowledge. Why should 
 physiology be studied in youth? When are our habits formed? How 
 do habits help us? Why should children prize the lessons of expe- 
 rience. How does Nature punish a violation of her laws? Name 
 some of Nature's laws. What is the penalty of their violation? Name 
 some bad habits and their punishments. Some good habits and their 
 rewards. How do the young ruin their health? Compare one's con- 
 stitution with a deposit in the bank. Can one in youth lay up health 
 as he can money for middle or old age? (See Conclusion^) Is not the 
 preservation of one's health a moral duty? What is suicide ? 
 
 THE SKELETON. 
 
 How many bones are there in the body? Is the number fixed? 
 Is the length of the different bones proportional ? What is an organ ? 
 A function ? Name the three uses of the bones. Why do the bones 
 have such different shapes? Why are certain bones hollow? Round ? 
 Illustrate. 
 
 6. What is the composition of bone? How does it vary? How 
 can you remove the mineral matter? The animal matter? Why 
 is a burned bone white and porous? What is the use of each of the 
 constituents of a bone? What food do dogs find in bones? W T hat is 
 " bone black " ? 
 
 7. What is ossification? Why are not the bones of children as 
 
THE SKELETON. 247 
 
 easily broken as those of aged persons? Why do they unite so much 
 quicker? What are the fontanelles? Describe the structure of a bone. 
 
 8. What is the object of the filling? Why does the amount vary in 
 different parts of a bone? What is the appearance of a bone seen 
 through a microscope? What is the periosteum? Is a bone once 
 removed ever restored ? 
 
 9. What are the lacunae? The Haversian canals? Why so called? 
 Ans. From their discoverer, Havers. Define a bone.* What occupies 
 the lacunse?- Ans. The bone-cells (osteoblasts). How do bones grow? 
 Illustrate. How does a broken bone heal ? How rapidly is bone 
 produced ? Illustrate. 
 
 10. Objects of "splints " ? Describe how a joint is packed. Lubri- 
 cated. How are the bones tied together? What is a tissue? Illus- 
 trate. 
 
 11. Name the three general divisions of the bones. What is the 
 object of the skull ? Which bone is movable? How is the lower jaw 
 hinged? 
 
 12. Describe the construction of the skull. What is a suture? Tell 
 how the peculiar form and structure of the skull adapt it for its use. 
 Illustrate the impenetrability of the skull. Describe the experiment 
 of the balls. What does it show ? 
 
 13. What two cavities are in the trunk ? Name its principal bones. 
 Describe the spine. What is the object of the processes ? Of the 
 pads? Why is a man shorter at night than in the morning ? 
 
 14. Describe the perfection of the spine. The articulation of the 
 skull with the spine. Why is the atlas so called ? 
 
 15. Describe the ribs. What is the natural form of the chest? Why 
 is the thorax or chest made in separate pieces? How does the oblique 
 position of the ribs aid in respiration ? (See note, p. 80.) 
 
 16. How do the hip-bones give solidity? What two sets of limbs 
 branch from the trunk ? State their mutual resemblance. 
 
 17. Name the bones of the shoulder. Describe the collar-bone. 
 The shoulder-blade. Can you describe the indirect articulation of the 
 shoulder-blade with the trunk ? Name the bones of the arm. Describe 
 the shoulder-joint. 
 
 18. The elbow joint. The wrist. 
 
 19. Name the bones of the hand. The fingers. Describe their 
 
 * Bone structure may be summarized as follows : A bone is a collection of 
 Haversian elements or rods. An Haversian element consists of a tube surrounded 
 by lamella, which contain lacunas, connected by canalic:di.Dr. T. B. Stowell. 
 
248 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 
 
 articulations. What gives the thumb its freedom of motion? In 
 what lies the perfection of the ha.nd ? 
 
 20. Describe the hip-joint. What gives the upper limbs more free- 
 dom of motion than the Iqwer ? How does the pressure of the air aid 
 us in walking? Illustrate. How do the gestures of the hand enforce 
 our ideas and feelings? 
 
 21. Name the bones of the lower limbs. Describe the knee-joint. 
 The patella. What is the use of the fibula? Can you show how the 
 lower extremity of the fibula, below its juncture with the tibia, is pro- 
 longed to form a part of the ankle-joint ? Name the bones of the foot. 
 What is the use of the arch of the foot? What makes the step elastic? 
 
 22. Describe the action of the foot as we step. In graceful walking 
 should the toes or the heel touch the ground first? What are the 
 causes of deformed feet? What is the natural position of the big toe? 
 Did you ever see a big toe lying in a straight line with the foot, as 
 shown in statuary and paintings? How should we have our boots 
 and shoes made? What are the effects of high heels? Of narrow 
 heels? Of narrow toes ? Of tight-laced boots? Of thin soles? What 
 are the rickets ? Cause of this disease ? Cure ? 
 
 23-24. Causes of spinal curvature? Cure? What is a felon? 
 Cure? Cause of bow-legs ? Cure? Is there any provision for reme- 
 dying defects in the body? Name one. What is the correct position 
 in sitting at one's desk? Is there any necessity for walking and sit- 
 ting erect ? Describe the bad effects of a stooping position. \Vhat is 
 a sprain? Why does it need special care? What is a dislocation? 
 
 THE MUSCLES. 
 
 29. WHAT is the use of the skeleton? How is it concealed? Why 
 is it the image of death? What are the muscles? How many are 
 there? What peculiar property have they? Name other properties 
 of muscles. Ans. Tonicity, elasticity. 
 
 30. How are they arranged ? Where is the biceps ? The triceps ? 
 How do the muscles move the limbs? Illustrate. What is the cause 
 of squinting? Cure? (See p. 226.) Name and define the two kinds 
 of muscles. Illustrate each. 
 
 31. What is the structure of a muscle? Of what is a fibril itself 
 
THE MUSCLES. 249 
 
 composed ? How does the peculiar construction of the muscle confer 
 strength ? 
 
 32. Describe the tendons. What is their use? Illustrate the 
 advantages of this mode of attachment. 
 
 33. What two special arrangements of the tendons in the hand ? 
 Their use ? How is the rotary motion of the eye obtained ? 
 
 34. What is a lever? Describe the three classes of levers. Illus- 
 trate each. Describe the head as a lever. What parts of the body 
 illustrate the three kinds of levers? 
 
 35. Give an illustration of the second class of levers. The third 
 class. Why is the Tendon of Achilles so named ? What is the ad- 
 vantage of the third class of levers? Why used in the hand? What 
 class of lever is the lower jaw? 
 
 36. What advantages are gained by the enlargement of the bones at 
 the joints? Illustrate. How do we stand erect? Is it an involuntary 
 act? Why cannot a child walk at once, as many young animals do ? 
 
 37. Why can we not hold up the head easily when we walk on " all 
 fours"? Why cannot an animal stand erect as man does? Describe 
 the process of walking. Show that walking is a process of falling. 
 
 38. Describe the process of running. What causes the swinging of 
 the hand in walking? Why are we shorter when walking?* Why 
 does a person when lost often go in a circle? In which direction does 
 one always turn in that case?f 
 
 39. What is the muscular sense? Its value? Value of exercise ? 
 
 40. Is there any danger of violent exercise? For what purpose 
 should we exercise? Should exercise be in the open air? What is 
 the rule for exercise? Is a young person excusable, who leads a 
 sedentary life, and yet takes no daily out-door exercise ? What will 
 be nature's penalty for such a violation of her law? Will a postpone- 
 ment of the penalty show that we have escaped it? Ought a scholar 
 to study during the time of recess? Will a promenade in the vitiated 
 air of the school-room furnish suitable exercise? What is the best 
 time for taking exercise? 
 
 * Stand a boy erect against a wall. Mark his height with a stick. Now have 
 him step off a part of a pace, and then several whole paces. Next, let him close his 
 eyes, and walk to the wall again. He will be perceptibly lower than the stick, until 
 he straightens up once more from a walking position. 
 
 t Take several boys into a smooth grass lot. Set up a stick at a distance for 
 them to walk toward. Test the boys, to find which are left-handed, or right-handed ; 
 which left-legged or right-legged. Then blindfold the boys and let them walk, as 
 they think, toward the mark. See who varies toward the right, and who turns to 
 the left. 
 
250 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 
 
 41. Who can exercise before breakfast? What are the advantages 
 of the different kinds of exercise ? Should we not walk more ? What 
 is the general influence upon the body of vigorous exercise? 
 
 42-3. State some of the wonders of the muscles. What is the St. 
 Vitus's dance ? Cure ? What is the locked-jaw ? Causes ? The 
 gout? Cause? Cure? The rheumatism ? Its two forms ? 
 
 44-5. Peculiarity of the acute ? Danger ? Is there any particular 
 mode of treating it? What is the lumbago? Give instances. What 
 is a ganglion ? Its cure ? A bursa ? 
 
 THE SKIN. 
 
 49. WHAT are the uses of the skin ? Describe its adaptation to its 
 place. What is its function as an organ ? Describe the structure of 
 the skin. The sensitiveness of the cutis. The insensitiveness of the 
 cuticle. 
 
 50. How is the skin constantly changing? The shape and number 
 of the cells? Value of the cuticle? How is the cuticle formed? 
 Ans. By secretion from the cutis. 
 
