Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1890-12-05
STRUCTURE OF THE NERVES.

Abstract of a Lecture BY DR.. J..H. Kel.
logg, Battle Creek sanitarium.
few drops of water from stagnanb
pool when examined under the micro
scope reveal the lowest form of life,
transparent, je1ly-like protoplasm, not
more than one five-hundredth of an
inch in size and many are less, They
move about, eat, contract, and are sem
sitive to sound or motion. These
mites of protoplasm have wrapped up
in them all the properties of living mat
ter.
The 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-
gushing them from other amoeba.
Each muscular fiber may be considered
as long row of these little living cells.
The liver and the lining of the stomach
are made up of just such living
cells. In the cells of the brain
and spinal cord, the proper
ty of sensibility is chiefly de-
veloped, and in the muscles, the con-
tractile property. The brain cells send
branches down through all parts of the
body, some cells having one, some two
and others larger number of thread
like branches. A nerve is simply
bundle of these fine threads bound to-
gether, like the wires of sub marine
cable. 1t would take twenty Thousand
of these little nerve fibers to make a
band an inch wide. In the brain there
are some three or four tril1ion of these
cells. They are arranged so as to cover
the outside and are what constitute the
gray matter of the brain, while the
little threads or filaments they send
out are deeper in the brain sub
stance, constituting the white matter.
These nerve fibers ramify in every di-
rection reaching every portion of the
body. The point of a pin thrust into
the finger would cover good many of
them.
In the brain itself, these telegraph
lines have a great variety of work to
do. Some of them have charge Of the
sense of hearing, and If they become
disordered will cause person to hear
noises which are purely subjective and
not real. The same is true of those
which preside over the senses of sight
Light depends upon the excitement OF
the cells of the brain and not noces-
sarily upon the eyes alone.
If blood clot is formed in the brain,
the nerve cells of that part are de-
stroyed, and though the long reaching
flaments leading from that part of the
brain are still there, they convey no
sensation and the condition which we
call paralysis is induced.
There is another class of cells which
have an entirely different property,
possessing the ability to send impulses
outward. These may be called
cells of work. The nerve cells of the
brain send down an impulse for GER
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 gun. All the work we do is by
this releasing of energy. There are
similar nerve cells which cause the
heart to do it's work. One set of cells
accelerate its movements when neces.
sary, and another are made to slow it
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 do
not produce work, but which regulate
work. We go on breathing without
taking thought, because there are GER
tain cells which control the breathing
automatically. These cells are very
sensitive to carbonic acid gas,
and when this gas accumulates little
in the body, these cells send down an
impulse to the lungs to take in more
air and thus expel the gas which is
dangerous to life. This answers for a
few seconds, when the cells again
recognize that the body is liable to be
poisoned unless more air is taken in and
thus sends down another impulse.
Sometimes when we are reading very
interesting book, or we are nervously
excited in some way, we forget to
breathe as regularly or as deeply as we
should, when we are reused up with a
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 OF
balance is a very remarkable thing.
When this is perfect, as in health, the
different parts of the body know in.
stinctively their relations part to part.
The finger tips of the two hands can be
brought exactly together though the
eyes be closed, the action bringing into
play thousands OF nerves ana muscle
cells in harmonious concert We are
able to 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, is governed by some special
group of nerve cells Iset apart for the
purpose. by Helen L. Man
ming.
An Ingenious Color Test.
In order to more readily and accu
rately apply the color test to the eye
sight of railroad drivers and engineers
DIR. Ledyard, a surgeon of much profes