Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-12-13
ORGANS GOOD FOR NOTHING.
Every Human Being Has . Third Eye and
Various Rudimentary Glands.

ssTNHERE Is KIND of lizard found in
Il Virginia and Maryland that has three
eyes-one of them on the top of his head" said
a man of science the other day to a representa-
tive of The STAR. 1T is generally supposed
that they are very rare, but, on the contrary,
they are quite common. You can find plenty
of them if you take the trouble to look. They
are green and about three inches long"
''Are there any other animals in the world
that have three eyes?'
Lots. For example, you yourself have q
third eve, though it has become rudimentary
through disuse."
"Holy Moses! Where is it,"
'Just in the middle of your head, as nearly
as its location can be described off-hand. An
atomists know 1t as the 'pineal gland but it is
actually an eve that has become rudimentary.
Place the tip Of your finger just above the
bridge OF your nose and on level with your
eyes. Directly behind that point about five
inches, at the base of the brain, is this gland /
speak of, which the ancients used to imagine
was the center of consciousness and the seat
OF the soul. Its structure has lost all re-
semblance to that of an eve. but YOU can find
IT retaining more of its original development
in some turtles and other reptiles. With them
this gland has still. though in the middle of the
head. an actual eve socket. an optic nerve con-
Meeting with the visual tract of the brain, and
even the pigmentary inner coat, the object of
which in all eyes is to absorb light. There is
no retina, but it is an eye for all that. In the
case of the lizard | mentioned this pineal eve
actually appears at the top of the head and is
useful for seeing with.
ORGANS NOT Used.
There are quite a number Of rudimentary
organs in the human body which have become
SO because nature has no longer any use for
them. For example, there is the thyroid
gland in the neck. the only usefulness Of which
seems to be in occasioning the disease known
as goitre. People in Savoy and the Tyrol are
worst afflicted with this complaint. 1t is sup
posed that the water they drink, derived from
the melting OF the glaciers in the Alps, causes
the hypertrophy of the thyroid gland, the re-
suit of which is an enormous swelling, 20 that
sometimes the unfortunate comes to have a
bag-likc appendage hanging down as far as the
waist. There is no known cure for the trouble
after il has got well started, though the SWELL
ing may be trifie reduced by injections into
its substance. 1t is a very curious fact that if
q human being or any other animal is deprived
of this apparently useless gland by cutting it
out there always follows a general degeneration
Of all the tissues of the body.
Another seemingly useless organ is the 'su-
pra-renal capsule attached to each of the kid
news. Its only purpose in a human being an
sons disease in cases where it gets out of or
der. In such cases, which are happily rare, the
skin Of the body loses its natural color and be-
comes Of a muddy-brown hue. This Capsule
is presumably the remains Of what was once a
organ.
''Then there is the mysterious 'vermiform
appendix attached to the small intestine.
Once in while an apple seed or some such
thing gets into 1t and causes inflammation.
Until within the last four or Eve wears such
cases were always fatal, but now they are usu-
ally cured by cutting open the stomach and
removing the appendix. Until very recently
operations requiring the cutting open of the
body In this way almost invariably resulted in
death, for the reason that germs could not be
prevented from getting into the wound and
creating subsequent Inflammation. But the
bscteriologists have taught, through their re-
searches, how such germs may be killed by
spraying with antiseptic solutions The vermi-
form appendix has considerable usefulness
among the lower animals. With the COW and
other beasts that chez the cud il is a large
sack attached to the stomach and is utilized
as storage reservoir for food that is not needed
for immediate consumption"