Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1861-09-26
a Few Facts Worm keeping In m,nd.

A Few Facts Worth Keeping in Wind
From GA Practical Treatise upon the Human
Skln," BY Erarmus Wilson, F R S, we select
the following description of the Respiratory
system:
To arrive at something like an estimate Of
the value Of the perspirstoTy system In relation
to the rest Of the organism, | counted the per
spiratOry pores on the palm Of the hand, and
found 1928 in the square inch. Now, each OF
the pores being the aperture OF a little tube or
about a quarter Of an inch lon, iC follows,
that in a square inch Of skin on the palm Of
the hand there aXis1s A length of tu0e equal %
$50 inches, or 731 feet.
surely such an amount Of drainage as seven
ty-three feet in every square inch Of skin, as
suming this to be the average fer the whole
body, is something wonderful, and the thought
naturally intrudes Itself What if this drain
age were obstructed? Could we need a
stronger argument for enforcing the necessity
of attention to the skin? On the pups Of the
fingers, where the ridges Of the sensitive layer
OF the true skin are somewhat finer than
in the palm Of the hand, the number Of pores
on a spare inch was 2.268, and the length Of
the tube 567 inches, or AZ feet.
10 obtain an estimate Of the length Of tube
Of the Psrspiratory system Of the whole surface
Of the body, I think that $500 might be taEen
as a fdlf average or the number OF pores to
the square inch, and 700, consequently, Of the
umber0 Of inches in length. Now, the number
Of square inches Of sur ace in a mar. Of ordinary
hight and bulk is $500; the number Of pores,
therefore, 100000, and the number Of inches
OF perspiratoIy tube, ], 100000, that is 1883
feet, OF 5000 yards, or nearly t~wenty-eight
miles.
The respiratory system of the skin is one
Of the usual channels by which excess of wa
ter is removed from the blsod, and in effeCting
this purpose, the perspirstory function be-
comes e regulator Of the temperature Of the
body. 10 health, perspirat,on ia always TAX
ing place, even in a passive state Of the body,
and passes of in the form Of an imperceptible
VspOT, which is therefore termed iRsenSible
persptrGtion. But when the muscular system
is in exercise, when chemical combination is
active, and the nervous system excited, the
peTspiration is no longer insensible; it becomes
Perceptible, and more or less abundant, aHd is
then denominated sensible preparation.
The existence Of perspiration in its insensi-
bic or sensible state bears relation, however,
not merely to the quantity Of perspired fluid,
but also to the atmosphere. Thus, in a close,
damp day, when the atmosphere is warm, and
already charged with moisture, it is incapable
OF receiving that of the skin, and the ordinari-
ly iAsensible vapor becomes condensed in a
sensible form On the other hand, when the
atmosphere is drv, and the body or the air in
motion, the moisture is carried away 90 rapid
~ tina the sensible, under ordinary c~iTcumstan
ces, becomes an insensible perspiration. The
term "iRsensible PerspiTation, p therefore, prop
erly applies to the imperceptible evaporation
from the skin when the body is at rest, or in
gen lie motion.