 51. What is the complexion? Its cause? Why is a scar white? 
 What is the cause of "tanning"? What are freckles? Albinos? 
 Describe the action of the sun on the skin. Why are the hairs and 
 the nails spoken of under the head of the skin ? 
 
 52. Uses of the hair? Its structure? What is the hair-bulb? What 
 is it called? How does a hair grow? When can it be restored, if 
 destroyed? What is the danger of hair-dyes? Are they of any real 
 value? 
 
 53. How can the hair stand on end? How do horses move their 
 skin? Is there any feeling in a hair? Illustrate the indestructibility 
 of the hair. 
 
 54. What are the uses of the nails ? How do the nails grow ? 
 What is the mucous membrane? Its composition ? 
 
 55. The connective tissue? Why so called? What use does it sub- 
 serve ? What is its character? 
 
 56. How does the fat exist in the body? Its uses? State the 
 various uses of membrane in the body. Where is there no fat? Why 
 are the teeth spoken of in connection with the mucous membrane? 
 Name and describe the foui kinds of teeth. 
 
RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 251 
 
 57. What are the milk teeth ? Describe them. What teeth appear 
 first? When do the permanent teeth appear? Describe their 
 growth. Which one comes first ? Last ? 
 
 58. Describe the structure of the teeth. 
 
 59. How are the teeth fitted in the jaw? Why do the teeth decay? 
 What care should be taken of the teeth? What caution should be 
 observed ? 
 
 60. What are the oil glands ? Use of this secretion ? What are the 
 perspiratory glands ? State their number. Their total length. 
 
 61. What are the "pores" of the skin? What is the perspiration ? 
 What is the constitution of the perspiration? Illustrate its value. 
 Name the three uses of the skin. 
 
 62. Illustrate the absorbing power of the skin. Why are cosmetics 
 and hair-dyes injurious? What relation exists between the skin and 
 the lungs? When is the best time for a bath ? Why? 
 
 63. Value of friction? Should a bath be taken just before or after a 
 meal? Is soap beneficial? What is the "reaction"? Explain its 
 invigorating influence. How is it secured ? 
 
 64. General effect of a cold bath? Of a warm bath? If we feel 
 chilly and depressed after a bath, what is the teaching? Describe the 
 Russian vapor bath. Why is the sea -bath so stimulating? How long 
 should one remain in any bath? 
 
 65. How does clothing keep us warm? Explain the use of linen as 
 an article of clothing. Cotton. Woolen. Flannel. How can we 
 best protect ourselves against the changes of our climate ? 
 
 66. What colored clothing is best adapted for all seasons? Value 
 of the nap? Furs? Thick vs. thin clothing? Should we wear thick 
 clothing during the day, and in the evening put on thin clothing? 
 Can children endure exposure better than grown persons ? What is 
 the erysipelas ? How relieved ? 
 
 67. Dropsy ? Corns ? Cause ? Cure ? In-growing nails ? Cure ? 
 Warts ? Cure ? 
 
 63. Chilblain ? Cause ? Preventive ? Wens ? Cure ? 
 
 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 
 
 73. NAME the organs of respiration and the voice. Describe the 
 larynx. The epiglottis. The oesophagus. What is meant by food 
 " going the wrong way " ? 
 
252 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 
 
 74. Describe the vocal cords. Their use. How is sound pro- 
 duced? 
 
 75. How are the higher tones of the voice produced ? The lower ? 
 Upon what does loudness depend ? A falsetto voice ? What is the 
 cause of the voice " changing " ? 
 
 76. What is speech? Vocalization? Could a person talk without 
 his tongue ? Illustrate. How are talking machines made ? 
 
 77. How is a formed by the voice? What is h ? Difference between 
 a sigh and a groan ? What vowel sounds are made in laughing ? 
 Does whistling depend on the voice? Tell how the various conso- 
 nants are formed. What are the labials? The dentals? The lin- 
 guals ? What vowels does a child pronounce first ? 
 
 78. Describe the wind-pipe. The bronchi. The bronchial tubes. 
 Why is the trachea so called? 
 
 79. Describe the structure of the lungs. What are the lungs of 
 slaughtered animals called? Why will a piece of the lungs float on 
 water? Name the wrappings of the lungs. Describe the pleura. 
 How is friction prevented ? What are the cilia? What is their use ? 
 
 80. What two acts constitute respiration ? In what two ways may 
 the position of the ribs change the capacity of the chest ? Describe 
 the process of respiration. Expiration. How often do we breathe? 
 Describe the diaphragm. 
 
 81. What is sighing? Coughing? Sneezing? Snoring? Laugh- 
 ing? Crying ? Hiccough? Yawning? Its value? 
 
 82. What is meant by the breathing capacity? How does it vary? 
 How much, in addition, can the lungs expel forcibly? How much of 
 the breathing capacity is available only through praclice? Value of 
 this extra supply? Can we expel all the air from our lungs? Value 
 of this constant supply? 
 
 83. How constant is the need of air? What is the vital element of 
 the air? Describe the action of the oxygen in our lungs. What does 
 the blood give up? Gain? How can this be tested? What are the 
 constituents of the air? What are the peculiar properties and uses of 
 each? What is the condition of the air we exhale? Which is the 
 most dangerous constituent? Describe the evil effects of re-breathing 
 the air. 
 
 84. For what is the "Black Hole of Calcutta" noted? Give other 
 illustrations of the dangers of bad air. What is meant by the germs 
 of disease floating in the air? 
 
 85-93. Describe the need of ventilation. Will a single breath pol- 
 
THE CIRCULATION. 233 
 
 lute the air? What is the influence of a fire or a light? Of a hot 
 stove ? When is the ventilation perfect ? What diseases are largely 
 owing to bad air? Should the windows and doors be tightly closed, 
 if we have no other means of ventilation? Is not a draught of air 
 dangerous? How can we prevent this, and yet secure fresh air? 
 What is the general principle of ventilation ? Must pure air neces- 
 sarily be cold air? Are school-rooms properly ventilated ? What is 
 the effect? Are churches? Are our bed-rooms? Can we, at night, 
 breathe anything but night air? Is the night air out-of-doors ever 
 injurious? Ans. It is, in times and places of malaria, and also in 
 very damp weather, and should be avoided, even at the risk of bad air 
 in-doors. 
 
 93. Describe some of the wonders of respiration. How is constric- 
 tion of the lungs produced ? 
 
 94. When may clothing be considered tight ? What are the dangers 
 of tight-lacing? Which would make the stronger, moie vigorous, and 
 longer-lived person, the form shown in A or B, Fig. 33 ? Is it safe to 
 run any risk in this dangerous direction? 
 
 95. What is the bronchitis? Pleurisy? Pneumonia? Consump- 
 tion ? What is one great cause of this disease ? How may a consti- 
 tutional tendency to this disease be warded off in youth? Ans. Be- 
 sides plenty of fresh air and exercise, care should be taken in the diet. 
 Rich pastry, unripe fruit, salted meat, and acid drinks should be 
 avoided, and a certain quantity of fat should be eaten at each meal. 
 Bennett. What is asphyxia? Describe the process for restoring such 
 a person. (See Appendix?) What is the diphtheria? Its peculiarity ? 
 Danger? 
 
 96. The croup? Its characteristics? Remedy? (See Appendix.} 
 Causes of stammering ? How cured ? 
 
 THE CIRCULATION. 
 
 103. NAME the organs of the circulation. J)oes the blood per- 
 meate all parts of the body ? What is the average amount in each 
 person? Its composition? The plasma? The red corpuscles ? The 
 white ? 
 
 104. What is the size of a red cell ? Are the 'shape and size uni- 
 form ? Value of this ? Illustrate. Are the disks permanent? 
 
254 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 
 
 105. What substances are contained in the plasma ? What is fibrin ? 
 In what sense is the blood " liquid flesh " ? What is the use of the 
 red disks? What is the office of the oxygen in the body? Where is 
 the blood purified ? 
 
 106. What is transfusion? Give some illustrations. Is it of value? 
 
 107. What is the cause of coagulation of the blood ? Value of this 
 property ? Has the fibrin any other use ? What organ propels the blood ? 
 
 loS. What is the location of the heart ? How large is it ? Put your 
 hand over it. What is the pericardium ? 
 
 109. Describe the systole. The diastole. How many chambers in 
 the heart ? What is their average size ? What is meant by the right 
 and the left heart ? 
 
 no. What are the auricles? Why so called? The ventricles? 
 What is the use of the auricles? The ventricles? Which are made 
 the stronger ? Show the need of valves in the ventricles. Why are 
 there no valves in the auricles ? Draw on the board the form of 
 the valves. Name them. 
 
 in. Describe the tricuspid valve. The bicuspid. 
 
 112. How are these valves strengthened? What peculiarity in the 
 attachment of these cords ? Describe the semi-lunar valves. What 
 are the arteries ? Why so named ? What is their use ? Their struc- 
 ture ? How does their elasticity act? What is meant by a " collateral 
 circulation " ? 
 
 113. How are the arteries protected? Where are they located? 
 Give a general description of the arterial system. What is the aorta? 
 What is the pulse ? On which arteries can we best feel it ? What is 
 the average number of beats per minute? How and why does this 
 vary ? 
 
 114. Why does a physician feel a patient's pulse? What are the 
 veins ? What blood do they carry ? Describe the venous system. 
 What vein does not lead toward the heart ? 
 
