The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1913-07-31
STUDY YOUR NOSE
It Is a Most Wonderful Organ and
a Really Fine Furnace.
ACTS AS A PERFECT FILTER.


and Moistens All Air Drawn Through
It Into the Lungs-its Delicate Nerves
and Microbe Catching Mucus.
Ordinarily we regard our own or an
other persons nose from the stand
point of personal beauty. If the organ
is a becoming one it wins our admira-
ton, and unless occasion arises we
give it no further thought A delicious
or a repugnant odor reminds US at
times that we possess a sense Of smell,
and a cold in the head is apt to make
US wish that there was no such thing
as a nose.
Beyond these points, however, we
really penetrate, and as a rule we fail
to fully realize what an important part
of the human anatomy is this most
prominent feature of the face.
No stove or furnace that ever was
made by man can equal in efficiency
the human nose, for the nose, in the
space Of three inches and in two Sec
onds Of time, can raise the tempera-
ture Of the air it draws in nearly fifty
degrees and at the same time saturate
it with moisture and thoroughly puri-
fy it.
The nose is really one of the most
extraordinary organs of the body. Its
nerves are more sensitive than those
of fingers or ears or eyes, for they can
perceive distinctly an almost incredi-
bly, minute amount Of a gas so subtle
that it's presence can be detected in no
other way. It is also perfect filter
and thus the most important guardian
Of the body against disease.
All air that is breathed into the
lungs should be at temperature Of
nearly 90 degrees F. 1t should also be
moist, even wet. Cold, dry air is fine
for the outside of the body, but has no
place in it's interior. In heating the air
the nose works on the principle Of
steam coil. It is not merely two tubes
leading up into the head and so down
to the throat, but from the bones on
either side three twisted bones curl
out into the passage, one above the
other, each coated with elastic cush-
ions Of blood vessels and tiny glands
These form coils with a great, hot
damp surface, over which the air
spreads as it is drawn up. Thus is
the air warmed for its entrance to the
lungs.
A furnace maker told the present
writer that any man who could invent
an efficient apparatus for mixing
moisture. with air in its passage
through hot air furnace could make
fortune, as every device now in use
is only a makeshift and Of very lit
tie real value. The Almighty Maker
Of the Humankind the animal-nose
solved the problem. The entire sur.
face Of the inside of the nose is COM
posed Of membrane that pours forth
fluid called mucus This is composed
largely of salt water, which is taken
up by the passing air until this is sat-
urated before it reaches the throat.
This mucus is also microbe catcher
and a dust catcher Almost all the
dirt and germs of disease that enter
with the air through the nostrils are
trapped by the mucus. The living en-
emies are killed, for the mucus is anti
septic and germicidal. Thus the air is
heated, moistened and purified before
it reaches the lungs.
Air breathed in through the mouth is
not warmed. moistened or purified ex-
cept to a very slight extent. Conse-
quently it reaches the lungs cold, dry
and laden with dust and disease
Bronchitis, tonsilitis, diphtheria and
consumption are the result.
The mucous membrane Of the nose
is subject to diseases such as catarrh,
''cold in the head" and hay fever
Adenoids grow in the back of the nose
and stop up its tubes. A simple and
easy operation will remove the latter,
while the former if taken when they
first show themselves can be cured
without difficulty. If neglected they
may become incurable. Thus not only
do they prevent the necessary warm
ing, moistening and fltering of the air,
but they spread and cause many dis.
eases Of the throat and lungs and are
the commonest cause Of serious and
intensely painful trouble with the
ears.-New York World.