River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1884-03-20
THE HUMAN HEART.
Useful Information About the handspring
of Life.
From the New York Tribune

Useful information About the handspring
of Life.
From the New York Tribune
The heart is the great center of circu-
lation, the handspring of the wonderful
mechanism Of the body, the central
| point in the microcosm, man. IT'S siza
| is about equal to that of the closet fist
of the person to whom it belongs. Its
average weight in the adult from twenty
to ninety years is, in the male, ten
ounces; in the female, eight to nine In
, age ii is somewhat larger than In mid
die life.
IT is lodged in the chest, between the,
lungs, and very much imbedded in the
lfet lung, nearer the front wall of the
chest than the back, and is inclosed in
a sort Of double bag the pericardium.
1t is supported by the diaphragm Ito
which it is connected by the per1car
dunn and by the great vessels which,
issuing from it and entering it, help to
suspend it and keep it in place.
1.-The heart is really two organs united
in one, one half governing the circula-
ton through the lungs, the other half
that Of all the rest Of the body. Elk
ccpt for economy of space and synchro-
nism Of action, there might as well have
been two hearts placed i'll different
parts Of the body" Each of these
united hearts has two chambers, an
auricle and veatricle. The muscular
walls of these chambers differ in strength
according to the greater or less force
required of them. 1t is estimated that
the force which effects the contractions
of the left yentricle could move twenty
pounds through the space of one foot
in one second Of time The right
ventricle is supposed to he about half
as powerful as the left Each cavity of
the heart holds about two ounces, or
| four tablespoonfuls of blood, Though
| double this quantity has been found in
/ it after DEATH and as il contracts about
seventy times minute, more than two
| hogsheads of blood traverse it every
hour Our Young readers can easily
| estimate how much blood passes through
it in the course OF a long life Substan-
ces injected into the venous blood have
| Dtttl OHNSttNAt Nv NhttlhlNttl ltttttlRh VhC
minute afterward in the secretions,
showing that the pulmonary and gen
eral circulations are completed, and Sc
erection or eXecretion effected III this
small period of time.
Between the chambers of the right and
left sides of the heart are partitions;
that on the right side composed of three
valves, 1.-The like of which human ingen-
uitv has never invented or initiated,
that on the left of two. These valves
open and close us the blood is forced
through the heart.
The contraction and dilation of the
two auricleS and the two ventricles are
simultaneous, but the contraction in the
ventricles begins Just preceptbly after
that in the auricles. Then comes
| pause or rest. after which the auricles
and ventricles contract again in the
same order rs before, and then
comes a rest. One third of the time
| the heart. that type ofunceasing motion,
rests The striking together of the
aortic and pulmonary valves at tho
close Of the contraction causes one of
| the two sounds-the short sound; the
other is supposed by an eminent author
| ity to he caused by the friction OF the
muscular fibres of the heart on each
| other.
An essential part of tho nervous sup
| ply of the heart is centcred in itself.
| Nerve centres are situated in the base
OF the organ and in the midst Of its other
| structures. It also receives branches
| from the sympathetic nerve of the lungs
| and the stomach. If the heart of a liv-
| T. I Is,,l.r -
viii go on pulsating for time, as 1T
| did before its removal, showing that the
heart contains within itself, in part, the
cause of its action.
/ The heart beat is caused by the strik-
ing OF the apex of the heart against the
| pericardium, and through it on the in
ner wall of the chest at the moment
when the vetricles contract. There is
also a recoil Of the whole organ at this
moment in obedience to the laws Of ac-
ton and reaction. The pulse in the ar
teries as felt by the finger does not cor
respond precisely with the beat of the
heart, but takes place little after it,
and the further the artery is from the
heart the longer is this interval; very
delicate tests prove, however, that the
shock of the contraction of the heart is
felt all over the muscular system at
once; the actual fluid propelled takes
longer to reach and distend the more
distant branch.
This organ, at once powerful and del
icate, is subject to many diseases, some
of which one may have for long life
time and not die Of at last. Less than
4 per cent. of all the deaths in New
York City are caused by heart-disease.