 115. Describe the valves of the veins. What valves of the heart do 
 they resemble ? Where and how can we see the operation of these 
 valves? What are the capillaries? What is the function of the capil- 
 laries ? * What changes take place in this system ? What are vari- 
 cose veins? 
 
 <^The distinctive function of the capillaries is to offer peripheral resistance to the 
 circulation of the blood. This insures " blood pressure," n condition indispensable 
 to the " heart beat," and also causes leakage (transudation). This leakage brings 
 the nutriment in contact with the tissue crlls. whereby they are renewed. In the 
 same way the air passes from the blood to the cells. 
 
 ^ 
 
THE CIRCULATION. 255 
 
 116. Describe the circulation of the blood as seen in the web of a 
 frog's foot. In what two portions is the general circulation divided ? 
 Who discovered the circulation of the blood ? How was the discovery 
 received? What remark did Harvey make? What does that 
 show ? 
 
 117. Describe the route of the blood by the diagram, i. The lesser 
 circulation ; 2. The greater circulation. What is the velocity of the 
 blood? How long does it require for all the blood to pass through 
 the heart? How has this been estimated? What is the shortest route 
 the blood can take ? The longest ? How long does it take the blood 
 to make the tour of the body ? How has this been estimated ? What 
 is the average temperature of the body? How much does this vary 
 in health? Ans. Not more than 2, even in the greatest extremes of 
 temperature. Flint. 
 
 119. How and where is the heat of the body generated ? How is it 
 distributed ? In what diseases is the variation of temperature marked ? 
 How is the temperature of the body regulated ? 
 
 120. In what way does life exist through death ? Is not this as true 
 in the moral as in the physical world ? What does it teach ? How 
 rapidly do our bodies change? What are the three vital organs ? 
 
 I2t. Name some of the wonders of the heart. 
 
 122-4. What is the lymphatic circulation? What is the thoracic 
 duct? The lymph? The glands? What is the office of the lymphat- 
 ics ? What are the lacteals ? Give some illustrations of the action of 
 the lymphatics of the different organs. Should we use care in select- 
 ing wall-paper? What is meant by the sub-cutaneous insertion of 
 morphine? How do hibernating animals live during the winter? 
 What is a congestion? Its cause? Blushing? Why does terror 
 cause one to grow cold and pale ? 
 
 125. How is an inflammation caused ? Name its four characteristics. 
 How may severe bleeding be stopped ? How can you tell whether the 
 blood comes from an artery or a vein ? Why should you know this ? 
 
 126-7. What is the scrofula? What are "kernels"? How may a 
 scrofulous tendency of the system be counteracted ? What kinds of 
 food stimulate this disease? What is the cause of "a cold"? Why 
 does exposure sometimes cause a cold in the head, sometimes on the 
 lungs, and at others brings on a rheumatic attack ? Why is a cold 
 dangerous ? Ans. It weakens the system and paves the way for other 
 diseases. What is the theory of treating a cold? Describe the 
 method. What is catarrh ? Cause ? 
 
250 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 
 
 128. Illustrate the general effect of alcohol upon the circulation. 
 Upon the heart. Upon the membrane. Upon the blood. Upon the 
 lungs. What is the active principle of all liquors ? 
 
 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 
 
 139. WHY do we need food ? Why will a person starve without 
 food ? Are the current stories of people who live without food to be 
 relied upon ? How much food is needed per day by an adult in 
 active exercise? How much in a year? How does this amount 
 vary? 
 
 140. Describe the body as a mold. As an eddy. What does food 
 do for us ? What does food contain ? How is this force set Iree ? 
 What force is this ? How can it be turned into muscular motion, 
 mental vigor, etc. ? Do we then draw all our power from nature ? 
 What becomes of these forces when we are done with them ? Do we 
 destroy the force we use ? Ans. No matter has been destroyed, so far 
 as we know, since the creation, and force is equally indestructible. 
 
 141. Compare our food to a tense spring. What three kinds of food 
 do we need ? What is nitrogenous food ? Name the common forms. 
 What is the characteristic of nitrogenous food ? Why called albumi- 
 nous? 
 
 142. What is carbonaceous food? Its two kinds? Constituents of 
 sugar? Where are starch and gum ranked ? Why? Use of carbona- 
 ceous food? What becomes of this heat ? Composition of fat ? How 
 does fat compare with sugar in producing heat? Name the other uses 
 of carbonaceous food. From what kind of food does the body derive 
 the greatest strength ? 
 
 143. Name the mineral matters which should be contained in our 
 food. What do you say of the abundance and necessity of water? 
 Ought we not to exercise great care in selecting the water we drink ?* 
 
 * Water which has passed through lead-pipes is apt to contain salts of that metal, 
 and is therefore open to suspicion. Metallic-lined ice-pitchers, galvanized-iron 
 reservoirs, and many soda-water fountains, are liable to the same objection. There 
 are also organic impurities in water equally dangerous. River-water often dissemi- 
 nates the germs of typhoid fever and other diseases just as the air scatters the seeds 
 of small-pox and scarlet fever. Thus the great outbreak of cholera in the east of 
 London, in 1866, was traced to the contamination of the River Lea, which furnished 
 the supply of water to that part of the city. The surface water frequently flows into 
 a well carrying organic matter to poison its contents. Wells sometimes receive 
 underground the drainage from grave-yards, manufactories, cess-pools, swamps, 
 barn-yards, vaults, etc., all of which render the water unfit for use. 
 
DIGESTION AND FOOD. 257 
 
 Will not the character of our food influence the quantity of water 
 \ve need ? What are the uses of these different minerals ? Illustrate 
 the importance of salt. 
 
 144. Could a person live on one kind of food alone? Illustrate. 
 Describe the effect of living on lean meat. Show the necessity of a 
 mixed diet. Illustrate. Show the need of digestion. Illustrate. 
 
 145. What is assimilation ? Describe the general plan of digestion. 
 What did Berzelius call digestion? Why? What amount of liquid is 
 daily secreted by the alimentary canal ? 
 
 146. What is the alimentary canal ? How is it lined ? How does 
 the amaeba digest its food ? The hydra? Define secretion. Describe 
 the saliva. How is it secreted ? What is the amount ? 
 
 147. Its organic principle ? Its use? How soon does it act? How 
 long ? What tends to check or increase the flow of saliva ? 
 
 149. Describe the process of swallowing. The stomach. Its size, 
 Its construction. What is the peristaltic movement? The pylorus? 
 For what does this open ? What is the gastric juice ? How abundant 
 is it? To what is its acidity due? 
 
 150. What organic principle does it contain? How is its flow 
 influenced? What is its use? Appearance of the food as it passes 
 through the pylorus? How is pepsin prepared? Why is not the 
 stomach itself digested ? What is the construction of the intestines? 
 
 151. How are the intestines divided? What is the duodenum? 
 Why so called? What juices are secreted here? What is the bile? 
 Describe (he liver. What is its weight? Its construction? Ans. It 
 consists of a mass of polyhedral cells only yj^ to ^yVo of an inch in 
 diameter, filling a mesh of capillaries. The capillaries carry the blood 
 to and fro, and the cells secrete the bile. What is the cyst ? What 
 does the liver secrete from the blood besides the bile? Is the bile 
 necessary to life ? Illustrate. What is its use ? What is the pancre- 
 at'.c juice ? Its organic principle ? Its use ? 
 
 152. Appearance of the food when it leaves the duodenum ? Describe 
 the small intestine. 
 
 153. What is absorption? In what two ways is the food absorbed? 
 Where does the process commence? How long does it last? De- 
 scribe the lacteals. Of what general system do they form a part? 
 What do the veins absorb ? Where do they carry the food ? 
 
 154. How is it modified? Describe the complexity of the process 
 of digestion. What length of time required for digestion in the stom- 
 ach? 
 
258 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 
 
 155. May not food which requires little time in the stomach need 
 more in the other organs, and vice versa? Tell the story of Alexis 
 St. Martin. What time was required to digest an ordinary meal ? 
 Apples ? Eggs, raw and cooked ? Roast beef ? Pork ? Which is the 
 king of the meats? What is the nutritive value of mutton? Lamb? 
 How should it be cooked ? Objection to pork ? What is the trichina ? 
 Should ham ever be eaten raw? 
 
 156. Value of fish ? Oysters? Milk? Cheese? Eggs? Bread? 
 Brown bread? Are warm biscuit and bread healthful? Nutritive 
 value of corn ? The potato ? Of ripe fruits? 
 
 157. Of coffee? To what is its stimulating property due? Its 
 influence on the system? When should it be discarded? Should 
 children use any stimulants? Effects of tea? Influence of strong 
 tea? What is the active principle of tea ? 
 
 158. Nutritive value of chocolate? What is its active principle? 
 Story of Linnaeus? How should tea be made? What is the effect of 
 cooking food? What precaution in boiling meat? In roasting? 
 Object of this high temperature ? What precaution in making soup ? 
 Why is frying an unhealthful mode of cooking ? 
 
 159. State the five evil results of rapid eating. What disease grows 
 out of it ? If one is compelled to eat a meal rapidly, as at a railroad 
 station, what should he take? Why? Why does a child need more 
 food proportionately than an old person ? State the relation of waste 
 to repair in youth, in middle, and in old age. What kind and quan- 
 tity of food does a sedentary occupation require? What caution 
 should students who have been accustomed to manual labor observe? 
 Must a student starve himself? Is there not danger of over-eating? 
 Would not an occasional abstinence from a meal be beneficial ? Do 
 not most people eat more than is for their good? How should the 
 season regulate our diet ? 
 
