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Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:

• Fine View of Stomach Coatings
  
  

  Fine View of Stomach Coatings.  — On turning over the flap we obtain a very fine view of this remarkable membrane.  The areolar coat is placed between the mucous coats, and connects with both.  The muscular coat is very thick and stout, and composed of three sets of fibres,  the longitudinal, circular and oblique, which form three distinct layers.  The outer coat is a thin, smooth, transparent and elastic membrane, derived from the peritoneum, and well lubricated to prevent friction.  When the fibres of the muscular wall contract, a peculiar churning movement of the stomach is produced, thus securing the thorough mixing of its contents, that every particle may come into contact with the solvent properties of the gastric juice.

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  There’s not much to say about the section however from a chemistry perspective I wonder if the author understood what comprise the gastric juice.  Biology was never my strong suit however I seem to recall from chemistry class that hydrochloric acid is the actual chemical that constitutes the majority of the gastric juice,  I can’t remember what strength of HCl is in the stomach, but as I recall the lining of the stomach is strong enough to hold it without being burnt or damaged.  I must’ve missed the lesson that explained why your throat and esophagus and possibly your nostrils are burned when items in your stomach go the wrong way. 

  There are a lot of things that of been learned over the last 100 years and I want to mention that I’m not trying to point out the ignorance of the writer or the author or even demonstrate my own ignorance, I’m just trying to remark on the evolution of thought in the change that’s taken place over a hundred years.  I’m comparing the written knowledge of medical professionals as compared to a layman today.  It’s an apples to oranges comparison, or maybe a different way to put it with an even worse analogy is that it’s stone tool cutting versus a  plasma cutting way of achieving the same result.  The irony is that some stone tools actually have sharper and more precise blades and many of the tools that we’ve created over the last 100 years, and so I recognize that there are some things that we may have learned over the last 100 years that are actually a step backwards.  Maybe with a little bit of luck, if I find it in this book I’ll actually know it when I see it.

• Chart 3
  
  

  Here are the images as promised for Chart 3 covering the eye, the hands, the feet, the ear and the leg.

• Arteries and the Purpose of the Spleen
  
  

  Intercostal Arteries.–the intercostal arteries and veins are beautifully illustrated in the chart.  The veins return the blood to the heart.  The large ascending and descending venae cavae are seen in this illustration.

  Meaning of artery.–from the fact that death arteries are empty, the ancients believed in to contain air, whence their name, derived from aer, air, and terco, I keep, which literally means, air ducts.

  The Spleen.– the spleen is a spongy organ, of a living color, oval in figure and situated in the left upper part of the abdomen and immediately behind the stomach.  It’s weight very from four to 10 ounces.  It is largely composed of cells, but it’s function is little understood, though from its position is believed to be in some way useful to the stomach during the process of digestion.

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  We are moving rapidfire through the section and were just about ready to come up on the next section of charts, chart 3.  Shortly after chart 3 we will then hit two of the book of medicine and we will move into anatomy and physiology.

  So sit back, if you’ve got any questions stop by our reception desks and ask her receptionist in the meantime enjoy our translation of the book of medicine.

  As to the known purpose of the spleen today (according to Ask Yahoo! the definitive answer on everything and nothing at all)

  • filtering out foreign organisms that infect your blood
  • removing your old or damaged platelets and red blood cells
  • storing extra blood and releasing it as needed
  • forming some types of white blood cells