Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:
- THE LEG; ITS MECHANISM AND ITS WONDERFUL ENDOWMENTS
Leg Muscle.- In every part of the human brain there is witnessed ample evidence of design, beauty of architecture, great skill, Finnish workmanship, and a perfect adaptability to the duties he performed. This fact is strikingly illustrated in the beautifully executed color plates to which attention is now drawn, join as it does, at a glance, a thick, strong, muscular instruments employed in the manifold intricacies involved in the act of human locomotion. This exquisitely artistic anatomical plate represents a front view of the pie, leg and foot, and of the 54 fleshy lovers which give form, shape, symmetry, strength and mobility to this useful member of the body. Quite a number of the most important are seen exposed to view, after the scan and fatty tissues have been removed. We are deeply impressed with their large size and great strength, both of which correspond with the requirements demanded the very work which the lake is called onto the form.
In many ways this initial section of the book seems to read less like a medical book and more like a sales pitch trying to convince people to like the human body and accept the ‘beauty’ of the anatomy of the body. This sales pitch like style is reminiscent of reading a sales catalog for floor tile or a flyer on the latest model of Fords or something. Its more like copy writing than medical text.
- WOMB, OVARIES AND VAGINA.
The Womb.–the plate beautifully and effectively illustrates the location and formation of the womb, that wonderful organ which performs the function of parturition, and which is so constructed as to assist in all the necessary efforts of birth. Its structure is elastic and strong, and it expands readily to accommodate the growth of the child (fœtus). While this is true exteriorly, its inner parts are rather delicately lined, and subject to a variety of painful diseases, generally designated as “Diseases of the Womb.”
At this point, the author or authors just couldn’t help themselves and a return to some of their previous form.
First off it like to point out the use of the word parturition. This word simply means the act of giving birth.
Second, I’d like to point out the atypical spelling of the word fetus, spelled as “fœtus.” I have wonder if the use of the spelling using the Greek characters “œ” was used to describe the fetus from a secular perspective while being very respectable of nonsecular concerns and sensibilities. The etymology of the word is actually theoretically linked to a spelling mistake by Saint Isidore of Seville, who introduced Aristotle to his countrymen around between 535 ad and 636 ad in his work the Etymologiae (taking its title from the method he used in the transcription of his era’s knowledge). He may not have been a travelpro but he was well learned. He brought ancient knowledge back into Western knowledge as early as the beginning of the Dark Ages.
Third, the last phrase of this section “Diseases of the Womb” seems to hint to me, and my perspective may be flawed, that the author is referring to illnesses often associated with women, but downplayed by doctors hundred years ago. They lump the large number of health issues together at times it did not take practical nor realistic look at it as they were avoiding the sensibility issues of the day.
- The Intestines
The Intestines. — the next chart shows us the manner in which the intestines are arranged in the abdominal cavity. The entire intestinal can now is about 30 feet in length, and is divided into two portions — the small intestines, and the large intestines; these again are each subdivided into three different portions. Of the large intestines, the transfers portion is laid open, showing the internal arrangements. A section of the bladder is even on this chart.
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I really don’t have any clue what they’re talking about when they refer to the three portions subdividing both the large and small intestines. Is nothing in the chart that mentions this subdivision and I’ve never heard of anything like that before in regards to the intestines. This could be my lame and ignorance or it could be some odd notion espoused in this book. They also mention that the link to the intestines is approximately 30 feet. I seem to recall from my grade school education 25 years ago, that the length was 26 feet for the small intestine and six to 7 feet for the large intestine or was that 3 feet for the large intestine?
My fourth-grade education combined with my loss of memory over 25 years may be getting the best of me. Maybe I spent too much time at the drive-in watching movies freezing my toes off as I laid on top of the roof of our van, clinging to a van rack. I’m sure that would seem extremely strange to the writers of this book and possibly even to my readers is not been to a drive-in before during the fall.