Changes in the Human Body. --The human body is in a constant state of change. In the midst of life there is death. The blood discs die and new ones are born into life. Every act of life is destructive as well as constructive. Not a thought can be evolved but numerous brain cells die; not a wink of an eye, a smell of a lovely rose, nor a muscular movement, but results in the death of some part of the machinery involved. Every process of life is a process of death. The scales of the epidermis are constantly falling off to be replaced by fresh cells from beneath, and it is on the continuance of this interchange that our life, health and vigor depends. The more rapidly this change goes on, and fresh, vigorous, healthy tissues take the place of the old lifeless ones, the more elasticity, buoyancy and strength we possess -- the more healthy and robust we become.________________ To a layman most of that last paragraph sounded like nonsense. Yes, cells do die and more cells are created throughout the human body. the author describes in a way that makes it sound like birth is given to the cells by other cells. I think the part the Mesa sound rather ludicrous is based on the author's assumption that there is a cause-and-effect. When you move a muscle according to the author's reasoning, that movement kills a muscle cell and births another muscle cell at the same time. Cells may be creating and dined at the same time but I don't believe it's from the exertion or the motion. That seems to be a fallacy in the logic from the statement.
Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:
- Work of the Heart
Work of the Heart. –no slave ever performed his work more patiently than the heart. It’s quivering task is essential to life and health. It is the fountain from whence the spirit flows, and on the faithful performance of its functions every part of the body depends for the warm stream of life, motion and vigor which it unstintingly furnishes. The ancients believed the heart to be the seat of love. Within its walls were located all that was pure, true, good and noble, as well as the evil passions of the soul. And although modern scientist on the seat of mind, reason, consciousness and the mental powers be located in the brain, and does rob the heart of its romance, yet it has revealed wonder is connected with the small organ, that certainly it clips the mysteries associated with it in the past. Pit-a-Pat! pit-a-pat! drops this marvelous engine, and in response to its constant dropping the blood bounce along the myriad of tubes, conveying messages of life and health.
_________________
There’s a little bit of irony in this particular section. The author is reviewing the ancients perception of what the heart did, and I’m reviewing what the authors.the heart did a hundred years ago. The irony is probably compounded by the fact that I’m a layman and know very little about medicine in the authors were probably fairly informed about medicine in their day, however many of the things that they describe seem ludicrous to me just like some of the things they thought the ancients describe probably seem ludicrous to them. I can’t wait for generations in the future to come along and find the ludicrous things that I’ve created!
- Chart 3
Here are the images as promised for Chart 3 covering the eye, the hands, the feet, the ear and the leg.
- How Mosquitoes Develop
How mosquitoes develop.-A Female mosquito lays from 200 to 300 eggs at a time and always in standing water, as the eggs must have still water and no matter how filthy the water, it will not destroy the eggs or prevent their development.
This is such a basic description that it is almost not worth the ink it is printed with. But if you take a look at Wikipedia, you might get just a simple sense of how much our knowledge has grown. Below is what constitutes a basic reference on the biology of Mosquito from Wikipedia. Where are previous knowledge of a mosquito could be measured in a couple dozen bits, it might now take a few megs of ram to contain our knowledge.
Anatomy
The mosquito is composed of a head, thorax, and abdomen. The head contains two compound eyes and proboscis. The proboscis is a piercing mouthpart used to suck blood from its prey. The mosquito’s head is mostly eye. Each eye is made up of many tiny lenses forming a compound eye. This type of eye allows a very big field of vision that easily detects movement. Next is the thorax. The thorax has one pair of wings and one pair of halteres. The thorax also has markings that are used in the identification of the mosquito. The abdomen, or gut, expands as it ingests its prey’s blood. The abdomen also has many markings that are used to identify the mosquito species.
[edit] Life cycle and feeding habits
Culex mosquito larvae
In its life cycle the mosquito undergoes complete metamorphosis, going through four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult, first described by the Greek philosopher Aristotle.[28]
[edit] Egg
Female mosquitoes lay their eggs one at a time or together in rafts of fifty or more eggs on the surface in fresh or any stagnant water. Anopheles and Aedes mosquitoes do not make egg rafts but lay their eggs separately. Culex, Culiseta, and Anopheles lay their eggs on water while Aedes lay their eggs on damp soil that is periodically flooded by water. Most eggs hatch into larvae in about 48 hours. A female mosquito may lay a raft of eggs every third night during its life span if it can find enough blood to develop the eggs.
