The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1859-03-02
Facts AbOnt the Body.

body, exclusive of the teeth. These lpnes
are composed of animal and earthly mater
ials, the former predominaung in youth and
The latter in old age, rendering the bones
brittle. The mos, important of these bones
is the spine, which is composed of "a small
bones, called the vertebre, one Oil top of The
other, curIously hooked together and fasten,
ed hy elastic ligaments, forming pillar by
which The human body is supported.
The bones are moved by The muscles of
which there are more than 500. The red
meat or beef, the fat being excluded, is the
muscular fabric of the OK. There are two
sets of muscles, one 10 draw the bones one
way, and an other 10 dfa'vsesen lack again.
a'Ne cannot better describe Inc einuscIes than
by comparing them TO fine elastic thread
bound up in their cases Of skin. Many
muscles terminate in tendons, which are
stout cords, such as may be seen traversing
the back OF the hand, just without 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 breath.
ing, is performed through the agency of
muscles
In adults there are about fifteen quarts of
blood each weighing about two pounds
This blood is of two kinds, arterial and ven-
GUS The first is the pure blood, as it leaves
the heart to nourish the frame, and is of
bright vermillion color. The last is the
blood as it runs 10 the heart loaded with the
impurities of The body, to be refined, and
is of a purple hue. Every pulsation Of the
heart sends out two ounces Of arterial blood
and as there are from id'1o so beats in u
minute, hogshead of blood passes through
the heart every hour. In fevers the pulsa-
tions are accelerated and consequently death
ensues il the fever is not checked
The stomach is boiler, if we may use
such a figure, which drives the human en-
gne. Two sells of muscles, crossing each
other, turn the food over and over, churning
it up in the gastric juice til. it has been re-
duced 10 the consistency of thin paste -
This process requires fro m :wo 10 four hours.
Emerging from the stomach the food en-.
ters the small in,eslines, where it is mixed
with the bile and psncreatic juice, and con-
verted into chyle. These small intestines
are twenty-four feet long, and closely pack.
ed of course, and surrounded through their
whole length with snail tubes which are
like sockets, and draAing of the chyle,
empty into large tube named the thoraic
duct, which runs up the back md discharges
the contents into the jugular vein, whence
it passes TO the heart to assistin forming the
arterial blood.
The lungs are two bags connected with the
open air by the windpipe, which branches
into innumerable small tubes, all over the
inside of the lungs, each Terminating in
minute air cell. The outer surface of these
air cells is full of small! capilaries, Infinite
ly small veins thin membrane only divid-
ing the air from the blood.
The impure portion OF venous blood is
carbonic acid, which, havinga stonger af.
finity for air than for blood, passes through
this membrane 10 a gaseous state, combines
with the air in the air cells, and is expelled
with the next respiration. Meantime the
oxygen of the 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-glving and arterial
blood.
The skin serves an important purposes in
carrying off impurities of the system. ltis
,raversed with capilIaries which contains
more blood in the aggregate than all The 9TH
er capilIaries of the body. 1t is also perfor.
ated with countless perspiration tubes, the
united length of which amounts TO % miles,
and which drains away from three to four
pounds of waste matter every twenty -four
hours or FIVE -eighis Of all the body dischar-
, ges.
The nerves are another curious feature Of
the animal economy. They are however
but little understood. They act as feeers
10 tell the wants of the body, and also as
conductors 10 will the muscles 10 act. They
branch out from the brain, and spine over
the whole frame in infinitely fine fibres like
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