The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1875-10-06
THE HAIR.
Prof. Whtttaker at the ohio Medical Last
Night.

Prof. Whittaker at the ohio Medical Last
Night
The second lecture Of the popular
series at the Medical College Of Ohio
was delivered last evening before full
house by DR.. Jas. T. Whitaker, on ''The
HAIR"
The lecturer commenced by stating
that anatomists usually degraded the
hair to mere appendage of the skin,
and gave 1t about the Importance of a
caudal extremity TO an animal. The
speaker retutes this idea by showing
that the hair was not to be looked upon
as an appendage to the skin, but as the
skin itself having undergone certain
notifications. In exalting the dignity
Of the skin, therefore, we exalt the value
OF all its parts, the hair with the rest.
Having described the inyoluIion of the
skin to form hair, the speaker proceed
ed to describe its constituent parts, and
followed with full description of all its
properties, form, length, diameter,
strength, extensibility, elasticity, hy-
groscopicity, electricity, etc.
The speaker entered next into some
detail as to the manner of growth of q
hair, its nutrition, lie, death and the
provision for its successor. Next the
difference in hairs in different parts of
the body, the appendages of the hair,
the oil-glands aud muscles, ami the par
asites, animal and vegetable, which
the hair came next, with allusion to the
cases of abnormal direction and unnat-
ural situation, as in the ovaries, the
lungs, bladder, intestines and brain.
A special section was devoted to the
color of the hair, in which was discussed
grayness, accidental, premature and
senile, with narration OF remarkable
cases Of sudden blanching and the skep-
ticlsm with which such statements have
been greeted. The influence OF heredity
as to color and texture was now taken
up, and sketch was given of some OF
the variations of homologous structures
in the ear, eye and skin found in con.
nection with abnormalities in the hair.
The quality Of hair, cases when it was
In excess and deficient, and badness,
lecture the subject Of wigs.
The use OF the hair was now alluded
to and the effects Of its removal, and
after this the brain in it's various foren-
sic considerations. The speaker here
entered upon the ethical aspects of his
subject, hair a race, hair O character,
the various modes OF dressing, and the
hair from an archaeological point of view.
He showed here why it was that man is
SO CONSPICUOUS among all the primates
tor the nudity of his skin. The deficiency
Of hair in man was decided disadvan-
tage to him, as all savages are glad to
cover their backs against the yicissi.
tudes OF the weather. Man was in ali
probability originally hairy, but he had
become comparatively naked by pluck
ing out the hair for purposes OF orna-
mentation. This eradication of the hair
is practiced by many of the lower ami.
mails, birds (feathers) and monkeys
(hair), as well as by a great number OF
savage tribes. The naked skin in these
cases is often vividly co!ored among ami
mails by nature, in man by art, as in tat
tooing.
The lecturer closed with the remark
that, with all its importance, no one
nowadays would think of judging OF a
man by the color or dress OF his hair, as
his success in life depends more upon
the contents than the cover of his skull;
and as to woman, it is now, as it al.
ways has been, and always will be, more
Of an affair of the heart than the hair.
The lecture was very richly illustrated
with drawings and specimens Of every
description. The next lecture will be by
DR.. Bartholow on 'The Heart" Friday
at 3 P. M.