[edit] Larval stage
The hatching eggs turn into larvae that live in the water, coming to the surface to breathe. The first larval stage is known as the first instar. As they grow, they shed or moult their skin about four times, growing larger after each moulting. After the first molt they are second instars, then third, then fourth. Most larvae use siphon tubes going to the water surface for breathing and hang on or near the water surface. Anopheles larvae do not have a siphon and typically lie parallel to the water surface. The larvae eat micro-organisms and organic matter in the water for food. Mosquito larvae, commonly called “wigglers” or “wrigglers”, must live in water from 7 to 14 days depending on the water’s temperature. At their last moult they may be up to 1 cm or 1/2 inch long. In each stage they may be eaten by other insects or fish. Mosquito larvae in the genus Toxorhynchites eat other mosquito larvae.
The length of the first three stages (or instars) is dependent on the species and temperature, with lower temperatures increasing the length of the development stage.[29] Culex tarsalis may complete its life cycle in 14 days at 20 C (68 F) and only ten days at 25 C (77 F). Some species have a life cycle of as little as four days, whereas in other species some adult females can live through the winter, laying their eggs in the spring. Many species of mosquito live their adult stage in roughly two weeks to two months. The larvae are the “wrigglers” found in puddles or water-filled containers. These breathe air through a siphon at the tail end. The pupae, or “tumblers”, are nearly as active as the larvae, but breathe through thoracic “horns” attached to the thoracic spiracles. Most larvae feed on micro-organisms, but a few are predatory on other mosquito larvae. Some mosquito larvae, such as those of Wyeomyia live in unusual situations. These mosquito wigglers live either in the water collected in epiphytic bromeliads or inside water stored in carnivorous pitcher plants. Larvae of the genus Deinocerites live in crab holes along the edge of the ocean. On the fourth molt the larva changes into a pupa.
[edit] Pupa
The pupae are lighter than water and float on the surface as the mosquito larva metamorphoses (changes) into an adult mosquito in about two days. Pupae do not have mouths and therefore do not feed. This is important to know from a larviciding point of view because most larvicide has to be ingested by the mosquito. A surface oil or mmf (monomolecular film) should be applied to the breeding site as a means of suffocating the pupa.
[edit] Adult
The newly emerged adult must rest on the surface of the water for a short time to allow itself to dry and all its parts to harden before it can fly. This requires still water: mosquitoes do not breed in fast-moving water.
The total time to go through all four stages depends on the temperature and the type of mosquito, but typically takes 14 days or less in warmer weather. In various species the time varies from 4 to 30 days.
Most mosquito species outside of the tropics overwinter as eggs, but many overwinter as larvae or adults. Mosquitoes of the genus Culex (a vector for St. Louis encephalitis) overwinter as mated adult females.
Most mosquitoes stay fairly close to the ground and do not range too far from where they were born, but may be dispersed long distances by wind. Mosquitoes are not strong flyers, making only 1-2 km/h (1-1.5 mph); therefore, an electric fan may suffice as an effective mosquito screen. They feed mostly in the mornings and evenings and occasionally at night, avoiding the heat of the day. During the day they usually find somewhere cool to rest. Mosquitoes can tend to live over puddled water or grassy areas.
Mosquito biting finger
Only female mosquitoes bite animals to get blood needed to produce eggs. Male mosquitoes do not bite, but both the male and female feed on the nectar of flowers for food. In most female mosquitoes, the mouth parts form a long proboscis for piercing the skin of mammals (or in some cases birds or even reptiles and amphibians) to suck their blood. As opposed to a syringe’s typically smooth needle, the mosquito proboscis is highly serrated, which leaves a minimal number of points of contact with the skin being pierced — this reduces nerve stimulation to the point where the “bite” is typically not felt at all. (See the Mosquitoes and health section below for an explanation on the swelling). The females require protein for egg development and laying, and since the normal mosquito diet consists of nectar and fruit juice, which has no protein, most females must drink blood to lay eggs. Males differ from females, with mouth parts not suitable for blood-sucking.
The female mosquitoes locate their next blood donor victims primarily through scent. They are extremely sensitive to the carbon dioxide in exhaled breath, as well as to substances found in sweat and various body odours such as 1-octen-3-ol. They are believed to be able to track potential prey for tens of meters. Some people attract more mosquitoes than others, apparently based on how they “smell” to a mosquito. Mosquitoes can also detect heat, so they can find warm-blooded mammals and birds very easily once they get close enough. Repellents like DEET work by disorienting the mosquito as it gets close to its potential next meal but do not kill mosquitoes. Surprisingly this works about 95% of the time.[citation needed]
Male mosquitoes may tend to be smaller than females, with features such as feathered antennae and conspicuous external genitalia.