 160. The climate? Illustrate. What does a natural appetite indi- 
 cate? How are we to judge between a natural and an artificial long- 
 ing ? What does the craving of childhood for sugar indicate ? * What 
 
 * It does not follow from this, however, that the free use of sugar in its separate 
 form is desirable. The ordinary articles of vegetable food contain sugar (or starch, 
 which in the body is converted into sugar), in large proportion ; and there is good, 
 reason to bejieve that in its naturally-combined form it is both more easily digested, 
 and more available for the purposes of nutrition, than when crystallized. The ordi- 
 nary sugar of commerce, moreover, derived from the sugar-cane, is not capable of 
 being directly applied to physiological purposes. Cane-sugar is converted within 
 the body into another kind of sugar, identical with that derived from the grape, before 
 it can enter into the circuit of the vital changes. 
 
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 259 
 
 is the effect upon the circulation of taking food ? Should we labor or 
 study just before or after a meal? Why not? What time should 
 intervene between our meals? Is "lunching" a healthful practice? 
 Eating just before retiring? 
 
 161. Why should care be banished frt>m the table ? Will a regular 
 routine of food be beneficial ? Describe some of the wonders of diges- 
 tion. 
 
 162-3. What are the principal causes of dyspepsia ? How may we 
 avoid that disease? What are the mumps? What care should be 
 taken? Is alcohol a food? Illustrate. Compare the action of alco- 
 hol with thai of water. Is all the alcohol taken into the stomach elim- 
 inated unchanged? Does alcohol contain any element needed by the 
 body? What is the effect of alcohol upon the digestion? Will pepsin 
 act in the presence of alcohol? What is the effect of alcohol upon 
 the liver? What is "Fatty Degeneration"? What is the effect of 
 alcohol upon the kidneys ? Does alcohol impart heat to the body ? 
 Does it confer strength? What does Dr. Kane say? Describe Rich- 
 ardson's experiments. Tell what peculiar influence alcohol exerts. 
 What is alcoholism? What is heredity? 
 
 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
 
 177. WHAT are the organs of the nervous system? What is the 
 general use of this system? How does it distinguish animals from 
 plants? What are the vegetative functions? What is the gray mat- 
 ter ? Its use ? The white matter ? Its use ? 
 
 179. Describe the brain. What is its office? Its size? How does 
 it vary? Illustrate. Name its two divisions. Describe the cerebrum. 
 
 180. The convolutions. The membranes which bind the brain 
 together. What do you say of the quantity of blood which goes to the 
 brain ? What does it show ? What do the convolutions indicate? 
 
 181. What is the use of the two halves of the brain? What theories 
 have been advanced concerning it ? What is the effect of removing 
 the cerebrum ? 
 
 182. Describe the cerebellum. What is the arbor vitae? What does 
 this part of the brain control ? What is the effect of its being injured ? 
 Illustrate. 
 
260 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 
 
 183. Describe the spinal cord. What is the medulla oblongata? 
 Describe the nerves. Is each part of the body supplied with its own 
 nerve ? Prove it. 
 
 184-5. Name the three classes of nerves. What are the motory 
 nerves? The sensory? When will motion be lost and feeling 
 remain, and vice versa ? What is meant by a transfer of pain ? Illus- 
 trate. What are the spinal nerves ? Describe the origin of the spinal 
 nerve. What are the cranial nerves? 
 
 185-187. Describe the sympathetic system. What is its use ? How 
 does the brain control all the vital processes? What is meant by the 
 crossing of the cords? 
 
 1 88. What is the effect? \Vhat exception in the seventh pair of 
 cranial nerves? What is reflex action ? Give illustrations. 
 
 189. Give instances of the unconscious action of the brain.* Can 
 
 * Dr. Carpenter, in the course of a recent lecture at Manchester, England, upon 
 the ' Unconscious Action of the Brain," gave the following among other illustrations : 
 i. We find that when we set off in the morning with the intention of going to our 
 place of employment, not only do our legs move without our consciousness, if we 
 are attending to something entirely different, but we guide ourselves in our walk 
 through the streets ; we do not run up against anybody we meet ; we do not strike 
 ourselves against the lamp-posts ; and we take the appropriate turns which are 
 habitual to us. It has often happened to myself, and I dare say it has happened to 
 every one of you, that you have intended to go somewhere else that when you 
 started you intended instead of going in the direct line to which you were daily 
 accustomed, to go a little out of your way to perform some little commission ; but 
 you have got into a train of thought and forgotten yourself, and you find that you 
 are half-way along your accustomed track before you become aware of it. Now, there, 
 you see, is the same automatic action of these sensory ganglia we see. we hear for 
 instance, we hear the rumbling of the carriages, and we avoid them without thinking 
 of it our muscles act in respondence to these sights and sounds and yet all this is 
 <lone without our intentional direction they do it for us. We arrive at a certain 
 point where we are accustomed to stop, and are surprised that we have reached it. 
 You will ask me, perhaps, " What is the exciting cause of this succession of actions 
 in walking ? " I believe it is the contact of the ground with the foot at each move- 
 ment. We put down the foot, that suggests as it were to the spinal cord the next 
 movement of the leg in advance, and that foot comes down in its turn ; and so we 
 follow with this regular rhythmical succession of movements. It is all done through 
 the reflex action of the spinal cord. 
 
 z. The cerebellum has its unconscious action in the processes of respiration, the 
 involuntary movements which are made in response to the senses, as in winking, 
 starting back at a sound, etc. 
 
 3. The cerebrum acts automatically in cases familiar to all. A large part of our 
 mental activity consists of this unconscious work of the brain. There are many 
 cases in which the mind has obviously worked more clearly and more successfully 
 in this automatic condition, when left entirely to itself, than when we have been 
 cudgeling our brains, so to speak, to get the solution. An instance was put on record 
 by a gentleman well known in London, the Rev. John De Liefde, a Dutch clergy- 
 man, who gave it on the authority of a fellow-student who had been at the college 
 
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 261 
 
 there be feeling or motion in the lower limbs when the spinal cord is 
 destroyed? What does the story told by Dr. John Hunter show? 
 Give illustrations of the independent action of the spinal cord in 
 animals. What are the uses of reflex action ? 
 
 190. State its value in the formation of habits. How does the brain 
 grow? What laws govern it? What must be the effect of constant 
 light-reading ? Of over-study or mental labor ? 
 
 191. State the relation of sleep to repair and waste. How many 
 hours does each person need ? What kind of work requires most 
 sleep ? 
 
 192. What is the influence of sunlight on the body? Illustrate. 
 Name some of the wonders of the brain. 
 
 193-8. What four stages are there in the effect of alcohol on the 
 nervous system ? Describe each. Does alcohol confer any permanent 
 strength? What is the physiological effect of alcohol on the brain? 
 On the mental and moral powers? What is the Delirium Tremens? 
 
 198. What are the principal constituents of tobacco ? Should a man 
 be punished for a crime he commits while drunk ? 
 
 199. What are the physiological effects of tobacco ? 
 
 200. Who are most likely to escape injury? 
 
 201. Is tobacco a food? What is its influence upon youth? Why 
 are cigarettes specially injurious? What effect does tobacco have on 
 the sensibilities? 
 
 202. Name illustrations of the injurious effect of tobacco on young 
 men. How is opium obtained ? What is its physiological effect ? 
 Can one give up the use of opium when he pleases? What is the 
 harmful influence of chloral hydrate ? Of chloroform ? 
 
 at which he studied in early life. He had been attending a class in mathematics, and 
 the professor said to his students one day: "A question of great difficulty has been 
 referred to me by a banker a very complicated question of accounts, which they 
 have not themselves been able to bring to a satisfactory issue, and they have asked 
 my assistance. I have been trying, and I cannot resolve it. I have covered whole 
 sheets of paper with calculations, and have not been able to make it out. Will you 
 try?' 1 He gave it to them as a sort of problem, and said he should be extremely 
 obliged to any one who would bring him the solution by a certain day. This gentle- 
 man tried it over and over again ; he covered many slates with figures, but could 
 not succeed in resolving it. He was " put on his mettle," and determined to achieve 
 the result. But he went to bed on the night before the solution was to be given in, 
 without having succeeded. In the morning, when he went to his desk, he found the 
 whole problem worked out in his own hand. He was perfectly satisfied that it was 
 his own hand ; and this was a very curious part of it -that the result was correctly 
 obtained by a process very much shorter than any he had tried. He had covered 
 three or four sheets of paper in his attempts, and this was all worked out upon one 
 page, and correctly worked, as the result proved. 
 
262 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 
 
 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 
 
 211. WHAT is a sense? Name the five senses. To what organ do 
 all the senses minister? If the nerve leading to any organ of sense be 
 cut, what would be the effect?* Sometimes persons lose feeling in a 
 limb, but retain motion: why is this? What is the sense of touch 
 sometimes called ? Describe the organ of touch. What are the 
 papillae? Where are they most abundant?! What are the uses of 
 this sense? What special knowledge do we obtain by it ? Why do 
 we always desire to handle anything curious? 
 
