Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1873-05-17
The Circulation of the Blood.

FoH thousands Of years. the hearts OF
animals had b. en- beating before 1t was us
covered that the purpose OF the continu-
Gus action of that organ was To bring the
supplies required for interstitional repair
to the rcmOtest members of the animal
body. and at the same time to carry on
the waste which had been replaced by
fresh material. For thousands OF years.
human hearts lad been beating. and.
misled bv superficial observation, the
heart was supposed to be the seat OF
| thought and passion, the center OF Tood
and evil. devotion and love; and 1t was
even compared by poets To an altar on
! which flames We're burning. etc.
But modern biologists have changed all
| this. The human heart is no longer the
seat of the noble feelings of generosity
charity, and of love; all these functions
have been transferred to the brain, while
the heart has been degraded to a simple
. hydraulic apparatus, i'll fact, to machine
to all intcnts and purposes equivalent tc
a pump.
If. after having fully realized the stu
pendOus change in our estimate of this
noble organ. we make it our task To in
veStigate its operation, our admiration
and delight concerning its exquisite con
structiOn compenSateS us fully for the dis
appointment which at first we may have
felt when poetry had to make room fol
reality. During the life of a man. thi
little pumping machine performs some
100000 pulSatiOns every twenty-folu
hours, 81 900 900 per year. and. III lie o
50 years. nearly 5000 .0O0, 600 of pulsation'
without ever stopping, as Stoppag'
would be at once fatal TO the individual
Every pulSatiOn projects six ounces o
blood with a force which has, by expert
4 ment. been determined to be .equivdlen
TO a hydroStatic pressure of eight feet
which is equivalent to a power of three
foot pounds for every plilsatiOn, anC
- . or PIG foot pounds per minute; es
timating the power of a strong man a
1920 foot pounds per minute. it is seci
that the little muscle which we call th'
heart exerts at every contraction powe
equal To one twentieth part of the powc
which his whole body is capable Of exert
ing: but then this power works night an
day without his will, even without In
knowledge. while man can only work on
third of the time. The whole amount o
blood propelled By the heart is q lbs. pc
minute. l620 lbs. per hour, 5000 lbs
per day. li,Oo0, 900 lbs. per year, ,O0O, OOO,
900 lbs. in a life time. Are we not the
justified in asserting that there is nothing
lost to the eyes of the intellect. by tn
transfer of the heart from the domain
Imagination and speculation to that c
positive science?
" The heart. with the regular musics
rhythm of the contraction Of its fou
: chambers. the never falling opening al
: closure of hs admirably cOnstructe
valves, sends the blood, which is mos
mysterious metamorphosis Of the too
: consumed. through the arteries. whic
, by their elasticity equalize the rhythmic'
impulses into a steady current, when IN
blood reaches the capillary vessels {: her
the blood is propelled further by capillar
action, by the forces of endOsmOse an
exOsmose; the blood thus reaches ever
recess. either in muscle, skin, nerve, G
even bone, and, replacing every organ
molecule which has become obsolete, cal
ries the latter through the veins toward
the liver, kidneys, and spleen TO be pur
fled. and lastly to the lungs to undeig
the main publication, the throwing off {
all gaseous matter, especially carbOni
acid and the absorption Of the vital ONy
gen. Then it returns to the heart. to :
again and again propelled through tn
holy American