We are just scratching the surface of our review into the History of the Book of Medicine, literally covering the foundation perspective. As we move more into the diagnosis areas and more we will really start to get to some peculiar aspects of the views from the past. One thing I'm interested to see and learn is whether or not medical doctors suggested healthy climates. Today, we often see people moving to Florida or Phoenix even for their health. Snow birds from Canada fly south for the winter to escape the cold and get some sun to metabolize vitamin D, escaping to luxurious and inexpensive Orlando vacation rentals selecting condos or villas that are air conditioned but close to all the local attractions. Its the weather and climate that keep people flocking back, hoping to get a reprieve and at least feel healthier. So I will be keenly interested to learn if this perspective is new.

Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:

• Breathing
  
  

  Breathing.–Respiration, or the act of breathing, consists of thealternate inspiration and expiration of air to and from the lungs; in the process of which the lungs themselves are almost passive managements, since their contraction expansion takes place by means of the muscles which surround the chest. The diaphragm or midriff, which, when at rest in the lungs empty, forms a beautiful dome to the abdominal cavity, becomes depressed during the inspiratory process, and presses the walls of the abdomen outward. At the same time the ribs become elevated, thus increasing the size of the chest. Thereupon the elastic lungs expand to occupy the entire space, whilst the current of air, in obedience to a well known physical law, rushes down the windpipe and enters the numerous air cells, the result of which is inspiration. In expiration the reverse of this takes place. We bend forward, draw the abdominal walls inward, press the diaphragm upward, whilst the ribs are pulled downward. All these acts simultaneously performed decrease the size of the chest, and force or expel the air from the lungs.

  _____________________

  This is another one of those segments where there are excessive number of comments, however the writing is actually fairly descriptive of the process. Today the commas are a distraction but the writing is pretty good here. It is not extremely technical nor does it get into many of the finer details of the inner workings of the lungs, but from the perspective of a person describing the breeding action of the lungs as observed from the movement of the chest this is pretty good.

  Make no mistake at this point in time scientists had often studied the lungs of animals and sometimes even people in action without the obstruction of a skin or the chest cavity. Scientists almost two hundred years earlier had performed what would be considered today fairly brutal experiments on animals and dogs in particular to gain a working knowledge of the organs. Battle field physicians also received a great deal of experience in war time and this book series actually was first published during the time of the American Civil War.

• View of the Eye
  
  

  The next section covers The View of the Eye on page 36.

  The next section goes into a short description of the image of the eye as provider from a profile of a human skull which includes some of the muscles and nerves associated with the eyeball. It does not include a detailed description were drawing of the actual eyeball other than its contractual dry within that cross-section including the rest of the head.

  View of the Eye — We can likewise view the human eye as it lays in position in its bony socket, and wonder at our creators munificence and benevolence in providing us with such a delicate instrument of vision with which to light our way about in the world, and view the magnificent beauties of nature that surround us on every hand. Here, too, we observe the teeth, those essential prerequisites to personal beauty, and.able adjuncts to the powers of articulation and speech, protruding through the gums, their roots being visible above and below the gums; and the lower set we see the dental nerve distributing its nervous supply to their individual and collective roots.

  There are a couple things that stand out in this one simple paragraph.

  1. This book is written essentially by a collection of editors, that seemed to have taken information from many other oaks and sources over the years. As the book was written initially in the 1860s and updated throughout the next 50 odd years it’s possible that copyrights and copying or even citing sources were not as necessary at the time. So it’s difficult to tell who the original source of any of this information might have been other than the collective thank you at the beginning of the book. With all that said, it strikes me as odd that the editors would stray from the stated topic of “the eye” and move into a short discussion of the teeth within the same paragraph.
  2. Often the book has already mentioned references to God, as the book was written at the turn of the century closing out the Victorian era, I assume that they are referring to the Christian God. I actually have few doubts about that. However it is illustrative of the fact that this particular book was written in a way that was not secular in nature. I suspect we will see many additional references throughout the book as time goes on and I’m withholding further views on the subject until I have a more complete picture of what the true views of the “editors” might be as they manifest in the edited writing.
• The Fibula and Sciatic Nerve
  
  

  the fibula.  — not only does this second bone-the fibula-get additional string in support to the lake proper, but it likewise increases the bony area or surface of the lake, to which its powerful muscular lovers are attached.

  The Sciatic Nerve.- the large sciatic nerve, its position, course and distribution, is graphically outlined, and as we look upon this point, since the court, we are deeply impressed with the force and truth of what Shakespeare makes one of his characters, to moan say:

  “________the cold sciatica

  Cripples our senators, but their limbs may halt

  as plainly as their manners.”

  Now I do understand that this is not terribly exciting reading at this point in time.  Enough to let a person get some sleep at a hotel trying to offer up time share real estate Branson options, I’m sure.