 212. Can the sense of touch always be relied upon? Illustrate. 
 What is the tactus eruditits? Illustrate. Tell how one sense can take 
 the place of another. Give illustrations of the delicacy of touch pos- 
 sessed by the blind. 
 
 213. Describe the sense of taste. How can you see the papillae of 
 taste ? 
 
 214. What causes the velvety look of the tongue ? Why do salt and 
 bitter flavors induce vomiting? Why does an acid "pucker" the 
 face? What substances are tasteless? Illustrate. Has sulphur any 
 taste? Chalk? Sand? What is the use of this sense ? Does it not 
 also add to the pleasures of life? Why are the acts of eating, drink- 
 ing, etc., thus made sources of happiness ? Describe the organ of 
 smell. State the intimate relation which exists between the senses of 
 smell and taste. Name some common mistakes which occur in con- 
 sequence. 
 
 215. Must the object to be smelled touch the nose? What is the 
 theory of smell ? How do you account for the statement made in the 
 note concerning musk and ambergris? 
 
 216. What are the uses of this sense ? Are agreeable odors health- 
 ful, and disagreeable ones unhealthful ? Describe the organ of hear- 
 ing. Describe the external ear. What is the tympanum or drum of 
 the ear? 
 
 * Each organ is adapted to receive a peculiar kind of impression. Hence we 
 cannot smell with the eyes nor see with the nose. So that if the nerve communicat- 
 ing between the brain and any organ be destroyed, that means of knowledge is 
 cut off. 
 
 \ If we apply the points of a compass blunted with cork to different parts of 
 the body, we can distinguish the two points at one-twenty-fourth of an inch apart 
 on the tongue, one-sixteenth of an inch on the lips, one-twelfth of an inch on the tips 
 of the fingers, and one-half inch on the great toe ; while, if they are one inch on the 
 cheek, and two inches on the back, they will scarcely produce a separate sensation. 
 Huxley, 
 
THE SPECIAL SENSES. 263 
 
 217. Describe the middle ear. Name the bones of the ear. Describe 
 their structure. Describe the internal ear. By what other name is it 
 known ? What substances float in the liquid which fills the labyrinth? 
 What is their use ? Describe the fibers of Corti. What do they form ? 
 Use of this microscopic harp? 
 
 218. Give the theory of sound. Where is the sound, in the external 
 object or in the mind ? Can there be any sound, then, where there is 
 no mind ? What advice is given concerning the care of the ear? How 
 can insects be removed ? Which sense would you rather lose, hearing 
 or sight? Does not a blind person always excite more sympathy than 
 a deaf one? How does the sight assist the hearing?* 
 
 219. Describe the eye. Name the three coats of which it is com- 
 posed. Is it a perfect sphere? Ans. The cornea projects in front, and 
 the optic nerve at the back sticks out like a handle, while the ball 
 itself has its longest diameter from side to side. 
 
 220. How is the interior divided? Object of the crystalline lens? 
 How is the crystalline lens kept in place? Describe the liquids which 
 fill the eye. What is the pupil ? Describe the eyelids. Why is the 
 inner side of the eyelid so sensitive? What is the cause of a black 
 eye ? Use of the eyelashes ? 
 
 221. Where are the oil glands located? What is their use? De- 
 scribe the lachrymal gland. The lachrymal lake. What causes the 
 overflow in old age? Explain the structure of the retina. Use of the 
 rods and cones. \Vhat is the blind spot? Illustrate. 
 
 222-6. What is the theory of sight? Illustrate. State the action 
 of the crystalline lens. Its power of adaptation. Cause of near- 
 sightedness. How remedied? Cause of far - sighledness? How 
 remedied ? Do children ever need spectacles ? What is the 
 cataract? How cured? What care should be taken of the eyes? 
 Should one constantly lean forward over his pook or work ? What 
 
 * In hearing^ the attention is more or less characteristic. If we wish to distin- 
 guish a distant noise, or perceive a sound, the head inclines and turns in such a man- 
 ner as to present the external ear in the direction of the sound, at the same time the 
 eyes are fixed and partially closed. The movement of the lips of his interlocutor is 
 the usual means by which the deaf man supplies the want of hearing ; the eyes and 
 the entire head, from its position, having a peculiar and painful expression of atten- 
 tion. In looking at the portrait of La Condamine, it was easily recognized as that 
 of a deaf person. Even when hearing is perfect, the eyes act sometimes as 
 auxiliaries to it. In order to understand an orator perfectly, it seems necessary to 
 see him the gestures and the expression of the face seeming to add to the clearness 
 of the words. The lesson of a teacher cannot be well understood if any obstacle is 
 interposed between him and the eyes of the listening pupil. So that if a pupil's eyes 
 wander, we know that he is not attentive. Wonders of the Human Body. 
 
264 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 
 
 special care should near-sighted children take? By what carelessness 
 may we impair our sight? Should we ever read or write at twilight? 
 Danger of reading upon tke cars? What course should we take when 
 objects get into the eye? How may they be removed? Are " eye- 
 stones" useful? Why we should never use eye-washes except upon 
 the advice of a competent physician? What care should be taken 
 with regard to the direction of the light when we are at work ? 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 STATE some of the benefits of health. Contrast it with sickness. 
 How were diseases formerly supposed to be caused ? What remedies 
 were used ? What does modern science teach us to be the nature 
 of disease? Give some illustrations showing how diseases may be 
 prevented. Is it probable that the body was intended to give out in 
 any one of its organs? What is the first step to be taken in the cure 
 of a disease? What should be the object of medicine? What is now 
 the chief dependence of the best physicians? What do you think 
 concerning the common use of patent nostrums ? Relate the story 
 told of the remedy employed by the African medicine-man. Ought 
 we not to use the greatest care in the selection of our physician, to 
 secure the highest medical skill and cultivation? 
 
GLOSSARY. 
 
 AB DO' MEN (abdo, I conceal). The largest cavity in the body, in which 
 are hidden the intestines, stomach, etc. 
 
 AB SORB'ENT (ab, from ; sorbeo, I suck up). 
 
 AC'E TAB'U LUM (acetum, vinegar). The socket for holding the head of 
 the thigh-bone, shaped like an ancient vinegar vessel. 
 
 A CET'IC (acetum, vinegar). 
 
 AD' i POSE. Fatty. 
 
 AL BU'MEN (albus, white). A substance resembling the white of egg. 
 
 AL BU'MI NOUS substances contain much albumen. 
 
 AL'I ME NT' A RY. Pertaining to food. 
 
 AI/KA LINE (-1m) substances neutralize acids. 
 
 AN' MS THET'IC. A substance that destroys the feeling of pain. 
 
 A OR'TA. The largest artery of the body. 
 
 AP'O PLEX Y (-plek-se). A disease marked by loss of sensationjand vol- 
 untary motion. 
 
 A'QUE ous (a'-kwe-us). Watery. 
 
 A RACH'NOID (arachne, a spider; eidos, form). A membrane like a 
 spider's web covering the brain. 
 
 AR'BOR VI'T^B means "the tree of life." 
 
 AR'TER Y (aer, air ; tereo, I contain). So named because after death the 
 arteries contain air only, and hence the ^ancients supposed them to be air- 
 tubes leading through the body. 
 
 AR TIC'U LATE (articulo, I form a joint). AR TIC'U LA TIOX. A joint. 
 
 As PHYX'I A (-fix'-e-a). Literally, no-pulse ; apparent death. 
 
 As SIM'I LA'TION is the process of changing food into flesh, etc. 
 * AT'LAS. So called because, as in ancient fable the god Atlas supported 
 the globe on his shoulders, so in the body this bone bears the head. 
 
 AU'DI TO RY NERVE. The nerve of hearing. 
 
 AU'RI OLE (auris, ear) of the heart. So named from its shape. 
 
 BI'CEPS. A muscle with two heads, or origins. 
 
 Bi CUS'PID. Tooth with two points ; also a valve of the heart. 
 
 BRON'CHI (-ki). The two branches of the wind-pipe. 
 
 BRON'CHI AL TUBES. Subdivisions of bronchi. . 
 
 BUR SA (a purse). Small sac containing fluid near a joint. 
 
266 GLOSSARY. 
 
 CA NINE' (canis, a dog) teeth are like dogs' teeth. 
 
 CAP'IL LA RIES (capilliLS, a hair). A system of tiny blood-vessels. 
 
 CAR' BON. Pure charcoal. 
 
 CAR BON'IC ACID. A deadly gas given off by the lungs, and by fires. 
 
 CA ROT' IDS (karos, lethargy). Arteries of the neck, so named because 
 the ancients supposed them to be the seat of sleep. 
 
 CAR'PUS. The wrist. 
 
 CAR'TI LAGE. Gristle. 
 
 CELL. A minute sac, usually with soft walls and fluid contents. 
 
 CEL'LU LAR (cellula, a little cell). Full of cells. 
 
 CER'E BEL'LUM. The little brain. 
 
 CER'E BRUM. A Latin word meaning brain. 
 
 CEP/ vi CAL. Relating to the neck. 
 
 CHLO'RAL (klo) HY'DRATE. A drug used to induce sleep. 
 
 CHO'ROID. The second coat of the eye. 
 
 CHYLE (kile). A milky juice formed in digestion. 
 
 CHYME (kime). From chumos, juice. 
 
 CIR'CU LA'TION. The course of the blood through the body. 
 
