Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1904-04-27
/ HEANATOMY OF MAN
SOME HIDDEN FEATURES AND OTH-
ERS THAT ARE USELESS.

i Has any one ever complimented 70
/ on the beauty of your upper eye or il
| quired after your gills? For, thong
you may not know it, you numbe
these among the disused features O
| your body.
| In the center Of your brain, lookin,
vaguely skyward, lie the atrophied re
mains of third eye, which, it is SUP
posed, was actually one Of mans use
ful features at some previous state OF
development. 1t is known as the pinea
gland, though covered by skin, and is
formed In an almost perfect condition
In certain lizards.
You have four gills, or bronchial
clefts, which, however, are now closed
up and useless. You originally had
six, but two of them, by forming into
your ear and mouth, respectively.
turned themselves to some account
However, before your lungs developed
and became fitted to carry on your
breathing system, the work was done
by the four gills which have since
childhood ceased to develop and be.
come closed up.
Your ears-that is, the outer ones
are quite useless save as ornaments.
You could hear just as well without
them. All the work Of hearing is done
by the middle ear. or tympanum, and
the internal ear The outer feature Is
purely pleasant sort Of finishing
touch to your hearing system. The |
muscles OF the outer ear are powerless
and not under our control.
Are you aware that you have a mini.
azure grand piano in your auditory
nerve, which is tuned up to every note
In music? This is known as Corti's
organ and consists of q series of tiny
hairs which yibrate on the drum of
your ear and enable you to distinguish
the differences Of sounds.
AS sometimes when you strike a note ,
on the piano some ornament In the ,
room will be found to sing with it. so
each of these hairs inside your ear VI ,
brates in sympathy with the musical =
sound corresponding with It,
An appendix is generally a useful :,
thing when applied to books, but mans n
is not only useless, but very T
Troublesome. This Is the remains OF 4
IN intestine supposed to have formed p,
'art OF our ancestors. Though many m
ther parts of the body are practically .,
Useless. they are supposed to have In
een useful at some time, but scien- n
lists cannot trace that the vermifOrm
ppendix was ever of any service to
ian.
Toe nails are entirely useless, and sh
'es are quite superfuous. A man
'uld get along az well without toes. In,
1act, doctor removed eight of 4 ce]
ans toes without any Inconvenience plf
ing suffered. and the loser got along "
lite as well without them. soj
The teeth are rapidly becoming quite wa
eless. Now that nearly all our food "
chopped up for us and we. do not aga
We to bite through hard substances "
'th are gradually dccaying. nv
The fact that the teeth of our an pan
'tors 400 or 800 years ago were in T.
ltely bigger than our own shows wise
i ""'ure ls gradually taking away Chi.
Sc organs.
ohslls, too, are almost useless and
Ill no serviceable object to the body. l,
'ple can get along quite we'll with to
them. and very large proportion com
the population have had them re- and
,ed Rhir
oth the nalr and the skin have end with
.helr days Of usefulness TO the hui Ing {
race. The hair was intended TO haus
II our heads from the heat of the saloo
we cover up the hair, and by Their
ting 1t off from the exposure which by, :
ire intended it to have we are 'Vani
uaily but surely losing this adorn. cor
L ana II IS estimated that in time chapt
hall cease to grow 1t. me
10 the skin, it was given us to Men
'ct our bodies from the elements.
covering 1t up with clothing and
entlng 1t getting proper respira. VIII
we deprive ourselves of its use day,
not Uncomfortable that the man NJ tanned
y remote future period may be "On'
)nly hairless and tootbless but "Ho
,ss as we'll it?
most extraordinary thing TO be "Abt
about all this is that those parts "Ant
body which are useless give us Mr.. "
lost trouble, while those in ron. dacity
ACTIVITY remain Quiescent. The work {
through lack Of work, get lazy. mo,
we're, and decay. Of lif
tonsils, having nothing to do.
your life misery to you through
ually swelling until they are re- Inc
: Inc skin. which is useless to - 'e'
FL man. has large variety OF man Oh
IS TO vent on us. largely due to WISH
oppressed condition. long AZ
vermlf0rm appendix, which IA way VI
Iely useless, has nice little dis ieii 10
it's own, which if develono r,,.h Ing the
atal results, known as appendi- shouted
hall, "V
IN can live without b,s fro,.o; "'Tis
Al recent accident a workman the maj
ruck by a crowbar. Tho on,, self up.
ity OF saving bis life was BIZ
t the man survived ,,,., 80 Like t
jury though he was conscious aapeu y
mental defect 1t spranl
quite possible that an or+,s+ trated. t
)r musician would And tha 30 the tract
the removal to deprive him Of new Zei
ticular faculty for nrodro,rn mark Of
*, but otherwise his huot,, er is
re unaffected for ire ordi,on,, when fin
s. closed If