The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1879-06-25
For Tim R1u0Ab
TIE WONDERFUL STRUCTURE AND
FUNCTIONS HEHUHAN B0DY.
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| Having given the structure and operations
of the different apparatus by which the blood
the building material of the body--is circu-
lated and rendered in fit state for circula--
ton, will now proceed to give general de-
scription OF the most important apparatus OF
the whole body, called digestion. BY which,
tho blood is manufactured from the food par
taken at our daily repssts that is, by this
apparatus the food isprepared for absorption,
and then by the absorption system the nutr-
ment is taken up and discharged into the cir
culatory system, by which it is conveyed with
the blood to all parts of the body to repair its
wastes. One part goes to repair bone, tho
framework, another portion repairs the mus
Giles, another repairs the various organs or
machinery of the body, and so ON. We learn
that it is very essential, in order to produce
this variety of material, namely, material for
bone, for muscles, for nerves, and all the va
rious organisms OF the body, that our dict
should be varied. We would not thrive nor
live for any considerable length of time, if re-
strlcted to any single article of diet. We
need variety, whether it be an animal or
vegetable diet, or both. Animals are clarac
terized from tho food upon which they sub
sst viz the carnivorous, or those feeding on
flesh the piscivorous, on fish tho insectiv-
orous, on insects the phytivorous, on vege.
tables the granivorous on seeds the gram
iniyorous and herbivorous on the grasses the
frugivcrous, on fruit and the omnivorous,
which subsists on both animal and vegetable
food. The digestive apparatus of man be-
longs intermediate to carniyorous and hor-
biyorous, 1t is, therefore omnvorous al
though he is capable of living on either ami
NAL or vegetable diet, to the exclusion of the
other but when confined to ono alone from
infancy, we learn that the corporal and men,
tai development is generally inferior to that
produced by mixed diet of vegetable and
animal.
The digestive apparatus consists of an nm.
interrupted canal extending from the mouth
to the anus, called the alimentary canal. We
may divide this canal into three portions, viz.
the SUPERIOR. middle and inferior. The SUI
perior portion is composed of the mouth
phaIynx and ocsophagus the middle part of
the stomach and small intestines and the in
ferior part of the large intestincs. In addi-
ton to this portion of the apparatus there are
several glandular bodies, namely the saliyary
glands pancreas, liver, spleen, and large
number Of muciparous glands extending along
the whole course of the canal. The mouth is
the FIRST division of the alimentary canal, and
serves as sort of mill for grinding or cutting
the food, called mastication, in order to pre-
pare it for the subsequent action of the di.
gestive fluids.
The process of mastication is entirely
mechanical one but the action of the diges.
tive fluids is chemical in its nature and will
be exerted more promptly and efficiently If
the food be finely divided or wel-masticated,
then if brought in contact with the digestive
fluids in a solid mass. This is always the case
when solid body is subjected to the action
of solvent fluid since, by being broken up
into minute PARTICLES it offers larger sur.
face to the contact of the fluid, and is more
cation is performed by the teeth. The teeth,
in order to be we'll fitted for this work are
made very hard. They are the hardest sub
stances in the body which is owing to the
enamel, which forms a thick coat over all the
body of the tooth down to the gum. 1t docs
not extend down on the roots, for 1t is not
needed there. The roots and all the inner part
of the teeth are.li like common bono.
The human body is provided with two sets
of teeth, which make their appearance at diff
ferent periods of life. The first set appear in
childhood, and are called temporary or milk
teeth. The second set which also appear at
an early period, continue until old age, and
are called permanent teeth. The temporary
teeth are twenty in number the permanent
teeth, thirty-two, sixteen on each jaw.
Different animals have different kinds of
teeth, according to the kinds of food which
they eat. In the f1esh-eating or carnivorous
animal, the front teeth are long tearing ones,
while the back teeth have sharp edges for cut
ting. We can see these two kind of teeth in
the dog or cat. Vegetable eating or herbiv-
orous animals have no tearing teeth. The
horse and COW are of this class. They have
two kinds of teeth, namely, cutting teeth in
front, by which they crop the grass, or draw
Luc my iTOIu tuo IdCkS anu kTiHuluE tbBtn
back, by which they grind up the food before
they swallow it.
There is a peculiar arrangement of the
enamel, which adm irably fits them to grind
| up the fibres Of the grass. The enamel Is not
merely on the outside as it is in the human
teeth, but there are ridges of it standing up
in the middle of each tooth.
Man eats all kinds of food, or Is omnivor-
GUS he therefore has the various kinds OF
teeth. But observe, his grinding teeth are
not such thorough grinders as the horse and
COW have. He is not in need Of the ridges Of
enamel to grind the vegetable food that no
eats, most of which he softens by cooking
Observe, too, that his tearing teeth are not so
long and so powerful as those of the dog or
tiger The reason is, that ho knows how to
invent and use cutting Instruments, and there
fore divides his food very much before eating
it.
(To BE CONTINUED
A man in Michigan snapped his horse for