 Ci L' i A (the plural of cilium, an eyelash). Hair-like projections in the air- 
 passages. 
 
 CLAV'I OLE (klav-i-kl). From dams, a key. 
 
 Co AG'U LA'TION. A clotting of blood. 
 
 COC'CYX (a cuckoo). A bony mass below the sacrum. 
 
 COCH'LE A. A Latin word meaning snail shell. See Ear. 
 
 COM'POUND. A substance composed of two or more elements. 
 
 CON TA'GI ous diseases are those caught by contact, the breath, etc. 
 
 CON'TRAC TIL'I TY (con, together ; traho, I draw). 
 
 CON'VO LU'TION (con, together ; rolvo, I roll). 
 
 COR'NE A (cornu, a horn). A transparent, horn-like window in the eye. 
 
 COR' PUS CLE (kor'-pus-l). From a Latin word meaning a little body. It 
 is applied to the disks of the blood. 
 
 CRA'NI AL. Relating to the skull. 
 
 CRYS'TAL LINE (crystallum, a crystal). 
 
 Cu TA'NE ous (cutis, skin). Pertaining to the skin. 
 
 CU'TI CLE (ku'ti kl). From a Latin word meaning little skin. 
 
 CU'TIS, the true skin. 
 
 DEN'TAL (dens, dentis, a tooth). 
 
 DI'A PHRAGM (-fram). The muscle dividing the abdomen from the chest 
 
 Di AS'TO LE (diastello, I put asunder). Dilation of the heart 
 
 DIS'LO CA'TION. A putting out of joint 
 
 DOR'SAL (dorsum, the back). 
 
 DUCT. A small tube. 
 
 Du o DK'NUM (duodcni, twelve each). 
 
GLOSSARY. 267 
 
 DU'RA MA'TER (durus, hard ; mater, mother). The outer membrane of 
 the brain. 
 
 DYS PEP' si A is a difficulty of digestion. 
 
 E LIM'I NATE. To expel. 
 
 EP'I DEM'IC. A disease affecting a great number of persons at once. 
 EP'I DERM'IS. The cuticle. 
 
 EP'I GLOT'TIS (epi, upon ; glottis, the tongue). The lid of the wind-pipe. 
 EP'I THE'LI UM. The outer surface of mucous or serous membranes. 
 . Eu STA'CHI AN (yu-sta'ki-an) TUBE. So named from its discoverer, an 
 Italian physician. 
 
 Ex CRE'TION. Waste particles thrown off by the excretory organs. 
 FER'MEN TA'TION. The process by which sugar is turned into alcohol. 
 FI'BRIN (fibra, a fiber). 
 FIL'A MENT (filum, a thread). 
 FUNC'TION. See Organ. 
 
 GAN'GLI ON (gang'-gli-on). From ganglion, a knot ; plu. ganglia. 
 GAS'TRIC (gaster, stomach). 
 
 GLANDS (glandz). From glans, a Latin word meaning acorn. Their ob- 
 ject is to secrete in their cells some liquid from the blood. 
 GLOT'TIS. The opening at the top of the larynx. 
 
 HU'ME RUS. The arm-bone. 
 
 HU'MOR. A Latin word meaning moisture. 
 
 HY'DRO GEN. The lightest gas known, and one of the elements of water. 
 
 HY'GI ENE. From a Greek word meaning health. 
 
 HYP'O GLOS'SAL. Literally " under the tongue "; a nerve of the tongue. 
 
 IN CI'SOR (incido, I cut) teeth are cutting teeth. 
 IN'SPI RA'TION (in and spiro, I breathe in). 
 IN TES'TINE (-tin). From intus, within. 
 
 LACH'RY MAL (lachryma, a tear). Pertaining to tears. 
 LAC'TE AL (lac, lad is, milk). So called from the milky look of the chyle 
 during digestion. 
 
 LA CU'NA, plu. lacunae (lakos, a hole). Cavities in the bone-structure. 
 
 LAR'YNX (lar-mx). The upper part of the wind-pipe. 
 
 LIG'A MENTS (ligo, I bind) tie bones together. 
 
 LU'BRI CATE. To oil in order to prevent friction. 
 
 LUM'BAR (lunibus, a loin). Pertaining to the loins. 
 
 LYMPH (limf ). From lympha, pure water. 
 
 LYM PHAT'IC (Hm-fat'-ik). 
 
 MAS'TI CA'TION. The act of chewing. 
 
 ME DUL'LA OB LON GA'TA. The upper part of the spinal cord. 
 
268 GLOSSARY. 
 
 MEM'BRANE. A thin skin, or tissue. 
 
 MES'EN TER Y. The membrane by which the intestines are fastened to 
 the spine. 
 
 MET' A CAR' PAL (mela, after ; karpos, wrist). 
 
 MET 7 A TAR'SAL (meta, after ; tarsos, the instep). 
 
 MI'CRO SCOPE (mikros, small ; skopeo, I see). 
 
 MO'LAR (mola, a mill) teeth are the grinders. 
 
 MOR'PHINE (Morplicus, the Greek god of sleep). 
 
 Mo'xo RY. Giving motion. 
 
 Mu'cous (-kus) MEMBRANE. A thin tissue, or skin, covering the open 
 cavities of the body. See Serous. 
 
 Mu'cus. A fluid secreted by a membrane and serving to lubricate it 
 
 MUS'CLE (mus 7 si). A bundle of fibers covered by a membrane. 
 
 MY O'PIA (muo, I contract ; o/;s, the eye). 
 
 NAR COT* ic. A drug producing sleep. 
 
 NA'SAL (na'-zle). From nasus, the nose. 
 
 NERVE (neuron, a cord). 
 
 NI'TRO GEN GAS is the passive element of the air. 
 
 Ni TROG'E NOUS. Containing nitrogen. 
 
 Nu TRI'TION. The process by which the body is nourished. 
 
 (E SOPH'A GUS (e-sof'-a-gus). The gullet ; literally, a "food-carrier." 
 OL FAC'TO RY. Pertaining to the smell. 
 
 OR'GAN. An organ is a portion of the body designed for .a particular use, 
 which is called its function ; thus the heart circulates the blood. 
 Os' SE ous (-us). Bone-like. 
 Os'si FY (ossa, bones ; facio, I make). 
 Ox I DA'TION. The process of combining with oxygen. 
 OX'Y GEN. The active element of the air. 
 
 PAL' ATE (palatum, the palate). Roof of the mouth. 
 
 PAN'CRE AS (pas, all ; kreas, flesh). An organ of digestion. 
 
 PA PIL'LA, plu. papillae. Tiny cone-like projections. 
 
 PA RAL'Y sis. A disease in which one loses sensation, or the power of 
 motion, or both. 
 
 PA ROT' ID (para, near ; ous, otos, ear). One of the salivary glands. 
 
 PA TEL'LA (a little dish). The knee-pan. 
 
 PEC'TO RAL. Pertaining to the chest. 
 
 PEP'SIN (pepto, I digest). The chief constituent of the gastric juice. 
 
 PER'I CAR'DI TIM (peri, around ; kardia, the heart). The membrano 
 wrapping the heart. 
 
 PER'I OS'TE UM 0>crt', arouiid ; ostcon, bone). The membrane around the 
 bone. 
 
GLOSSARY. 269 
 
 PER' i STAL'TIC (peri, round ; stallein, to arrange). Applied to the 
 worm-like movement of the alimentary canal. 
 
 PHAR'YNX (far'inx). From pharugx, the throat. 
 
 Pi' A MA'TER (tender mother). See Brain. 
 
 PIG'MENT. A paint. 
 
 PLAS'MA (plaz'-mah). The nutritious fluid of the blood. 
 
 PLEU'RA (plu'-rah). From pleura, a rib. The membrane that lines the 
 chest and wraps the lungs. 
 
 PRES BY O'PI A (presbus, old ; ops, the eye). A defect in the eye com- 
 mon to old age. 
 
 PROC'ESS. A projection. Sometimes it retains its ordinary meaning of 
 "operation." 
 
 PY LO'RUS (a gate). The doorway through which the food passes from 
 the stomach. 
 
 PUL'MO NA RY (pulmo, the lungs). Pertaining to the lungs. 
 
 RA'DI us. A Latin word meaning the spoke of a wheel, a ray, etc. 
 RAM' i FY. To spread like the branches of a tree. 
 RES' PI RA'TION (re, again ; spiro, I breathe). Act of breathing. 
 RET'I NA (rete, a net). The expansion of the optic nerve in the eye. 
 
 SA'CRUM (sacred). So named, it is said, because this bone of the pelvis 
 was anciently offered in sacrifice. 
 
 SA LI'VA. A Latin word meaning spittle ; the fluid secreted by the sali- 
 vary glands. 
 
 SCAP'U LA. The shoulder-blade. 
 
 SCAV'EN GER. A street-sweeper. 
 
 SCLE ROT'IC (skle-rot'ic). The outer coat of the eye, 
 
 SE CRE'TION (secretum, to separate). 
 
 SED'EN TA RY persons are those who sit much. 
 
 SEN'SO RY NERVES. The nerves of feeling. 
 
 SE'ROUS MEMBRANE. A thin tissue, or skin, covering the cavities of the 
 body that are not open to the external air. 
 
 SE'RUM. The thin part of the blood. 
 
