The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1891-01-29
MANKiND'S THIRD EYE.
1t Is Near the Centre OF the Head and 10
In Innocuous Desuetude.

In Innocuous Desuetude.
There is kind OF lizard fc1nd in
Virginia and Maryland that has three
eyes-one OF them on the top Of his
bead said man of science the other
dav TO representative of the Star.
1t is generally supposed that they are
very rare. but. on the contrary. they
are quite common. You can find plen-
ty of them if you take the trouble to
look. They are green aud about three
inches long"
Are there any other animals in the
world that have three eyes?'
Lots. For example. you yourself
have third eye. though it has become
rudimentary through disuse."
Where is it?'
just in the middle of your head. as
nearly rs its location can be described
oif-hand. Anatomists know it rs the
pineal gland. but it is actually an eye
that has become rudinentary. Place
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. 1T the base of
the brain.is this gland l speak of, which
the ancients used to imagine was the
centre of consciousness and the seat of
the soul. Its structure has lost all re-
semblance 10 that of an eye. but you
can find it retaining more OF its orig
inal development in some turtles and
other reptiles. With them this gland
has still. though in the middle of the
head, an actual eye socket, an optic
nerve connecting with the visual tract
of the brain, and even the pigmentarv
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 eye actually appears at the top
of the head and is useful for seeing
with.
There are quite number of rudi-
mentary 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
known as goitre. People in Savoy and
the Tyrol are worst afflicted with this
complaint. 1t is supposed that the
water they drink, derived from the
melting of the glaciers of the Alps.
causes the hypertrophy of the thyroid
gland, the result of which is an enorm-
Gus swelling, so that sometimes the I'M
fortunate comes to have a bag-like APP
pendagc hanging down as far as the
waist. There is no known cure for The
trouble after it has got we'll started,
though the swelling may be Il trf1e re-
duced by injections into its substance.
Ii is very curious fact that if a human
being or any other animal is deprived
of this apparently useless gland by cut
ting it out, there always follows a
general degeneration of all the tissues
of the body.
Another seemingly useless organ is
the ''supra-renal capsule" attached to
each of the kidneys. Its only purpose
in human being appears to be to oc-
casion what is known as 'Addison's
! disease in cases where it gets out of
| order. In such cases, which are hap
| PLY rare, the skin of the body loses its
| natural color and becomes of Il muddy
| brown hue. This capsule is prcsuln-
| ably the remains of what WAS once Il
secretory organ.
Then there is the mysterious YER
inform appendix attached to the small
intestine. Once i'll Il while an apple
seed or some such thing gets into it,
| and causes Inflammation. Until within
the last four or five Years such eases
were always fatal, but now they are
usually cured by cutting open the
stomach and removing the appendix.
Until very recently operations requir-
ing the cutting open of the body in
this way almost invariably resulted in
death, for the reason that germs could
not lie prevented from getting into the
wound and creating subsequent in
| fammalou. But the hacteriologis
have taught through their researches,
how such germs may be killed by
| spraying with antiseptic solutions.
The yermiforn appendix has consider
able usefulness among the lower
animals. With the cow and other
beasts that chew The cud it is large
| sack attached to the stomach, aud is
utilized rs Il storage reservoir for food
| that is not needed for immediate con.
sumption. -ITQshiR ytOR Stdr