Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1854-10-21
COMMUNICATION.
PHYsIoLoGY.-No. III.
The Circulation of The Blood.

last but as my old acquaintance, Mr.. G. w. EvELETH
who is much addicted to physiological speculations, ap
pears to have difficulty in regard to the subject and
thinks that have pursued exactly parlia
mentary" am willing to crafty him by writing again.
Mr. Eyeeth wishes me to reply to the objection made
to my theory that it does not account for the movement
of the blood in where there is propeng heart
This readily admit for the simple reason that there are
no such cases. have shown in my previous papers on
this subject better acquaintance with comparative
anatomy will convince Mr. Eveeth that all animals in
which there is circulation at oil have heart of some
form The Deity has prescribed model for all hearts
any more than he has prescribed model for the shape
Of all heads all bodies all organs These different
in different orders of animals but there is something
swerng to heart in all Of them.
Mr. Eyeleth falls into the same that Of DR..
Cartwright Of New Orleans who asserted that there we're
thousands of animals who had hearts at all and upon
this false assumption he based his theory proved the
fasity of the assumption by citing Culver and other emf
nent comparative anatomists OF the highest authority
Those citations Mr. Eveeth will find in my previous pa
pers on this subject in the New Orleans Medical and Sur
gcal Journal in the columns Of the National Intelgea
Ger, and elsewhere.
The idea that the heart was intended to circulate
the blood is simply absurd No Psychologist of any
entertans the idea for moment, even thinks it w9-
thy of the slightest notice. 1t finds place in any
eeiyed work on physiology DIR. Draper, Mrs Willard,
Dr. Cartwright DR.. B. Dods, Mr.. Schcterly, and per-
haps my friend, Mr.. G. w. Eveleh, the only ones
who have thus my knowledge adopted this strange
theory.
Mr.. Eveeth thinks it strange that should take the
left yentce of the heart the point of departure of the
circulation instead Of the lungs he, DR.. Cartwright
and Mrs L. Willard Of Troy, suppose The supposton
that the point of departure of the circulation in the
beginning in the lungs the most absurd thing OF all
fer since the circulation commences IN uro, where there
is no respiration, and where there is no circulation
through the lungs the point of departure Of circulation
could not possibly be in the lungs The blood every
anatomist knows instead of passing through the lungs
before BIRTH finds its way to the left side Of the heart
from the vena cara through the ramen ovae and the dug
Grterioss and this constitutes the peculary OF the
fostal circulation
Mr. Eveeth has committed series of blunders, if lie
will allow the expression, in quoting portion OF one
of my papers which he finds given by Mr.. Schetterly
That quotation not extract from my theory OF the
circulation but simply passage quoted by Mr. Schet-
terly from paper of mine, in the New Orleans Medical
and Surgical Journal the subject of dsphyrta in which
l attempt to explain how it was removed by installation
In that particular case in which the heart had ceasedto
and the circulation had stopped the starting pontof
the circulation in the lungs BY Insulation Of 1T
mospherc air the blood was oxygenated and thus rn-
dered thinner and capable Of passing through the pulo
nary capillares to the left aurce, The stimulus of the
blood thus arteriazed again threw the heart into action
and thus the animation OF the patient was established
1t Of mine, OF suspended animation from as
phyxia Of the lungs in New Orleans, in which succeed
ed in restoring animation by Insulation artificial res
piration.
Mr. Eveeth quotes me saying that in this case of
asphyxa the circulation of the blood from the lungs to
the heart was caused by the stimulus Of the oxygeI
ccived into the cells of the lungs said such thing
did Mr.. Schettery quote me as making such sate
ment. If Mr.. Eveleth will take the trouble to read the
quotation again, in Mr. Schetterys second article ne
will see his mistake.
Again: Mr. Eveleth tries hard to make say that the
contracons of the right ventrce of the heart caused
by ''the blood circulating into it from the veins" No
such statement has been made of y Uritgs; nor is
it, as Mr. Eveeth asserts, necessary inference 1rom
any of my statements Aud even II it was it could in
no way impair my theory Of the circulation For aught
that know and for aught that Mr.. Eveleth show,
the blood may be the appropriate stimulus and
may actually stimulate the contractions of the light ven
trice. do not pretend to say this natter, for
it is quite immaeria whether the venous bloot stimu
lates the heart or not
Mr.. EYeleth next asks " in what way did thecrcula
ton of the blood in the veins originated" To tbs re-
ply As the blood in the veins originally fiom the
arteries, its circulation in the veins caused and is
now caused partly by the arteria circulation, have
shown in my second article sThe movementof the
blood through the veins, says Prof Carpenter, Of Lon
don is without doubt chiefly effected by the els ergo
propulsve force which results from the action Of the
heart and arteries and from the additional powergene
rated in the capillary vessels. This is shown by the i'm
mediate arrestmen of 1t which takes place when these
forces suspended Carpenters Human Physiology,
Sec 744) No higher authority than this can be cited
Matteucci arrived at the conclusion from expert
ments which he made upon dogs and other live animals
After citing an experiment on live dog, he says:
The conclusion drawn from this fact is evident the blood
the caparies and crculaes in the veins by the
sole forces which have propelled into the arteries namely
by the contraction Of the left yenrcle and that of the arte
rial ccats which the chief powers the only in fact of
the circulation Mateuccs Lccares Living BEINGS Lee
tuve xvii, p. 329.
From this it will be seen that sustained by the
highest authorities And what too becomes in the face
Of these authorities of the assertion of Mr. Eveeh that
the particles of the blood forced directly through
the caparies into the veins by the contracons Of the
heart that the blood is arrested in the capares and
the force Of the heart completely annihilaed in them
This is an assertion fals6ed by actual experiments.
Again, Mr.. Eveeth says:
sSuppose the blood in the veins be rest Dr. Ely
allows be- until it set in motion by the force of the
blood this artera blood passes into the capillary
sells Of its particles unite with of the particles
composing the capillary vessels rotary motion the
Of the union such rotary motion but draw
into ITSELF and go aody the right venrcle Of the heart
the blood lying at rest in it's channels Then there is
the least provision made any whore in Dr. Eys
adopted theory for the circulation but there
thinking sufficient provision for marked of in
fammaon congestion and lesion somewhere in the vicinity
Of the capillary vessels
All this is as clear mud. 1t strongly reminds Of
some Of Mr.. Eveleths former reveries in which he
wont draw his imagination than upon known
facts 1t is about satisfactory Dessartes theory Of
pores 1t is to be regretted that Mr. Eveleth has not
cited the facts and experiments by which is proved
place in the caplaries which only from thirty
hnndr IN one went hundredth Of an