 SUB CLA'VI AN*. Located under the clavicle. 
 
 SUB LIN'GUAL (sub, under ; lingua, the tongue). The salivary gland 
 located under the tongue. 
 
 SUB MAX'IL LA RY (sub, under ; maxilla, jaw-bone). The salivary gland 
 located under the jaw. 
 
 SYN o' vi A (sun, with ; oon, egg). A fluid that lubricates the joints. 
 
 SYN o'vi AL MEMBRANE packs the joints. 
 
 SYS'TO LE (sustello, I contract). Contraction of the heart. 
 
270 GLOSSARY. 
 
 TEM'PO RAL. An artery on the temple (temjms, time), so-called because, 
 as is said, the hair whitens first at that point. 
 
 TEN'DONS (tendo, I stretch). The cords conveying motion from the 
 muscle to the bone. 
 
 THO'RAX (a breast-plate). The cavity containing the lungs, etc. 
 
 TIB'I A. The shin-bone. 
 
 TIS'SUE. A general term applied to the textures of which the different 
 organs are composed ; osseous tissue forms bones. 
 
 TKA'CHE A (tra'-ke-a). Means rough, alluding to the roughened surface 
 of the windpipe. 
 
 TRI'CEPS. A muscle with three heads, or origins. 
 
 TRI CUS'PID (tres, three ; cuspis, point). A valve of the heart. 
 
 TYM'PA NUM (a drum) of the ear. 
 
 VAS'CU LAR (vasculum, little vessel). Full of small blood-vessels 
 VEN'TRI CLE (-kl). A cavity of the heart. 
 
 VER'TE BRA, plu. vertebrae (verto, I turn). A term applied to each one 
 of the bones of the spine. 
 
 VIL/LUS (villus, tuft of hair), plu. villL 
 ViT 7 ! ATE. To taint. To spoil. 
 VIT'RE ous (vitrum, glass). Glassy. 
 VO'MER (plowshare). A bone of the nose. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 ABDOMEN 79 
 
 Absorbing power of skin 61 
 
 Absorption of food *53 
 
 Achilles, Tendon of 36 
 
 Adam's apple 73 
 
 Air, Composition of 82 
 
 " Needof 82 
 
 14 Action of 82 
 
 Air-cells 78 
 
 Albinos Si 
 
 Albumen I4 1 
 
 Albuminous bodies M 1 
 
 Alcohol 128, 163, 193 
 
 " asa Narcotic 193 
 
 " Cause of Degeneration 131 
 
 " Effect upon Blood 132 
 
 ' " " Brain 193 
 
 " " u Circulation 128 
 
 " " Digestion 166 
 
 " Heat of body... 168 
 
 " Heart 130 
 
 " " u Kidneys 167 
 
 " Liver 167 
 
 ' *' u Lungs 133 
 
 " " " Membrane 132 
 
 " ' u Mental Powers. 194 
 
 " . " Muscle 169 
 
 " " " Nervous System 193 
 
 " " Waste 169 
 
 Alcoholism 171 
 
 Alimentary canal 146 
 
 Amaeba 146 
 
 Anatomy, Definition of Preface 
 
 Ankle-joint 21 
 
 Antidotes for poison Appendix 
 
 Aorta 113 
 
 Apoplexy Appendix 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Aqueous humor 230 
 
 Arachnoid membrane 179 
 
 Areolar (connect! ve) tissue 55 
 
 Arteries "2 
 
 Arterial blood na 
 
 Articulation 76 
 
 Asphyxia Appendix 
 
 Assimilation 145 
 
 Atlas 14 
 
 Auditory nerve 218 
 
 Auricles of the heart 109 
 
 Axis 14 
 
 BACK-BONE 13 
 
 Ball-and-socket-joint 20 
 
 Bathing 6a 
 
 Beef. iSS 
 
 Bicuspid teeth 57 
 
 Bicuspid valve in 
 
 Bile 151, i54 
 
 Black hole of Calcutta 84 
 
 Bleeding, Checking of 125 
 
 Blood, The 103 
 
 Blood -crystals 103 
 
 Blushing 124 
 
 Boils 68 
 
 Bones, The 5 
 
 Bow-legs 23 
 
 Brain 179 
 
 " Exercise 190 
 
 Bread 156 
 
 Breast-bone 15 
 
 Breathing 80 
 
 Bronchi 78 
 
 Bronchitis 95 
 
 Burns Appendix 
 
 Bursa 45 
 
272 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CANAL, Alimentary 146 
 
 " Semi-circular 217 
 
 44 Haversian 9 
 
 Canine teeth 56 
 
 Capillaries 115 
 
 Carbonic acid 83 
 
 Carbonaceous food 142 
 
 Carpus 18 
 
 Cartilage 10 
 
 Casein 141 
 
 Cataract 225 
 
 Catarrh 127 
 
 Cells ofblood 104 
 
 44 4l brain 177 
 
 " " lungs 78 
 
 Cell 162 
 
 Cerebellum 182 
 
 Cerebrum 179 
 
 Change of our bodies. 120 
 
 Cheese 156 
 
 Chest 15 
 
 Chilblain 68 
 
 Chloral hydrate 204 
 
 Chloroform 205 
 
 Chocolate 158 
 
 Choking Appendix 
 
 Choroid 219 
 
 Chyle 152 
 
 Chyme 150 
 
 Ciliary processes 220 
 
 Cilia, The 79 
 
 Circulation 116 
 
 Clavicle .. 17 
 
 Clothing 65 
 
 Coagulation 107 
 
 Coccyx 5 
 
 Cochlea 217 
 
 Coffee 157 
 
 Cold, A 126 
 
 Cold bath 63 
 
 Collar-bone 17 
 
 Complexion, The 51 
 
 Congestion 194 
 
 Connective tissue 55 
 
 Consumption 95 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Cooking of food 158 
 
 Cords, Vocal 75 
 
 Cornea 219 
 
 Corn 156 
 
 Corns 67 
 
 Corpuscles io4 
 
 Cortian fibers 217 
 
 Cosmetics 62 
 
 Cotton 65 
 
 Coughing 81 
 
 Cranial nerves 185 
 
 Croup 96 
 
 Crying 81 
 
 Crystalline lens 220 
 
 44 Adjustment of 224 
 
 Curvature of the spine 23 
 
 Cuticle, The 50 
 
 Cutis, The 49 
 
 DECAY 120 
 
 Degeneration 131 
 
 Dentals, The 77 
 
 Dentine 58 
 
 Dennis 49 
 
 Diaphragm 79,80 
 
 Diastole 108 
 
 Diffusion of gases 85,153 
 
 Digestion 145 
 
 Digits 16 
 
 Diphtheria 95 
 
 Diseases, etc 22, 42, 66, 94, 124, 162 
 
 Disinfectants Appendix 
 
 Drinking-water 256 
 
 Dropsy 67 
 
 Drowning 242 
 
 Duodenum 151 
 
 Dura mater 179 
 
 Dyspepsia 162 
 
 EAR, The 216 
 
 Eating, Regularity in 160 
 
 Eating, Rapid 158 
 
 Eggs 155,156 
 
 Elbow-joint 18 
 
 Enamel of teeth 58 
 
INDEX. 
 
 273 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Epidermis ........................... 49 
 
 Epiglottis ......................... 73 
 
 Epilepsy ...................... Appendix 
 
 Epithelium ......................... 152 
 
 Erysipelas ........................... 66 
 
 Ether ............................... 222 
 
 Eustachian tube ..................... 218 
 
 Exercise, Muscular ....... .......... 39 
 
 " Brain ..................... 190 
 
 Expiration .......................... 80 
 
 Eye, The ............................ 219 
 
 u Adjustment of the ......... _____ 224 
 
 " Muscles of the ................. 33 
 
 " Things in the ................. 226 
 
 Eyebrows ........................... 220 
 
 Eyelids ............................. 220 
 
 Eye-stones .............. ........... 227 
 
 Eye-wash .......................... 227 
 
 FACE, Bones of ..................... n 
 
 Face, Expression of ................. 190 
 
 Far-sight .......................... 224 
 
 Fat-cells ................. . .......... 56 
 
 Fats, The ........................... 142 
 
 Felon ................................ 23 
 
 Femur ............................. 20 
 
 Fever ......... .................... 241 
 
 Fibrin .......................... 104, 107 
 
 Fibula .............................. 21 
 
 i 
 
 Fish 
 
 56 
 
 Fits ................................. 241 
 
 Flannel ......... .................... 65 
 
 Fontanelles, The ................ 7 
 
 Food, Absorption of ........ ........ 153 
 
 " Cooking of ............. ..... 158 
 
 " Digestion of .................. 145 
 
 " Kinds of ...................... 155 
 
 " Need of ......... ............ 140 
 
 " Quantity of .................. 159 
 
 Foot, The ........................... 21 
 
 Frost-bite ..................... Appendix 
 
 Fruits _____ .......................... 156 
 
 Furs ................................ 66 
 
 GALL-BLADDER (cyst) ............ 79, 151 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Ganglion, A 44 
 
