The Kidneys.– The kidneys are two glandular bodies, having for their functions the secretion of urine.  The form of the kidney resembles a French bean; its average length team from four to four and a half inches, two inches in breadth and one in thickness.  The two kidneys are situated one on each side of the spine and the lumbar region, opposite the last two dorsal and two first lumbar vertebrae; they are a brownish-read color flattened from before word, and grooved on the anterior border for the reception of the great vessels.

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I do not know what a French bean looks like, but I suspect people to read the book 100 years ago probably did.  I suppose this is some sort of reference point is lost its way over the years even though I’m sure there are a few people that knows what this still is.  This book was written to be a common reference for the everyday person hundred years ago, but it probably would not connect home with everyday people in the current century.  There are a number of ways to look at this, but it is important to remember that a reference that can be understood is very important when you’re trying to help somebody possibly save their life or prevent further injury, if you give a reference to medical supplies describing what they look like and where they should be located, but the person that you tell doesn’t understand what you’re saying it could be the difference between life and death.  That said, this is more of an anatomy lesson and it is doubtful that the average person really needed to know what the kidneys look like in a human person.  This was probably more beneficial for a person that might actually consider studying it as an in depth later on down the road.