Bed Bugs.--The bedbug is a small but plainly visible ovoid-shaped bug, giving off a peculiar nauseous odor. It is of a reddish brown or rusty color with some discoloration on the abdomen and is furnished with a puncturing or sucking apparatus. The eggs are tiny white oval bodies. As many as 6 to 50 batches are laid in cracks of beds, furniture, picture frames, wall paper, crevices of woodwork, floors, etc. Each batch of eggs develops in from 6 to 11 weeks, and several batches may be hatched in a season. One generation succeeds another as long as the temperature remains sufficiently elevated.

Not exactly the type of thing that many people worry about much in the twentieth century a hundred years after the writing of this article, but these pests are possible in modern times from foreign countries to Mediterranean cruises to homes and beds that are infested accidentally or through neglect.

They hibernate during cold weather, during which season the insect is merely stupefied and renews its activities upon the return of warm surroundings. It is found in the dwellings of man, but other species of the same family have been found upon birds, as the common chimney swallow, pigeons and bats. The bedbug comes out at night and begins to bite and annoy. It conceals itself very cleverly and quickly in the day time or when surprised by a sudden light at night. It lives on the blood of man particularly, but can exist on food of other insects. It thrives best on filth and in old houses can keep alive without food for a year. Bedbugs are said to transmit smallpox. There is a possibility of their carrying the germs of typhoid fever and leprosy, but this fact has not been proven as yet. The bite is poisonous to some individuals, resulting in inflammation at the seat of the bite. This is supposed to be due to the same secretion which gives the characteristic nauseous odor.

Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:

• Bed Bugs
  
  

  Bed Bugs.–The bedbug is a small but plainly visible ovoid-shaped bug, giving off a peculiar nauseous odor. It is of a reddish brown or rusty color with some discoloration on the abdomen and is furnished with a puncturing or sucking apparatus. The eggs are tiny white oval bodies. As many as 6 to 50 batches are laid in cracks of beds, furniture, picture frames, wall paper, crevices of woodwork, floors, etc. Each batch of eggs develops in from 6 to 11 weeks, and several batches may be hatched in a season. One generation succeeds another as long as the temperature remains sufficiently elevated.

  Not exactly the type of thing that many people worry about much in the twentieth century a hundred years after the writing of this article, but these pests are possible in modern times from foreign countries to Mediterranean cruises to homes and beds that are infested accidentally or through neglect.

  They hibernate during cold weather, during which season the insect is merely stupefied and renews its activities upon the return of warm surroundings. It is found in the dwellings of man, but other species of the same family have been found upon birds, as the common chimney swallow, pigeons and bats.

  The bedbug comes out at night and begins to bite and annoy. It conceals itself very cleverly and quickly in the day time or when surprised by a sudden light at night. It lives on the blood of man particularly, but can exist on food of other insects. It thrives best on filth and in old houses can keep alive without food for a year.

  Bedbugs are said to transmit smallpox. There is a possibility of their carrying the germs of typhoid fever and leprosy, but this fact has not been proven as yet. The bite is poisonous to some individuals, resulting in inflammation at the seat of the bite. This is supposed to be due to the same secretion which gives the characteristic nauseous odor.

• Muscular Levers
  
  

  Muscular Levers.-These great muscular levers in the body forward on the thigh, and bring the legs inward toward each other, besides moving the whole body to and fro when walking, etc.  The long, narrow muscle, seen running bleakly across the thought, is the Sartorius muscle,  a so called from the fact that it crosses the legs for the sartorial (Tailor’s) posture.  It is the longest muscle in the body.

  When I attempted to look up the word ’sartorial’ in Wikipedia, I could find no reference for it.  I’m not exactly sure what a tailor’s posture looks like.  Maybe its a form of exercise and maybe its something that tailors used to employ when taking measurements years ago.  I’m not sure.  I can almost picture someone doing squats or leg lifts or something working with strength equipment to build up their muscles in some archaic way.

   

  All I could find, was something that referenced the tailor posture for child birth.

  

• Improving Your Health through Yoga – A Great Introductory DVD
  
  

  Years ago when I was a teenager, I started practicing Yoga.  Back then it was just something to do to improve my breathing and increase my flexibility for karate.  After leaving high school I joined the military and the Yoga training, flexibility and especially the breathing paid off significantly.  It helped me with physical training and it also helped me to stay focused mentally.

  After leaving the military, I got caught up in a more normal routine and the necessity of practicing Yoga on a regular basis slowly slipped from my priorities.

  Since then I have tried Tai Chi and several other forms of exercise, meditation and stretching, but none have worked as well for me as Yoga.  I also do not do well in group classes.  Following a Yoga instructor in a class just does not fit in with my routine or lifestyle.

  I recently came across a great re-introduction into Yoga with a yoga dvd from RealBodyWork.com.  There are several things about the Vinyasa flow yoga dvd that make it very good not only for beginners, but also for people that are experienced with Yoga.

  1. It provides an excellent series of in depth explanations of poses and stances.  When I formerly practiced Yoga, I sometimes got the stances correct and sometimes I was not quite sure.  Some stances had alternative positions as well.  I could not always tell if I was doing the routine correctly or if I was possibly engaging in an alternative movement that might do more harm than good.  As I walked through the Gentle Vinyasa Flow dvd it has a video demonstration and tutorial on each of the positions, so you can not only find the positions that are best for you, but know that you are doing them correctly enough to benefit from them.
  2. The DVD is not just one program or yoga sessions, but includes 6 routines that range from about 25 minutes to almost an hour each. 
  3. The DVD includes over 23 poses and a great deal of variability.  I generally prefer a lot of variability in all of my exercise routines.  If the routine starts to feel ‘routine’ then I get bored and I’m more likely to fall out of practice.

   

  Now, as we get further into the exploration of the Book of Medicine, you will find something rather amazing.  This type of exercise was by no means foreign to Western medicine 100 years ago.  In fact it is described within the book itself with pictorial guides on practicing older forms of yoga and martial arts as well.