Machinery of Digestion.-From the number and differently formed structures which constitute the digestive organs, it will be observed that the function is a very highly complex process.  If the food were thrown directly into the circulating fluid, it could not be used for the purpose of nutrition.  It requires for its transformation into blood, bone and muscle, a series of complex machinery, each part of which is specially designed for the particular part it plays in this wonderful and complicated process.

 

Use of Mouth and Teeth.- the mechanical part, which, although not shown in this chart, may be carefully studied in the chart giving the different views of the head, is performed by the mouth and teeth, and pulverized food is subject to the action of the saliva.  The lubricated morsel of food is now gathered into a ball and conveyed to the back of the mouth by the muscles of the cheek and tongue.  On its arrival here, the soft palate lifts upward and closes the posterior nasal openings; the epiglottis shuts down over the trachea or windpipe, forming a bridge over which the food passes, thus preventing it from falling into the respiratory tract.

 

For this section I don't really know to anything extraordinary, and I'm just going to move on to the next sections from here as we do have some interesting segments coming up shortly.

Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:

• Insects As Common Carriers
  
  

  Insects As Common Carriers.- great strides have been made in recent years by scientists in regards to the further prevention of disease by studying the life habits of insects.  It has been clearly proven that the poison or germ of certain diseases are carried by them, such as tuberculosis, typhoid fever, bowel complaints of children, by the common housefly; malaria and yellow fever by the mosquito; the bubonic plague by the rat flea, of which there are several varieties, and the squirrel flea, of which there are also several.

  It is easily understood that to prevent the spread of a contagious disease from one individual to another, the precautions are not complete unless he or she be protected against either the bite of a mosquito or fleet which is received into its own blood the poison or the germ causing the disease, which conveys by biting another person.  Fly should be kept out as, by coming in contact with the spittle or discharges from a patient, they carry the germ of poison upon their feet, etc. to the food, milk, water and by direct contact to another person.

  As to aid in the prevention of disease, the numerous boards of health of city and state have issued regulations and instructions whereby these insects can be destroyed and then every person, sick or well, can be protected.  If well, the flight is a danger by bringing disease into her home, if ill, it can convey our disease to another screen is home and start an epidemic.

  There is distinctly different set of priorities that are being covered in this book than those we might consider today.  Typically malaria for example is only known in the tropics, but that definitive line on the globe might not have been known about back then.  Installing screens on Windows had a dual benefit of keeping out mosquitoes as well as flies.  Today we might worry about getting a discount on budget software or spending less time in traffic, but back then mosquitoes had much larger impact on the lives of people in the west much as the same insects have a great impact on people that live in Africa today.

• Lead Diseases
  
  

  Lead Diseases. — the injurious effects of lead upon the human system are displayed first, in the production of dyspepsia; later, obstinate constipation and a peculiar kind of colic, so common among painters from the influence of lead that it has received the name of “painter’s colic;” and finally, disturbance of the nervous system, especially that peculiar form of lead palsy called wrist drop, in which the power to lift up the hand is more or less completely lost.

  If that seems a little scary consider that this book was written right around the same time that life insurance became popular.  Now back then, life expectancy was much lower than it is today. Its increased by about 25 years give or take.  Today life insurance quotes might also be a lot more reliable due to the higher competition amongst many high quality insurance agencies that no longer sell insurance door to door like they did 100 years ago.  Regardless, I think most of us would just rather avoid lead diseases all together.

• Order of Brain Mechanism
  
  

  It’s been a few days since I visited the Book of Medicine so I’ve got a little catching up to do. Today on the cover a quick little section and tomorrow I’ve got a much longer section.

  Order of Brain Mechanism – commencing from above and descending downward we observe the following important structures, to wit: the fascia or skin covering the cranial bones; and then a section of the bones themselves, showing their laminated structures. Between the bones of us go on the brain are seeing the meningeal coats of the brain, which serve the double purpose of supplying it with blood vessels and protecting a delicate organ from pressure or injury.

  There isn’t too much of her mark bowl interest here and this particular section other than the fact that I believe the word ‘fascia’ is today spelled as facia. So more along the lines I think the word is lost to ‘S’. That’s probably not terribly surprising as this book was written right around the time that various different countries were attempting to standardize dictionaries and spelling around the world. Furthermore this book is written for publication in both the United Kingdom and in the United States and so some of the language could have variations due to either of the intended reader bases.