Fleas.—There are one hundred varieties of this pest which live on dogs, cats, birds, squirrels, rats, mice, etc. It has been proven that fleas carry the germs of Bubonic Plague, which has caused as high as 113 deaths in 119 cases during an epidemic. The disease was found to be spread by means of rats, mice and squirrels of all species and the flea (pulen fasciatus) in the fur of the animals was the medium by which the disease was conveyed to human beings by biting them and injecting the germs of Plague into their blood. The forms which pester the American homes are the Rouse Flea (Pulen Irritans), the Cat Flea (Pulen Felinius), and the Dog Flea (Pulen Canis).Each female flea deposits from eight to twelve whitish ovoid eggs in dust or lint, under carpets and the larger crevices of woodwork. In the summer they develop in about four weeks from the egg to the adult flea, in winter they develop in about six weeks. Four to six broods, as a rule are hatched out during each summer. The House Flea occurs in dwellings, breeding in bedding, clothing, carpets, window curtains, etc. They attack their victims at night. The Cat and Dog Flea, though they annoy only their respective victims, are as troublesome to human beings as the human flea.
While we have made major advances in the treatment and prevention of fleas, the speed of their prevention as not advanced along a path like Moore's Law where we see advances in computer chips and flash memory doubling on a regular basis.
Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:
- A Picture of Good Health
Note, This is the opening section of the first chapter of the first book.
The following Opening lines precede the segment:
A Description of the Colored Anatomical Charts Composing the Manikin Accompanying this Work.
We now proceed with what the book refers to his chart 1, however this would normally reference a chapter 1 I believe today.
A PICTURE OF GOOD HEALTH
This exquisitely beautiful and artistic anatomical late presents the head and face of a young man in the enjoyment of perfect health. Apart from the subject it’s so accurately and faithfully represents, it is in itself a viable life-like portraiture of the human head and face, and shows to what perfection the art of anatomical plate printing has attained. Note the prominent perceptive faculties, the high four head, features characteristic of a large brain and a massive and unimpaired intellect. Mark the open expression of the eye! How true to nature and life — like. Observe the compressed lips, denoting firmness of character and determination of purpose. Look at tentatively at the bright, open, manly countenance; there are no signs of mental decrepitude, physical bodily infirmities, nervous fear, or exhaustion of brainpower or life — force in the expression of the noble, ruddy and healthy face. It is, as its name implies, typical of Perfect Health!
Now you might ask, “What in the world is as book referring to at this point?”
The answer is what I can only refer to as a pop out picture on page 37.
- Wonders of the Eye.
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 . . .
- The Kidneys
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.