Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-10-30
STRUCTURE OF THE NERVES.
Abstract OF a Lecture Rv Dr. II. Ks,
log. Battle

A">'Faet OF a Lecture Ry DR.. j. III. Rel-
iogs. Battle Creek SAINT arirm
Il lew drops OF water from staruant
pool " hen examined under the micro
scope reveal the lowest form of life.
transparent jelly-like protopiasn. not
more than one fve-hundredth of an
inch IN size and many are less. They
more about eat, contract. and are SEN
slnFe 70 sound or motion These
mites of protoplasm have wrapped I'D
IN them all the properties OF living mat
Inc cell life or protoplasm of the
human body is precisely analogous,
only they are one-fourth the size. They
are called human amoeba as distin-
gulshlnS them from other amoeba
Each muscular fiber may be considered
as q long row of these little living cells
ne aver and the lining of the stomach
are made up of just such living
cells In the cells Of the brain
ana spinal cord. the proper
y OF sensibility IS chiefly de-
TeloPed, and in the muscles. the con.
tractlle property. The brain cells send
branches down through all parts of the
oo1 y some cells having one, some two
and others larger number OF thread
IKE branches A nerve IS simply a
bundle OF these fine threads bound 70,
Cetner, like the wires OF a sub marine
ca5l'- 1t would take twenty thousand
o. these little nerve fbe-s 20 make
oanG an inch wide. In the brain therd
are some three or four trillion OF these
cells They are arranged so as 70 cover
the outside and are what constitute tho
gray matter OF the brain. while tho
little threads or flaments they send
oGc are deeper IN the brain sub
stance, constituting the white matter
These nerve dbers ramify IN every d.
Tec--on reaching every portion 81 the
body The point Of 1 pin thrust into
the finger would cover . good many OF
them.
u the brain itself, these telegraph
lines have great variety OF work 10
do Some of them have charge of the
sense Of hearing. and If they become
diso-dered VIII cause person 70 hear
noises which are purely subjective and
not real The same i true Of those
which preside over the senses OF sight
Light depends upon The excitement OF
the cells Of the brain and not neces-
sarily upon the eyes alone
II blood clot j. formed in the brain.
the nerve cells of that part are de-
st-oyed- and though the long reaching
flanents leading from that part of the
brain are still there, they convey nc
sensation and the condition which we
cal: paralysis is induced
There i another class OF cells which
have an entirely different property,
possessing the ability 10 send impulses
outward These may be called
cells of work The nerve cells Of the
brain send down al impulse fog cer-
tain muscle to contract. and the latent
energy Of that muscle is let off with an
explosion like the pulling Of the trig-
ger Of a gun. All the work we do is by
this releasing of energy There are
similar nerve cells which cause the
heart 20 do its work. One set OF cells
accelerate lis movements when neces-
sary- and another are made 70 slow il
down. Bile making and the manufact-
Ure Of gastric juice are also under con
troll of certain brain cells, and so with
all other bodily processes
Then there are other cells which dc
no. produce work, but which regulate
work We go or breathing without
taking thought. because there are GER
tain cells which control the breathing
automatically. These cells are very
sensitive 20 carbonic acid gas
and when this gas accumulates little
in the body, these cells send down an
impulse to the lungs 10 take III moro
air and thus expel the gas which :
dangerous TO life This answers for 7
few seconds. when the cells again
recognize that the body is liable 10 10
poisoned unless more air is taken in and
thus sends down another impulse.
Sometimes when we are reading very
interesting book, or we are nervouslv
excited in some way. we forget &c
breathe as regularly or as deeply as we
should. when We are reused up with
deep breath or sigh which makes up for
our remissness- Nature rallies her
forces by this deep inspiration.
Other cells OF the brain have the
power OF balance OF movements. being
sort of regulators This regulation o:
balance IS a very remarkable thing
When this 5 perfect. as in health, the
different parts OF the bodr know in
stinctiyely their relations part 10 part
The finger tips Of the TWO hands can De
brought exactly together though the
eyes be closed. the action bringing into
play thousands Of nerves and muscle
cells in harmonious concert We are
able 20 DO this because the TWO sides of
the body are so perfectly made that one
part knows where the other part Is.
Every part Of the body, every thought
and power and action. voluntary or in
voluntary. ! governed By some special
group Of nerve cells set apart Tor the
-pose-Rep ported by Helen L Man
ming