The Red Cloud chief., 1884-08-22
Physiology Of the Heart.

DIR. X. Sutton, OF Kansas, 1t - said,
haas made two wonderful discoveries Of
late. viz: What causes the heart TO
p~ulsatc. or beat as he calls, and the or.
irin or source Of animal heat. So Ear
Ms thess agency sof electricity has any
thing to do with these causes. it would
he difficult for him or any other scien-
tifc psychologist TO ascertain. These
old electrical theories, so far as they
have anything whatever to do with the
vital economy Of 0sganizims, have
been long since given way for more
rational opinions. In the early days
of physiology there were a class Of
thinkers who claimed that the various
functions of the body, werecarried on
by electl lefty, but experiments and
facts soon showed that the electricity
had nothing { o do with the vital oper-
atoms OF the animal organizm. All in
vestigation and research stani in o.
sIuon 20 this electrical theory. There
are some statemcntss,.in Dr.ESutton's
theories i'm reference TO the causes Of
the beat of the heart, and source Of an
imal heat which / would like to know
more about. For instance how does
a battery and a telegraph wire, all in
operation, (which is his illustration),
illustrate the heart beats? would
like To know who has witnessed these
things going on in the heart, OF which
he so positively speaks. To make my
self more readily understood, / will re-
peat his words. He says, "The very in
slant the newly received blood con-
meets with the blood in the heart VIC
see the same result exerted. upon the
heart that wa seen to be exerted on
the muscles of the forearm, when the
conductor was connected with the bat
tery." Who knows that to be a factf
We must not beg this,quesliOn my'dear
brother. You nor no one else knows
whether acknowledgements the. heart
more than other part or no. ! will not
attempt to follow this wild idea any.
further, rs | fear it il not worth much
when caught. If | am not much mis-
taken the pulsations of the heart are
fairly well understood. Halter, per-
haps one of the greatest psychologists
of his time, says the action OF the heart
is spontaneous. The ciliated epithelium
arerin motion from the beginning 70
the end of life, and will continue to act
for q time after the cells are separated
from the organism. Connection Of the
heart with the nervous system is not
necessary to its action, fos it will con-
tinuesor contract:after it has been en-
tirely removed from the body. DIR.
Dunglisan speaks of the hearts of frogs
n~ndssturtles contracting ten to twenty |
four hours after their removal from
the body. The great law governing !
action of the heart in its rythmical
c~onfractions depend upon the irrit- |
ability inherent in its muscular fibers
and not on electrical shocks" Haller
applied this law or theory to the heart, |
and says the heart possesses the prop |
erty ofirritabiiity in the highest degree.
Ii has been further proven that the
heart will pulsate and contract on ami
mails poisoned with Noorara which par
Allies the motor nervous system.
Which will you accept, this or DR.. SUIT
tons theory unsupported by facts?
As to. the origin of animal heat he
stands alone if we call it standing at
all. We have not the time or space TO
devote to Il minute examination OF has
theory on this part of his subject. All
scientific writers, scholars, and think
ers are pretty well agreed on the sub
ject of the origin of animal heat.
There are two theories On this import
ant subject, viz: The chemicO-vital
and combustion theories. The chemi-
co-yital is not in opposition to the
combustion theory. as taught by most
Psychologists of the present day. 1t is
an unfortunate use of terms to apply
the name combustion to the general
process of nutrition. C~hemico-vital
and combustion so far As they refer to
the production of animal heat, are in
tended to e the same process. The
theory includes respira-
ton, digestion. circulation, secretion,
nutrition, and elimination.
Combustion, the generation of animal
heat in the living organism, is connect
ed more or less with all the processes
OF nutrition and discrimination, includ-
ing the con bustion of oxygen and the
production of carbonic acid. Every
function of the body has more or less
to do with the process of nutrition.
All the foregoing vital processes are at
tended by the production ofheat which
is known as animal heat, or the ordin-
airy heat of the body. 1t way be asked
in what part of the bcIy is this heat
generated. 1t is ncysin the lungs, az
the blood cegni.Ig from them is no
warmer than before it went to them, so
every organ in the body. l believe
there are no psychologists Of tn pres
day who hold the opinion that
there Is any organ or part of the body
concerned in the special and exclusive
production Of heat.
JIM. MosENA, N. u. |,