Pythagoras and Hippocrates . . . affirm the birth of the seventh month
to be vital.
Sir T. Browne.
Vital air, oxygen gas; — so called because essential to animal life.
[Obs.] — Vital capacity (Physiol.), the breathing capacity of the
lungs; — expressed by the number of cubic inches of air which can be
forcibly exhaled after a full inspiration. — Vital force. (Biol.) See
under Force. The vital forces, according to Cope, are nerve force
(neurism), growth force (bathmism), and thought force (phrenism), all
under the direction and control of the vital principle. Apart from the
phenomena of consciousness, vital actions no longer need to be
considered as of a mysterious and unfathomable character, nor vital
force as anything other than a form of physical energy derived from,
and convertible into, other well-known forces of nature. — Vital
functions (Physiol.), those functions or actions of the body on which
life is directly dependent, as the circulation of the blood, digestion,
etc. — Vital principle, an immaterial force, to which the functions
peculiar to living beings are ascribed. — Vital statistics, statistics
respecting the duration of life, and the circumstances affecting its
duration. — Vital tripod. (Physiol.) See under Tripod. — Vital vessels
(Bot.), a name for latex tubes, now disused. See Latex.