The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1855-11-21
EVANSVILLE. INDs WEDNESDAY, MORNING, NOVEMBER 81
OBJ aailg youroaL.
From the Philadelphia Ledger.
Facts about the Human Bodv.


Facts about the Human Body.
There are two hundred and eight bones in
the human body, exclusive of the teeth. These
/ bones are composed of animal earthly materials
the former predominating in youth, and the
latter in old age, rendering tho bone brittle.
THE snostimportont OF these bones is the spine
which is composed oftYenty- -four small bones
called the yertebe, one hon top ofthe other
curiously, hooked together and fastened by
elastic ligaments, forming pillar, so to speak
Iby which the human frame isrsupported. sF
The bones are novel BY the muscles, OF
(which there are more than five hundred The
red meat of beef the fat being excluded, is the
muscular fabric Of the OK. There are twosets
of muscles, one to draw the bone one way,
and another to draw it back again. We can
not better describe the muscles than by compar-
ling them to fine elastic threads, bound up in
their cases of skin Many muscles terminate
lin tendons, which are stout cords, such as may
be seen trayersing the back of the hand; Just
within the skin; and which can be observed to
move when the hand is opened or shut Every
motion we make even the involuntary one Of
breathing is performed through the agency of
the muscles. 5ss.s ~. -. Ill.
In adults there are about fifteen quarts of
blood, each quart weighingabout two pounds
| This blood is Of two kinds the arterial and
tyeinous The first is the pure blood as it
leaves the heart to nourish the frame. and is OF
bright yermillion color. The last is the
blood as it returns to the heart loaded with
the impurities of the body, to be there refined
and is of purple hue. Every pulsation OF
the heart sends out about two ounces of arte-
rial blood, and as there are from seventy to
eighty beats in the minute, ahogshead OF
&lsol1 L
4 In fevers the pulsations are accelerated; the
waste of the body goes on faster than it can be
lrecuperated; and consequently death ensues il
1.-THE fever is not checked.
The stomach is the boiler, if we may use
such a figure, which drives the human engine.
Two sets of muscles, crossing each other trans
lversely, turn the food over and over, churning
it up in the gastric juice, till it has been reduc-
ed to the consistency of thin paste. The pro-
Icess requires from two to four hours. Emerg-
ling from the stomach, the food enters the
small intestines, where it is mixed with bile
and the pancreatic juice, and converted into
lchyle- These intestines are twenty-four feet
long, closely packed, ofcourse, and surrounded
Through their whole length with small tubes,
which act like suckers, and drawing off the
ehyle, empty into larger tube, named the
/ thoracc duct, which runs up the back and
discharges it's contents into thejuglar vein
whence it passes into the heart, to ;ssist in
forming arterial blood. sr- s 81.
The lungs are two bags, connected with the
open air by the windpipe, which branches in
to innumerable small tubes, all over the in ;ide
of the lungs each tube terminating in minute
air-cell. The other surface Of these air-cells
is full Of capillaries or infinitely small veins,
thin membrane only dividing the air from the
| blood. The impure portion of veinous blood
| is carbonic acid, which having stronger affini
ty for air than for blood, passes through this
thin membrane, in gaseous state combines with
the air in the air-cells, and is expelled with
the next expiration. Meantime The oxygen
| Iofthe air unites with the blood and becomes
purified, then passing into the heart, being
mixed with chyle, it is forced through the
body as life giving and arterial blood.
The skin serves an important purpose in
carrying off impurities from the human system.
1t is traversed with capillaries which contain
more blood in the aggregate, than all the other
lcapillaries of the body. 1t is also perforated
with countless prespiration tubes the united
length of wich amounts to twenty eight miles,
and which drain away from three to four
pounds of waste matter every twenty -four
hours or five eighths of all that the body dis
charges.
| The nerves are another curious feature of
the animal economy. They are however but
little understood. They act as feelers to tell
the wants of the body anu o,,oo as conductors
to will the muscles to act. They branch out
| from the brain and spine over the whole frame
in Intimately fine fbres, like the branches and
twigs Of a tree. .a s.s..s.fgs =.
Il