Health.-Disease can be prevented by the individual doing everything in his power to keep in the best physical condition.  Disease is a common enemy of all of us, waiting to destroy, but nature is in league with us if we obey her laws.  With a normal body and pureblood should the invader arrived, the fight is on our side.  But once the body is weakened by heredity as a result of our parent's or forefather's neglect of the body, through the abuse of alcohol, tobacco or immoral living, lack of exercise, over eating and loss of sleep, overworked or lack of work or improper food, then will the soil be fertile for the planting of the germs of disease.  When exposed and once planted the flight will be in their favor, as the rundown body will not have sufficient vitality to overcome the invader and sickness and death will result.

Its an interesting perspective that the author offers up about the abuse of alcohol and its impact on babies.  This is something that is well documented today with fetal alcohol syndrome, but somewhat remarkable that they made the link 100 years ago.

Its remarkable, but it might also point to the direction of science and how unsubstantiated beliefs of 100 years ago, pushed the logical research in one direction or another.  Hypothesis followed by experiment to result in a proven rule or dismissal or refinement of the hypothesis.  But it requires that first notion and direction to research.  Similar things can be seen in the evolution of other areas of science from airplanes to vacuum cleaners and Ladybug steam cleaners.

Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:

• Values of the Plates
  
  

  THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS AND ITS WONDERS

  Values of the Plates.  — seeing is believing; nay, it is more, it is knowing and remembering.  The mere reading of his statement on any particular subject is not always advance our knowledge of the matter in question.  The observation of the facts, or its proper illustration by appropriate diagrams, such as we observed these anatomical charts to be, not only emphasizes the point considered, but aides us and remembering the principal features connected with the functions performed, does advancing our knowledge of the subject discussed, and educational progress is made.

  _________________

  In this section the author is referring to the medical charts and diagrams that come with the book.  This is actually an interesting excerpt.  I’m sure it was a bit of conventional wisdom that combining pictures with text would help people understand and learn.  Today I work in part as a MindManager trainer.  My manager is a software program that enables people to mind map on their computer.  My maps enable people to put text in words and pictures and colors together so that they can learn and digest the topic faster.  The interesting thing is in the 1960s a scientist won a Nobel peace prize for putting all that information together in proving that people do learn better when they look at pictures and colors as opposed to just flat black text.  I’m sure the monks of the dark ages could’ve probably confirm that, but it hadn’t gone to the scientific process yet.

• Cockroaches
  
  

  Cockroaches.–Cockroaches are brownish or black in color, broad and flattened in shape and smooth and bard to the touch. All cockroaches should be destroyed. They not only annoy, but, even though it has not been proven, they, no doubt, carry disease germs by coming in contact with discharges, etc., from ill persons and convey filth and germs to food, etc.

  When we lived in Boca Raton several years ago, we used to see extremely large ‘palmetto bugs’ which look a great deal like a cock roach but are a little different.  Many people only run into these bugs taking Orlando vacations or hit the beach in Florida or the gulf, but when you live there the relationship is up close and sometimes personal!

  They are very numerous in pantries, kitchens and in the walls near a stove and fire places. They are apt to be abundant in oven rooms or bakeries and wherever the temperature is kept above normal. They usually appear at night or wherever light is absent and thus are protected from their common enemies. Owing to their shape they can squeeze into tiny cracks. They scurry away when surprised and generally escape capture or destruction, due to their speedy gait. They feed on animal matter, cereals and any food material ; also eat woolens, leather cloth and leather bindings of books (clue to the presence of paste). They give off a fetid, nauseous odor, which persists even after thorough cleaning. They taint food supplies, stain shelves and dishes and when present in large numbers, render the air of a room unbearable. This is duo not only to their excretion, but mostly to an oily liquid secreted in the scent gland and a dark colored fluid in the mouth. They will destroy bedbugs. No contagious disease can be said to be properly treated or isolated, if cock­roaches are scurrying about the walls, carpets, food, etc., of a sickroom and allowed to persist and possibly convey the germs of the disease to others in the house or to neighbors.

• The Shoulder Joint
  
  

  The Shoulder Joint. — The shoulder joint, formed as it is by the shoulder-blade (scapula), collarbone (clavicle), and the arm bone, is most beautifully designed and executed. It comprises a shallow ball and socket joint, the supporting the freest rotary movements. The shallowness of the socket, however, accounts for the frequent dislocations of this joint; but that is compensated for by the EC, graceful carriage and swaying of the arm, which is deeper socket would not permit.

  As in the section titled, “The Ribs” this section utilizes the word “freest”, I’m assuming this word is some sort of combination of the word free and est, which probably refers to the most amount of freedom allowed or something of that nature. Today we probably use the words maximum range of motion or maximum freedom war something of that nature. We might even use the word freest!

  Now, I’m not really a betting man. I like to play cards and Texas Hold ‘em especially, but I’d be willing to be that the word freest is not a real word anymore. I may not being hitting the poker tables anytime soon with other bets, but I’ll take that one any day of the week.