The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-12-23
MANS
Due to His Departure
rupeuAl sJa.us
SO Says scienri~t WHO .... en-
study ot'he t.uUan ...,. -,...t.c
OF the ,nan4t, .u.u.r
An.iUuy.

luree hundred ahu tWenlN-eInhIh cor
porate meeting OF the Boston Scent. tic
society by DR.. Cora Ilosmer Elucg. the
subject OF which was The relat.on of
man evolution TO his ailments. I'll is
common idea. SAID the speaker. THAT
the human body is fixed ard stable in
lis structure and maryelousiy adapted
10 lis supposed uses for definite ends.
But all the evidences from comrara-
i've anatomy, -nhryology and physol-
ogy go 10 show that the ma jority of our
organs are combinations. rearrange-
ments aud compromises necesstated by
the accidents of complexities"
Mncn If this instability is due di.
rectly to the mechanics of the upright
position and to THE fact that the body.
with its quadrupedal ancestry. has not
yet become perfectly adapted to it's new
POSITION. Every region of the body
shows evidences of This maladaptation.
Some structures are in state of pro-
gression; that is. they are tending to
more perfect adaptation. Others are
slowly retrogressing. some having even
gone so far as TO have gone wholly out
OF use, remaining only as vestiges.
The pelvis and the backbone find
themselves with entirely fferent du-
mes IN man from their previous ones in
the quadrupeds. so that here are es-
pecially marked differences. In the
beasts the pelvis has merely TO bear
the weight of the end of the back
bone. but in man it has all the weight
| OF the trunk and the arms to sustain.
The result is that il has become COM
pletely bowl-shaped and is not vet COM
| pietely adapted to all its functions. SO
mat II Is the origin of numberless in
conveniences and diseases. In the same
way the backbone in man has assumed
TWO curves. one near the head and the
other near the base, As another part
OF the adaptation there is the loss of
some RIBS and the shortening of the
spinal cord. the latter being the result
OF the loss of the tail. These all mark
weak spots in the human economy. each
OF which is known to be responsible for
a number of the common ailments of
man.
Many of the ailments quoted by DR..
Flagg were technical in their nature.
but still there were quite a number,
like the dwindling away of the tibia,
that are patent to everybody. This
bone, the smaller of the two in the hui
| m lan ic annol tni ten ;o, -,
imals and shares the work with it. But
in man in his upright position it is
merely accessory; it has lost strength
and size, and. being in an exposed po-
sition, is subject to fracture. In the
same way the position of the femur is
so changed with reference to the body
that the weight it must bear not in
frequently results in fracture in it's
weak place.
So far as the viscera is concerned,
they are nearly as well adapted to YER
teal as to horizontal position. Some
weaknesses have, however, been devel-
oped. among which may be noted the
vermiform appendix, which plays so
prominent part in modern diseases.
In like manner the speaker went on
to show how other difficulties are the
result of mans erect posture. The
heart, with greater hydrostatic pres
sure, often fails under its burdens; the
added pressure is responsible for vari-
cose veins and similar troubles; the ex-
posing of certain important blood YES
sells. Like the arteries Of the leg and
arm. is a source of danger; canals
which have their offices in the economy
of lower animals become, through dis
use, sources Of trouble, tonsilitis being
a malady of such nature. In the brain
it is a noticeable fact that the diseases
are more commonly among those con-
volutions which man has added to the
previously existing brain of the ami
mails. and those lobes in which lie the
emotions or instincts common to nearly
all animal life are quite exempt from
disease. The more complex parts of the
brain are affected; hence suicide, which
is the result of thought, is common
| among the insane, while they will re-
| sist. as any animal would, attempts on
the part of another to do them injury
Boston Transcript.