Shape of Brain-- As so graphically delineated in this beautiful as well as natural illustration of the human brain, we glean a knowledge of the origin and source of its blood supply; the arteries are observed to distribute numerous branches in very us directions along and over its surface, many of which penetrate its substance. As noticed, the brain presents an ovoid or egg shaped appearance, divided into two equal, lateral halves -- hemispheres as they are called -- thus virtually giving us two brains, the same as we have two eyes, two arms and two legs. With this surplus of brains, as it were, at our command, we are naturally lead to ask the question, who can define the metes and bounds of the mind? or described the limits of our intellectual capacity? Who can fathom the depths of thought? Or circumscribe our mental, educational or scientifical acquirements, when health grounds the human temple with its rubicund mantle? Echo answers who?Now I love it when the authors of this book go into weird speculative diatribes. In this section we are given one of those strange diatribes. The author starts to provide a description of the diagram of the brain and then launches into hypothetical questions that have no answer. It strikes me that based on the extra spectacular use of profound words, that the author is almost writing in a way to prove their knowledge and authority and their own deep thoughts only possible due to the extraordinary brain that they possess as they described the brain in general. I think it's important to mention that this book is destined for housewives in an era hundred years ago where any child that grew up to be lucky to possess and elementary education. The use of words such as 'rubicund' and 'circumscribe' strike me as words that probably weren't understood at that time. However it's possible that these were everyday words in an era when language was different than it is today. Circumscribe is not a particularly odd word today however rubicund is. So as the author left off with many hypothetical questions, I will do the same. Did the author intend to impress turn-of-the-century housewives with his fancy talk? Did the female editor of this work change the words to something fancier than what the original author had written? Was the author attempting to fill the book with more words, using 20 where one might do? Was language such as this used more commonly a hundred years ago? Is there something biblical sounding about these words or do they commit a type of philosophical sentiment? I'm sure there are dozens of other questions that can be emitted about this, but it's these types of phrases and perspectives that make this study of the book interesting.
Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:
- Impure Ice As a Cause of Diarrhea.
Impure Ice As a Cause of Diarrhea. — the fact that ice is now used by almost all classes to an extent which entitles it to rank rather as a necessity than, as formally, as a luxury of life, renders it important that its purity should be is jealously guarded as the water supply. It is popularly believed that water freeze itself from dangerous organic matter, as it does to a great degree from certain saline contaminations during the process of freezing, and also that the vegetable or animal germs of typhoid and other fevers are killed, or at least rendered sterile, by congelation of the water in which they exist. Both these ideas are, however, unquestionably running us, as has been repeatedly proved by the various experiments which ignorant hotel keepers try without the least intending it, upon their guests, on a scale which would have the oldest vivisector stand aghast before the suffering inflicted, even if it were only upon the brutes which form the subjects of his researches.
- VENEREAL DISEASES
VENEREAL DISEASES.Syphilis, gonorrhoea and a host of diseases which follow in their train, come within the scope of Preventive Medicine. They are not spread by water, air, food, or insects as are so many diseases, but develop only from contact with a sufferer (usually by co-habitation, but possible by non-sexual contact), or by the germs from a sufferer being imparted to another by towels, clothing or other articles. They may be communicated to an innocent wife by a diseased husband and vice versa, and many serious diseases and infirmities depending on these diseases may be transmitted to the children of the diseased, as instance the disease of Opthal-mia or Blindness in Children, which occurs at or shortly following birth, and which is usually attributable to one or both of the parents suffering from gonorrhoea, although it may arise from other causes (see Index for article on Opthalmia, its cause, treatment and prevention).
Syphilis and gonorrhcea are so largely dependent on immoral Inter‑course that their prevention is largely a matter of moral uplifting of the people. But, pending this morat uplifting, much is possible by the State and municipal governments placing these diseases on the list of contagious diseases which must be reported to the authorities, as is now required in respect of small-pox, scarlet fever and other diseases which are neither so loathsome nor have such far-reaching results for ill to mankind.
All parents should carefully read the articles on Syphilis, Gonorrhoea and Opthalmia, to be found elsewhere in this work (see Index), and then they should carefully guard their children and at proper age thoroughly instruct them in the fearful ravages of venereal disease. There is too much false modesty in these matters on the part of parents. The general discussion. of sexual matters in novels, in sensational books on eugenics and in ordinary conversation is to be condemned, but it is the duty of every mother to her daughter and of every father to his son, to not only keep constant guard over them in these matters, but, at the beginning of puberty, to instil into their minds the real truths that they may become imbued with the horrors of venereal disease, yet realize the nobility of true sexual life. Professors and teachers in resident schools and colleges where youth is congregated should also have regard to this vital subject and take means to properly impart useful knowledge, and not only adopt every possible precaution to prevent students from meeting lewd persons, but by periodical medical examination discover if any venereal disease is existent, and if found in any individual then suspend such student until the disease be eradicated beyond the possibility of contagion.
Syphilis is a more horrible disease than small-pox and may be easily communicated to the innocent by a common towel, by a brother kissing his sister or a son his mother, and in many other ways, and yet the syphilitically diseased may go where they please and little or no precautions are taken as to the spreading of the disease. It is estimated that in New York City alone 250,000 people are suffering from this loathsome disease, either inherited or acquired, and when it is borne in mind that large numbers of these have innocently acquired it and are now in turn transmitting it to others, the enormity of the evil and the imperative need of preventive measures, will be realized.
Today, fighting venereal diseases begins with a much more solid foundation for education, but is solidly supported by a host of drugs and treatments that can fight many venereal diseases. In some ways venereal diseases today have a stigma significantly less than 100 years ago, because they can be treated better and do not result in death. Popping an antibiotic is as easy as popping a diet pill or taking cold medication.
- The Neck Muscles
The next section sets out the goal of covering the Neck Muscles. As the section of the book is describing an image, it shouldn’t be assumed that this will entail the full discourse on these areas of the body. It’s much more likely that this is a simple overview of these areas and more details will follow as there are 1600 more pages to go. So as we read this we should look at this as the simple summary introduction of the professional doctor attempting to describe the subject matter of the human body to a laywoman as the book is set out to educate wives and mothers in the arts of family nursing.
The neck muscles — this beautiful illustration brings out in bold relief is superficial and deep muscles of the neck, and, at the same time, we observe a faithful to litigation, not only of the relative position of the carotid artery and jugular vein, but also of the manner in which muscular and fleshy part of the neck receives its nervous supply.
This is a short section wrapping up the primary section titled “the brain; and a vertical section of the face and neck.” Again this one paragraph mention something that was referenced in the previous paragraph. It references the idea of the nervous supply. The section that contain information on the “view of the eye” went into slight detail about the supply of nerves to the teeth, “we see the dental nerve distributing its nervous supply to their individual and collective roots,” and then again we see the same description of a nervous supply here in the section, “and fleshy part of the neck receives its nervous supply.”
This reference to the nervous supply seems to describe something more than just a system of nerves as it might be described day and hints that a conceptual difference possibly stemming from a lack of knowledge about what the nervous system actually dozer performs. Scientists of the day were not ignorant of the electrical connections in the nervous system and the analogies to the movement of current, as many experiments have been done on animals and other systems of the day to identify the cause-and-effect associated with putting occurrence to a nerve for a muscle. To a certain degree this appears to be a choice of semantics probably utilized by the editors as opposed to an actual medical view. However based on the context that is not entirely possible to confirm or ascertain.