The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21
WHAT CAUSES SEASICKNESS
Ear Nerves, More Than the Stom-
ach, Are Responsible.
Canals in Which the Trouble Has Its
origin - The Patients Discomfort
Increased Through His Efforts to
Preserve His Balance at Sen.

Seasckness. that woeful mala ~ which
first makes the sufferer afraid he is going
to die. and later inspires him with terror
for fear he won't die, is an annoyance
which brings q shudder to the man or
woman who contemplates going anywhere
by water. Nearly everybody knows what
| seasickness is. 1t is no respeoter of per-
sons. but attacks the high and the lowly.
the rich and the poor alike.
All kinds of ameliorating agents are
sought and resorted to with religious fer
vency to quell the qualm in the epigas
trum, but without avail. Les,Iori., isrnes,
and all kinds of acids are used to stiil
the cyclone going on in the stomach In
the agony which follows an attack of
seasickness any promise can be exactei
of victim in return for immediate relief.
And yet the stomach is not to blames Nine
out of ten people will declare the seat of
seasickness to be the stomach. II one
should tell man who had been through
the ordeal that the seat of the trouble is
not in the stomach, but in the ear. the
integrity of his mental processes would be
seriously questioned. The ex-victim would
probably regard himself as a past grand
master in all that appertains to seasick-
ness. and would in all probability indig-
nantly refuse to listen to a learned dis
sertation on the ear as having anything
to do with seasickness. And yet 1t is true
that the ear is the part which first kicks
up the disturbance which manifests itself
in the stomach commissions.
The ear is not only buitt~to hear with.
but also the apparatus which gives 10 us
the sense of balance is laid in the ear.
Before we eau know whether we are
standing up or lying down We must learn
it from the ear. The apparatus OF bal
ance is as follows: 1t is located IN the
temporal bone. This bone forms part OF
the skull wall in the region of the tenn
pie. and another portion of it, which pro
jects at right angles to that part whlch
forTus part of the skull wall. forms part
of the floor of the skull cavity where the
brain is. The latter portion IS KNOWN as
the .'petrus portion of the temporal
bone and It rs in this portion that the
balance machinery lies. In the petrus
portion are three semi-circular cafais
uniting at their base. These canals lie IN
three different planes. and the man, no
matter in what position he may be- Is
always in one OF these planes. II ne
falls he will fall in one of these planes
These canals have a common base and
are hollow They are. lined on the IN
side with a membrane in whlch the MA
ments of the nerve which controls OUT
balance are distributed. or in other words,
the nerve which tells us whether we are
erect or ly ng down, whether. we are 1dli-
ing. etc. There is a fluid in these canals
are standing erect this fluid lies at the
common base of the canals, and by its
weight on the nerve nlaments, upon
which the fluid lies. irritates them, and
they send nerve impulse to the seat OF
origin of their nerve iii the brain ana We
are informed that We are in the erect
posture.
If. however. we change our posture, for
instance lie down. the fluid in the canals
run into that canal which is in the same
plane in which We are lying Gravity
moves the fluid. Here new set OF nerve
fiiaments are agitated by the fluid and
an Impulse is again sent to their seat OF
origin in the brain. and the brain tells
US that we are lying down. Now, when
a person is on board boat, he is pitched
about by the various motions of the YES
sci and instinctively gets up~-a dlne9ent
motion of his own in his attempts to keep
his balance This sets that fluid in the
semi-circular canals splaShing around
from one plane to another, or, in Urt,yf:
words. from one canal to another No
sooner does one set of nerve fllaments
send warning to the seat of origin IN the
brain. telling of the direction in which
the man Is falling than another set sends
out nerve impulse of conflicting report
The result Is a strange confusion of nerve
impulses taking place in that part OF the
braiI where the nerve of balance takes
its origin.
Now. if this were all, there would be no
sense of seasickness. But it is not all.
There is large nerve which has its
seat of origin so closely interviewer with
that of the nerve of balance that when
that seat is in the throes of confusion
this large nerve becomes agitated and
disturbed. This is called the ''pneumo-
gastric nerve. and passing down the
neck from the brain. gives off some of
its flaments to the lungs and heart and
what is left is distributed to the walls
of the stomach. The peculiar confusion
| which takes place in the brain as the re-
suit of the tossing about OF the body from
one plane TO another in quick succession
| inspires the pneumogastric nerve to send
| down an impulse along its nerve trunk
| which causes nausea and the StOmaChic
commissions which are associated with
| scasickness.
! The victim of seasickness invariably
enhances his own discomfort by inter-
/ posing a motion of his own. intended of
/ course. to obviate the motion of the boat
! and keep himself from falling. but as
! rule this effort on his part only adds to
I the disturbing causes and renders the
/ confusion in the ear and brain more in
! tense y sufferer from seasickness is
! always better If he lies down on his back
! boat BY so doing, while he will be still
| seasick il will not be SO severe. because
he offers no opposing motion of his body
! to that OF the boat. and is just that much
/ better off. Barrels of lemons. lines, and
i other acids will not help him much In
! stinctively he will accommodate himself
! to the boats motion and the confusion in
| both ear ana brain Will quiet down and
! he will crawl out on deck again, wan and
/ drawn. perhaps, and begin to take an
/ interest in his surroundings.
A CHINAMAN AND A CALLER.