The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-06-25
Strange Phenomena of the Five Senses
Hearts Beating and Flesh Quivering
After Death.

branches over the side of the face. One
branch of this facial nerve, extending across
the temple, is a nerve of sensati on. govern
ing chiefly the PLAY ); OF II. the mouth. ., The
the nerve branch that traverses the temple
and the feeling is likely to be quite agoniz-
ing in that locality for moment or SO,
very likely involving the eyeball sympathet-
ically. This feeling of a sensation in one
nerve when another nerve is attacked is
what is called 'refex action"
Doubtless you have on occasions walked
up in the night with fearful pain in the
calf of the leg and found the muscles
drawn up in knot. This ''cramp," as it is
called, is simply contraction of the mus
cles caused by cold or fatigue. Irritation
of any sort, however, may bring it only
an electric current, for instance, which will
render the subject experimental upon in
capable of extending the limb affected. A
''stitch in the side'' is the same sort of a
cramp attacking other muscles; "crick in
the neck" is a contraction of the muscles
of the neck owing to cold.
slight wrench of the neck will oft-times
produce most agonizing sensation of
burning. one or more of the many liga-
ments that fasten the head securely in po-
sition having been strained for a moment.
Everyone has felt the pain in the side that
comes from running for q distance; it is
simply a spasm of the muscles of the dia-
2hragm, from violent and unaccustomed
exercise.
People are often unnecessarily alarmed
by specks floating before their vision, imag-
ming that blindness threatens. In most
than little indigestion or cold. A slight
enlargement of the blood vessels in the cor
nea that covers the front of the eye like
watch glass or in the mucous
membrane stretched over the cornea
will produce the symptom. But specks
n this aomotinoa ho yoorfi-
cles of blood or of other foreign substances
floating in the liquid of the eye-in which
case disease may be indicated. When the
specks are very movable it is presumably a
trifling congestion of the superficial mem
brane. Whisky in mild excess is likely to
serve as occasion for the phenomenon.
Why is the roof of your mouth so sensi-
tive that few rubs with your tongue will
render it unpleasantly sore?
Simply for the reason that beneath the
ever So many acute nervous papilln, only
covered by coating of epithelial cells. A
rub or two with your tongue will scrape off
these protecting cells and leave the sensitive
nerve extremities bare. Under such con-
ditions they are sore to the touch. It is at
the extremity of the tongue that such nerv-
GUS papill@. are most highly developed.
They perform the function Of the sense
called "taste," and for its purpose they are
distributed all over the inside of the mouth,
palate and upper throat: Different viands
produce upon these papilla varied effects of
the agreeableness of dishes served is esti-
mated.
The particularly high development of
such nervous papille at the ends of the
fingers-the result of education of those
parts through countless generations-makes
what is termed the acute sense of touch in
the extremities spoken of. Contact with an
object communicates an impression regard
ing that object to the brain, and thus it is
We feel.
As for smell, it is the most acute by far
of the five human senses. Ages ago it was
case; but it has lost by disuse. Take an
ounce of musk-most powerful of scents
and leave it where the atmosphere is still,
open on table. for year. At the end of
that time, having for a full twelvemonth
rendered odorous the whole air in it's neigh
detect that it has lost q particle in weight
Yet the smell has been infinitely distrib-
uted, microscopic portions of the musk
floating off and exciting impressions upon
the nerve papillae under the delicate lining
e OF the NASAL for this is
most rudimentary in human beings, through
want of necessity for its use under civilized
conditions; but it is highly probable that
the cave men had it quite as we'll developed
.s the sharpest-nosed beasts. Two hundred
thousand years ago the conditions of life
were different.
1t is astonishing how few persons actual
y of defective hearing have any notion of
the structure of the ear. The membrane
stretched across the interior passage and
called the "drun' merely serves to catch
and transmit the vibrations, like the dia-
this drum is the extremity of little bone,
which little bone is connected with second
bone is hitched on to third
little bone. all working together like
vibrations acting upon the drum. "' The be ine e
ner end of the third little bone comes in
contact with second little drum, which is
the wall of the receptacle filled with
liquid. A sound from without causes
vibration of the drum: the Vi
three little bones and causes a
series of pressures upon the wall of the
hquid-flled receptacle: flaments of the
auditory nerve floating in the liquid are
agitated by the vibration thus communi-
Gated; the auditory nerve conveys the i'm
preston to the brain, and thus it is we
hear. To our notion all creation is filled
with sounds, whereas in reality what we
conceive to be sounds are but vibrations of
the air and presumably the universe is in
fact one illimitable silenca.
nays OF llGnt feueCGeO ItOm an OOJeCC en-
ter the round hole in the iris of the eye,
called the pupil, and strike the nerve screen
that lines the eyeball, called the ''retina."
The rays carry with them picture of the
object they come from, and this picture is
photographed upon the retina by the &C
ton of the ocular purple chemical re-
sembllnR in its manner of working the
preparation used for a similar purpose by
the professional photographer. Attic back
OF the eye the optic nerve enters, spreading
out into the retlna. which forms the screen
for the reception of the photograph, and by
the optic nerve the impression of the pic
ture is conveyed to the brain and the object
is 'seen."
Az an illustration of nervous action it is
interesting 10 observe the fact that one has
only to fix his attention upon any part of
his anatomy for brief space in order to
make that portion very painful. Concen-
trate your mind upon your little toe for two
minutes, and at the end of that time 1t
will have begun to be almost aeonixinp.
The mind, directed toward the part. irri-
tates the nerve communicating with the
part. and the result 10 discomfort.
Tear out the heart of human being
quickly and it will continue 10 beat for
some seconds after it has been parted from
the body. A frogs heart will pulaatn for