The Washington times., 1919-08-17

IN what is known as a "skele-
4 ton in his close" but every esA
one does have a skeleton in his
body ~
Without a skeleton existence, as
we know it, would be impossible.
This framework is one of the most
essential parts of the human
mechanism. Not only does it protect other
parts Of our bodies, furnish firm surface
for muscle attachment and provide the
leverage necessary for motion and loco
motion, but it also supplies convenient
place for the continuous manufacture or
blood cells.
Even the so-called India rubber men,
of the dime museums and circus side
shows are not at all the boneless creatures
thew would have you believe. They have
skeletons quite as complete as your Own,
the only difference being that the frame
work OF their bodies is not so. rigid as
normal persons, and can therefore, be
bent and twisted more.
An exhaustive investigation OF our skeler
-ons has recently been completed by Her
bert Eugene Walter, associate professor OF
biology at Brown University. In q volume
entitled ''The Human Skeleton" (publiEhed
Nv The Macmillan Company, New York;,
he presents some Of the most interesting
Of the facts he has gathered, and many OF
tbern will prove surprising to those who
have always regarded the skeleton more
or less as the schoolboy did-"a bunch OF
arm, leg and rib bones hitched together
like a mani"
unfortunately, as Professor Walter
points out, the English word skeleton ls
derived from a Greek word meaning some
thing "dried up" This has led US TO think
of a skeleton as consisting OF dry bones
alone, but this is mistake
Although bones form the most eonsplep'
Gus and lasting part of a skeleton they are
bv no means the whole. II also contains
tough connective tissues, lgaments' ten
dons, sheaths and other suppoFtiEe struc-
lures quite as truly skeletal 10 character
as real bones.
One Of the most remarkable phenomena
of nature is the way bones grow A bapy's
Jaw, for example, is not simply added 70
as it becomes larger. On the contrary, a4
of the building material composing II is
broken down bit by bit and reassembled
many times before the adult bone Is
formed It is as if a stone wall were en-
Iarged not simply by adding to the outside
and reassembling it in a new place nearby
so as to enclose a larger area.
The reassembling of bone tissue Is done
by cells called -Osteoblasts; its destruction,
by cells known as osteOclasts. When the
latter gain the upper hand the bones
shrink in size. This is what happens in old
age and it explains why the chin and nose
of an aged person tend to hobnob together
One of our bones most important tunc-
tions is the manufacture of red blood cells
in their marrow tissue. What a task this
is can be seen from the fact that the num-
Der of these cells in a human adult is esti-
mated at something like 25,000,6OO, 600.
Each cell lives only about ten days and
It's place must at once be filled by new
cell from the bone marrow.
Perhaps ,the expression, 81 feel II In my
bones" is an intuitiVe recognition OF the
indispensable part their marrow plays in
keeping US alive.
The teeth, hair and nails are what may
be called the skeletons external trim
mings. They are surviVals OF an earlier
protective covering such as finds its great
est development in crustaceans like the
lobster
The teeth are simply modified pIaeoid
scales such as are still found in sharks
and other water VeFtebTates. The cone
shaped CANNES or eyeteeth are the most
ancestral and least changed Of the teeth
They are a survival of the day when all
teeth were shaFp-pOinted, huldfast organs
f~r aid IN the gulping OF food whole. The
development Of the molaTs and incisoTs
came with the refinement of chewing.
At one time man doubtless had, just as
sharks still have, row after row OF teeth
held in reserve and all ready to come into
use whenever occasion arose, Evolution
airy processes, however, have gradually re-
duced this succession of teeth until we
now have normally only one replacement
the permanent teeth which superseds
the milk teeth.
The fact that the wisdom teeth are very
late in appearing and sometimes fail to
appear at all Is an indication that man Is
still in the grip Of this TegTessiVe sVolu-
tion, and that some day he Will have TO be
content with only one, set of teeth, and
later may be absolutely tOothleEs,
But the most conspicuous reminders of
an invertebrate protective skeleton are
the nails on our fingers and toes, We
don't pay these much attention except
When they need manicuring or pedicuTing,
but they play-especially those on our I'm
gers-a role Of incalculable importance In
our daily life. It's hard to imagine how
We could get along without the reinforce