 A nerve 17^ 
 
 Gaping 81 
 
 Gastric-juice 149, 151 
 
 Gelatin 55 
 
 Glands, Gastric 149 
 
 " Lachrymal 221 
 
 " Lymphatic 123 
 
 " Parotid 146 
 
 u Perspiratory 60 
 
 " Sebaceous ,.. 60 
 
 " Sweat 60 
 
 Gtosso-pharyngeal nerve 187 
 
 Glottis 74 
 
 Glycogen 154 
 
 Gout, The 43 
 
 Gristle 10 
 
 HABITS 190 
 
 Haemoglobin 106 
 
 Hair, The 52 
 
 Hair-dyes 62 
 
 Hand, The 18 
 
 Haversian canals 
 
 Head 
 
 Hearing 216 
 
 Heart 107 
 
 Heat, Distribution of 118 
 
 " Regulation of. n8 
 
 14 Production of 119, 142 
 
 Heredity 171 
 
 Hiccough 81 
 
 Hinge-joints 18 
 
 Hip, The 20 
 
 Hot bath 64 
 
 Humerus 17 
 
 Hygiene, Definition of Preface 
 
 Hypoglossal nerve 187 
 
 INCISOR teeth 56 
 
 Indian corn 156 
 
 Inferior vena cava . . 109 
 
 Inflammation 125 
 
 In-growing nails 67 
 
 Innominata . . .16 
 
274 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Inspiration 80 
 
 Internal ear, The 217 
 
 Intestines, The 151 
 
 Involuntary muscles 30 
 
 Iris, The 220 
 
 Iron 143 
 
 JOINTS : 10 
 
 Juice, Gastric 149, 151 
 
 44 Intestinal 151 
 
 44 Pancreatic 151 
 
 KNEE-CAP, The 36 
 
 14 joint,The 36 
 
 LABIALS, The 77 
 
 Labyrinth, The 215 
 
 Lachrymal canals 221 
 
 41 glands 221 
 
 14 lake. The 221 
 
 Lacteals 123, 153 
 
 Lacunae 9 
 
 Lamb 155 
 
 Larynx 73 
 
 Laughing 81 
 
 Lens, Crystalline 220 
 
 Levers 34 
 
 Life by death 120 
 
 Ligaments 10 
 
 Light, The 7 8 
 
 Lime 143 
 
 Linen 65 
 
 Linguals 77 
 
 Liver 79,i5i 
 
 Locked-jaw 43 
 
 Lumbago 44 
 
 Lungs, The 78 
 
 44 Constriction of the 94 
 
 Lymph, The 123 
 
 Lymphatic system 123 
 
 MARCH, Story of Dr 212 
 
 Marrow g 
 
 Mastication 15 8 
 
 Medulla oblongata 185 
 
 Membrane 5S 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Membrane, Mucous 54 
 
 14 Serous 107 
 
 Metacarpal bones 18 
 
 Milk 156 
 
 Milk-teeth 57 
 
 Molars 57 
 
 Mucous membrane 54 
 
 Mumps, The 163 
 
 Muscles of the body 29 
 
 " " "eye 33 
 
 44 Contractility of 29 
 
 44 Number of 29 
 
 " Tendonsof 32 
 
 14 Voluntary 30 
 
 Muscular sense 39 
 
 Mutton 155 
 
 NAILS, The <4 
 
 41 In-growing 67 
 
 Near-sight 224 
 
 Nerves, The 183 
 
 44 Cranial 185 
 
 il Spinal 184 
 
 44 of motion 183 
 
 44 ofsensation 183 
 
 44 Sympathetic....^ 187 
 
 Nervous system 177 
 
 Nitrogenous food 141 
 
 Nose, The 214 
 
 OCULI motores, The. 186 
 
 Odors 215 
 
 XEsophagus 147 
 
 Oils, The 142 
 
 Olfactory nerve 215 
 
 Opium 202 
 
 Optic nerve 220 
 
 Organs, Definition of 5 
 
 Organs of circulation 103 
 
 Organs of digestion 145 
 
 44 respiration 73 
 
 44 4t the voice 73 
 
 Osmose 153 
 
 Ossification , 7 
 
 Otoliths 217 
 
INDEX. 
 
 375 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Oxidation 105, 139 
 
 Oxygen 82 
 
 PALATE, The 74 
 
 Pancreas 151 
 
 Pancreatic juice 151 
 
 Papillae 52 
 
 Parotid gland 146 
 
 Patella. The 21, 36 
 
 Pelvis, The 16 
 
 Pepsin 149 
 
 Pericardium 108 
 
 Periosteum 8 
 
 Peristaltic movement 149 
 
 Peritoneum 151 
 
 Perspiration, The 61 
 
 Phalanges 21 
 
 Pharynx 73 
 
 Phosphorus 143 
 
 Physiology, Definition of Preface 
 
 Pia mater 179 
 
 Pigment 51, 220 
 
 Plasma 104 
 
 Pleura 78 
 
 Pleurisy 95 
 
 Pneumogastric nerve 187 
 
 Pneumonia 95 
 
 Poisons 244 
 
 Pork 155 
 
 Portal Vein 114, 136, 153 
 
 Potatoes 156 
 
 Processes 13,36 
 
 Ptyalin 147 
 
 Pulmonary arteries 118 
 
 veins 118 
 
 Pulse 113 
 
 Pupil 220 
 
 Pylorus 149 
 
 RADIUS 18 
 
 Rapid eating 158 
 
 Reaction 63 
 
 Reflex action 188 
 
 Respiration 73 
 
 Retina... .. 221 
 
 Rheumatism 43 
 
 Ribs, The 15 
 
 Rickets, The 22 
 
 Russian bath, The 64 
 
 SACRUM, The 16 
 
 St. Vitus's Dance 43 
 
 Saliva, The 146 
 
 Salivary glands 146 
 
 Salt 143 
 
 Scapula 17 
 
 Sclerotic coat 219 
 
 Scrofula 126 
 
 Sea-bathing 64 
 
 Sebaceous glands 60 
 
 Secretion, Definition of ... ... , 146 
 
 Semi-lunar valves 112 
 
 Senses, The 211 
 
 ' ofhearing 216 
 
 44 "sight 219 
 
 u "smell.. 214 
 
 " " taste 213 
 
 " "touch 2ii 
 
 Serous membrane 107 
 
 Serum 107 
 
 Shoulder-blade 17 
 
 " -joint 17 
 
 Sick, Care of Appendix 
 
 Sick-room " 
 
 Sighing 81 
 
 Sight, Sense of 219 
 
 Sinew (tendon) 32 
 
 Skeleton, The 5 
 
 Skin, The 49 
 
 Skull, The xx 
 
 Sleep 19* 
 
 " by medicine 191,204 
 
 Small intestine, The 151 
 
 Smell, Sense of 214 
 
 Sneezing 81 
 
 Snoring 81 
 
 Sound, Theory of 218 
 
 Speech 75 
 
 Spectacles 225 
 
 Soinal column. The it 
 
276 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Spinal cord 183 
 
 " nerves 184 
 
 Spine, The 13 
 
 Spleen 145 
 
 Sprain 23 
 
 Squinting 226 
 
 Stammering 96 
 
 Sternum 15 
 
 Stomach 147 
 
 Sugars, The 142 
 
 Sunlight 191 
 
 Sunstroke 242 
 
 Superior vena cava 117 
 
 Sutures ia 
 
 Swallowing, Act of 147 
 
 Sweat 60 
 
 tk -glands 60 
 
 Swimming 64 
 
 Sympathetic system 187 
 
 Synovial membrane 10 
 
 Systole 108 
 
 TACrUS ERUDITUS 212 
 
 Tartar 59 
 
 Taste, Sense of 213 
 
 Tea 157 
 
 Tears, The 220 
 
 Teeth, The 58 
 
 " Decay of.- 59 
 
 " Preservation of 59 
 
 Temperature of the body lao 
 
 Tendons 32 
 
 Theobromine 158 
 
 Thigh 20 
 
 Thoracic duct iaa 
 
 Thorax 15 
 
 Throat 73 
 
 Tibia 21 
 
 Tight-lacing 94 
 
 Tissues, Definition of. 10 
 
 Tobacco 198 
 
 Tongue, The 213 
 
 Tooth-ache, The 241 
 
 Touch, Sense of an 
 
 Trachea ... 77 
 
 Transfusion 106 
 
 Tricuspid valve m 
 
 Trifacial nerve 186 
 
 Tympanum 2 i6 
 
 Try psin 15 1 
 
 ULNA, The 18 
 
 Unconscious action of the brain 188 
 
 Urea, Uric Acid 154 
 
 VALVES of the heart no 
 
 " " " veins 114 
 
 Varicose veins .-. 114 
 
 Veins, The 114 
 
 Velocity of the blood 118 
 
 Vena cava 117 
 
 Ventilation 85 
 
 Ventricles 109 
 
 Vertebrae 13 
 
 Villi of intestine 153 
 
 Vitreous humor 230 
 
 Vocal cords 75 
 
 Vocalization 76 
 
 Voice, The 75 
 
 Voluntary muscles 30 
 
 WALKING 38 
 
 Warts 67 
 
 Washing 6a 
 
 Water 143.256 
 
 Wens 68 
 
 Windpipe 76 
 
 Wisdom teeth 58 
 
 Wonders of the brain 193 
 
 <i u digestion 161 
 
 it u near t ,21 
 
 ' " u muscles 43 
 
 " " respiration 93 
 
 Woolen 65 
 
 Worms 60 
 
 Wounds 239 
 
 Wrist-joint 18 
 
 YAWNING... 81 
 

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