Evening star., 1937-06-04
DOCTOR EXPLAINS
WEEPING ANATOMY
Secretion of Tear Continu.
GUS Process, He Tells
Session.
RY THOMAS r. HENRY.

The anatomy of weeping was eX-
planned to eye specialists attending
the conference of opthalmologiSts at
George Washington University Medi-
cal School yesterday by DR.. George
b, jenkins, professor of anatomy.
Shedding tears in emotion, DR..
Jenkins explained, is an intensifca-
tion Of process going on continu-
ouSly which Is natures way of keep
ing the eyeballs washed. Tears are
p Salt-in-Water solution extracted
from the blood and secreted on the
eyeball by a tiny gland located on
the upper outer edge of the pocket
or orbit, in which the eye is placed
Secretion of this fluid. Dr. Jenkins
said, is continuous process. The
f1nd is reahSOrbed and drained into
the nose by two tiny ducts, whose
existence is hardly known except to
specialists, located on the lower outer
edge of the orbit. One function of
the eyeld is to act as a sort of towel,
washing the eyeball with the cleans
Ing liquid.
Control of Secreting Gland.
This Secreting gland, DR.. Jenkins
explained, is under the control of the
sympathetic nervous system, which
acuVateS continuously physiological
functions essential to life without
passing through consciousness Hence
the tear secretion is not under vol
untary control But the sympathetic
is also the part of the nervous make
up which responds to strong emotions.
such as grief or rage. Hence in such
p state all parts of the body activated
by the sympathetic respond in char
acterlStiC ways The tear glands are
getting an overdose of sympathetic
impulses and respond with an over
secretion of the tear fluid. somewhat
diluted because Of the quantity re-
CURED.
Although weeping is chiefly aSso-
ciated with sorrow, one may weep
from joy or rage because OF the same
sympathetic nervous mechanism. Also
grief may be so intense that the SYM
pathetic is thrown out of function
temporarily, and one is unable to
relieve the feelings by shedding tears.
The same stimulation of the SYM
pathetic nerve, DR.. Jenkins explained.
also explains Why one of the pungent.
penetrating oils found in the onion
makes one shed tears Copiously. al
though these serve no physiological
or emotional purpose.
Because of the cOmpleXitv of the
tear-Shedding apparatus. DR.. Jenkins
explained, it affords difficult problems
to the surgeon when the absorbing
ducts get plugged up. or when the
lower eyelid is turned down bv in
jury, causing a constant overflow of
tear fluid upon the face.
DISCUSSING the anatomy of the eve
orbit, Dr. Jenkins stressed that the
optic nerve, which transmits visible
light sensations to the back of the
brain, Is not true nerve but a path
Wav-eSSentally q bit Of cerebral It's
sue pushed forward almost into con-
tact with the outside world. Behind
the eyeball there is a large cham
Der through which this brain path
way runs, separated from the brain
itself by an extremely thin wall of
bone, which is an ideal breeding place
Tor infections of various sorts. A
great variety of things can get into
this chamber around the sides of the
eyeballs. He told of one case in
winch a grain of wheat was found
'here, already Sprouted. There also
are cases where persons have fallen
on lead pencil without injury To
the eyeball, but puncturing the brain
through the thin wall.
The sessions of the postcard dUate
session yesterday afternoon were held
At Walter Reed Hopital, where the
ehectS OF foreign bodies entering the
eye and methods of extracting them
were discussed by Maj. Frederick
Ihorne, Capt. R. F. Bradish, Lieut..
Col James E. Ash and Capt Ebert
te CourSey. This type of injury il
was explained, is rapidly increasing
and many of the recent cases have
been those of c. c. c. men. One of
the methods used to extract such
bodies is by pulling them out with a
large magnet.
Seriousness Emphasized
The seriousness of this sort of in
Jury was emphasized by the state
ment that probably about 1900 ewes
were lost in the United States last
year, representing cash value to
oe PAID In compensation of approxi-
nately sl5O,0OO.0OO
One Of the best projections. it was
stressed, is the wearing of spectacIes
THESE take good deal of the energy
out OF flying missile before il actu-
aIIy strikes the eyeball and give time
Tor the reflex closing of the eveljds
10 take place. The result NAV be
cuts from the cracked glass, which
ean easily be remedied, without any
WOundinQ of tho eve ite,1f