Wonders of the Eye. – the human eye is one of the most wonderful, as well as delicate, organs of the body. It is the window through which the heart, mind and soul of man shines. Sorrow or joy, reformers, pain or pleasure, sunshine or shadow or reflected through this wondrous camera of light; the human passions hold their orgies in this window; truth and love dance they’re happy and joyous daydreams before its luminous curtain; and through it accurate to limitations of every object comes within its range are carried to and photographed on the brain, the great Art Gallery of the soul! Can man, with all of his great and scientific achievements, conceive of anything in the arcana of his accomplishments more beautiful, more wonderful, or more perfect than the human eye!

Just a quick refresher, our transcription strives to be great but is still not fool proof.  If you spot an error or something that looks wrong, please drop us a comment and let us know and we will review it again.  As we cover writing from 100 years ago, it sometimes becomes difficult to spot an error created now from one that was borderline then.  In the meantime, we'll try not to pull the roller shades down over our own eyes . . .

Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:

• The Pelvis
  
  

  The Pelvis.  — The pelvis is an irregular-shaped basin, formed by the hip bones and the pubic bones in front.  In the upper and back part is the foot of the spinal column, consisting of a wedge-shaped bone called the sacrum.  It is observed firmly planted between the wide spreading hip bones of the pelvis, like the keystone of an arch, and gives a strong support to the burden above.

  Like the section referring to the composition of the chest this section has very little to remark upon other the fact that it has very little to remark upon and so I’ll leave it at that.  To certain extent I feel like I’m speeding through the sections is there just basically describing an image.  In the first chart this was a little bit more entertaining, however I know from looking for in the book that there’s much more entertainment to be had in future pages.

  The section does refer to ‘hip bones’ as opposed to the modern compound word spelling of hipbones.

• THE FOOT | IT’S MECHANISM AND IT’S WONDERFUL ENDOWMENTS- Arrangement and Uses of the Foot
  
  

  THE FOOT; IT’S MECHANISM AND IT’S WONDERFUL ENDOWMENTS.

  Arrangement and Uses of the Foot. — in this exquisite colored engraving is represented the human foot, the organ by which we stand, walk or run. Look at it carefully, aye, critically, and see if you can duplicate it in the whole range of man’s achievements! The general arrangement of the bony framework of the foot, as seen in the illustration, is strikingly like that of the hand. The graceful arch of the foot, composed by the tarsal and metatarsal bones, is firmly joined together by a thick layer of cartilaginous structure, not only preventing a liability to displacement, but giving it in elasticity, sprightliness and strengthen which could never be attained by single flat bone. In the next colored illustration we have a section of the foot, showing its architectural dignity and perfection. But it’s under or plantar surface are seen stretching from the heel forward towards the toes a number of ligaments, the principal one of which is the plantar ligament, and possesses great strength and elasticity.

  Its odd but for centuries the foot has received less attention that other parts of the body, even though good health and well being are directly related to the foot.  People are more likely to under go a colon cleanse procedure than take simple steps to care for their feet and keep them health.

• 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.