The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-01-24
DOCUMENTARY ORGANS.
Mans Third Ego and Other Useless Parts
OF His Nfal,oup.

AAA<sa o AAE0 Ego anu OCnCE ObClCSS InTC&
of Ills Makeup.
"There Is q kind of lizard found In
Virginia and Maryland that has three
eyes-onc OF them on the top of his
head" said n man of science the other
day to u representative of the Washing
ton Star. cit is generally supposed
that they arc very rare, but, on the con-
trary, thoy are quite common. You
can find plenty of them if you take the
trouble to look. They are green and
about three inches long"
care there any other animals in the
world that have three cycs?"
slots. For example, you yourself
have third eye, though it has become
rudimcntary through disuse."
"Where is it?"
"Just IN the middle of your head, rs
nearly US it's location can be described
off-hand. Anatomists know it es tho
'pincal gland but 1t is actually on eye
that has become rudinontary. Plaee
the tip of your finger just above the
bridge of your nose and on the level
with your eyes Directly behind that
point about five inches, ct the base of
the brain, is this gland I speak of,
which tho ancionts used to imagine was
tho center of consciousness and tho
seat of the soul. It's structure has lost
oil resemblance to that Of IN eye, but
you can find it containing moro Of it's
original development in some turtles
and other reptiles With them this GLAND
has still, though in tho middle OF the
head, an actual oye socket, an optic
nerve connecting with tho visual tract
OF the brain, and even the pigmcntary
inner coat, the object of which in I'LL
eyes Is to absorb light There is no
retinn, but it Is IN eye for all that In
the case of the lizard 1 mentioned this
pincal eye actually appears at the top
of the head ind is useful for seeing with.
"Thcre are quite number of rudi-
mcntary organs in the human body
which have become so because naturc
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 goitrc. People in
Savoy and the 1yrol are worse afflicted
with this complaint. 1t is supposed
that the water they drink, derived from
the melting of the glaciers Of the Alps,
causes the hypcrtrophy of the thyroid
gland, the result OF which is an enorm-
Gus swelling, so that sometimes
the unfortunate comes to have
bagli!ke appcndagc hanging
down US far us the waist There
is no known cure for the trouble after
it has got well started though tho
swelling may be q trife reduced by in
jections into its substance. 1t is q very
curious fact that if human being or
any other animal is deprived of this mp
parently useless gland by cutting it out,
there always follows u general degenera-
ton of all the tissues Of the body.
Another seemingly useless organ is
the 'supra-rcnal capsule attached to
each Of the Kidneys. It's only purpose
in human being appears to be to oc-
casion what is known rs 'Addison's dis
ease in cases where it gets out of
order. In such cases, which are happily
rare, the skin of the body loses its
natural color and become of q muddy
brown hue. This capsule is prcsu1.i-
ably the remains OF what was once u
secretory organ.
''Then there Is the mysterious 'vermi-
form appendix attached to the small
intestine. Once in awhile On apple
seed or some such thing gets into it,
and causes inflammation. Until within
the last four or five years such cases
were always fatal, but now they are
usually cured by cutting open the
stomach and removing the appendix.
Until very recently operations rcquir-
ing tho 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 psychologists have taught,
through their researches, how such
germs may be killed by spraying with
antiseptic solutions. The ver1nifor1n
appendix has considerable usefulness
among the lower animals. With the
COW and other beasts that chew the cud
it is large sack attached to the stomach,
and Is utilized as storage reservoir for
food that Is not needed for immediate
consumption"