HOW CONSUMPTION IS CURED
[Sidenote: Consumption should be recognized early]
When people first get consumption, they seldom realize that they
are seriously sick. Most of them think they have a bad cold, or
are overworked, or that they have been staying too closely in the
house. Often they will not even see a doctor until they are so sick
that the doctor cannot do much for them.
When you have a slight cough that "hangs on"; when you feel
feverish every afternoon; when you are short of breath; when you
get tired very easily; when you do not feel like eating anything
except candies and cakes--then you should think of consumption.
These are not all the signs, but they are enough to make you go at
once to a doctor.
A long time ago the doctor would have felt badly if he had been
obliged to tell you that you had consumption; but now he knows that
if you go to him early in the disease and follow his directions,
you will get well.
[Sidenote: How consumption is cured: (_1_) By rest]
When the doctor finds that a person has consumption, the first
thing he orders is rest. By this he means absolute _rest_. He does
not mean that the patient can go to school or to the office part of
the day and rest the remainder of the day. The doctor will want to
watch him constantly. Then there comes a time when he must begin to
take a little exercise; the doctor tells him just how much exercise
to take, and just what form of exercise is best for him.
[Sidenote: (_2_) By fresh air]
The consumptive must have plenty of fresh air all the time; he must
be out-of-doors as much as possible. You will wonder how the doctor
expects him to be out-of-doors when he has been told that he must
have absolute rest. Later we will show you how one can practically
be out-of-doors and yet at the same time be in bed.
[Sidenote: (_3_) By sunshine]
Sunshine will kill the germs of any disease more quickly than
almost anything we know of, and a consumptive must have all the
sunshine that he can get. Of course it cannot get into the body to
kill the germs, but it strengthens the cells of the body so much
that they can fight with just that much more energy.
[Illustration: FIGS. 72 and 73. Living outdoors in cold weather.]
[Sidenote: (_4_) By nourishing food]
Nothing is more important than pure food in building up the body
and in making heat and power. In consumption the food that is
stored up in the body burns itself up very fast. The consumptive
must therefore take not only the food needed to supply the usual
demands of the body, but enough to make something extra for the
disease to burn up without drawing on the reserve fund stored in
the body. In order to do this, he will have to eat a great deal,
and what he eats must be of the kind that makes the best building
material and the most nourishing material. He cannot tax his
stomach by eating things that are not nourishing; all the work his
stomach can do must be devoted to the foods he really needs.
The weapons with which we fight consumption are rest, good food,
fresh air, and sunshine. These will do more good than all the
medicine in the world. Fresh air is not only one of the best things
for the cure of consumption, but it is one of the best things for
the prevention of consumption. You should always breathe plenty of
fresh air night and day, and there is plenty of fresh air to be had
if you will take it.
[Illustration: FIG. 74. A window tent. (Invented by Dr. W. E.
Walsh.)]
[Sidenote: How to have fresh air at home:]
If you have only a single window in your room, try to sleep with
your head in the fresh air. It is not always easy to arrange a room
in such a way that you can have fresh air without placing your bed
in a draft, but even this difficulty can be overcome.
[Sidenote: (_1_) By window tents]
There are several devices, called window tents, which you can buy.
By the use of such a tent, your head will be out-of-doors all the
time; yet the draft cannot strike your body, because a part of the
tent fits around your neck and cuts off the air from the rest of
your body. One of these tents is shown in Figure 74. You do not put
your head out of the window; your head is on your pillow just as if
the tent were not there. Your bed is placed directly in front of
the window and the tent comes down over your pillow, allowing your
head practically to be out-of-doors, but keeping the cold air out
of the room. Sleeping under a window tent is the next best thing to
sleeping out-of-doors.
[Illustration: FIG. 75. A sleeping porch built in a house.]
[Sidenote: (_2_) By sleeping porches]
Many of our modern houses are built with sleeping porches on which
one can sleep outdoors summer and winter. Where there is not a
special sleeping porch on the house, an ordinary porch may often be
made to serve the purpose, or a very inexpensive sleeping porch can
be added to the house.
[Sidenote: (_3_) By tent cots]
Sometimes people cannot get the use of a porch of any kind. In such
cases it may be possible to put up a tent in the yard. If the yard
is very small, a tent cot may be used. This is simply a cot with
a tent on it, which can be closed up and put away in the daytime
and set up again at night. In a large city where the houses have
no yards at all, this arrangement can be used by setting it up on
the roof of the house. There is almost always some way of securing
fresh air at night if we will only give a little thought to the
matter.
[Sidenote: Fresh air in schoolrooms]
Unfortunately, many of our school buildings are not provided with
good ventilating plants. A proper system of ventilation furnishes
at least 1200 cubic feet of fresh air per hour for each child in
each room.
[Illustration: FIG. 76. An open-air schoolroom for consumptive
children.]
[Sidenote: The necessity for playgrounds]
In large cities it is often impossible to find outdoor space in
which boys and girls may play during recess. Even this difficulty
can be overcome by turning the roof of the school building into a
playground, with a high wire netting around it.
Every school yard should be provided with swings, bars, and
gymnasium apparatus to encourage the children to take plenty of
exercise. Children who live in crowded towns need exercise during
vacation as well as during school days, and the school yards should
be open to them at all times. A summer teacher who shows the
children the best way to exercise, has work fully as important as
that of any other teacher during the school term.
A sound body is more valuable than education itself, but a good
education and a sound body together are the best assets any man or
woman can have.
=Questions.= 1. State the four things necessary to cure
consumption; show the value of each. 2. What is the value of
fresh air to every one? 3. How may an abundance of fresh air be
secured in the home? 4. In the school?
=Remember.= 1. Rest, fresh air, sunshine, and nourishing food
are the cures for consumption. 2. All these things can be
secured in any climate and by every person. 3. =Tuberculosis is
a communicable disease.= 4. =Tuberculosis can be prevented.= 5.
=Tuberculosis can be cured.=
APPENDIX[4]
A SUMMARY OF ANATOMY
BONES AND JOINTS
[Sidenote: The framework of the body]
The framework of the body is composed of bones. There are 206 bones
(not including the teeth) in the body. The bones of the body are
divided into four classes--long bones, short bones, flat bones, and
irregular bones.
[Sidenote: Construction of bones]
Regardless of their shape, all bones are composed in the same way.
Every bone has an outer and an inner portion. The outer portion
is a dense layer called _compact bone_. The inner portion is more
open, and is much weaker; this is called _cancellated bone_ (from
_cancella_, a sponge). In the smaller bones, the marrow, which is
quite soft, runs through the spongy bone; in the larger long bones,
the marrow is distinct and is enclosed by the spongy bone.
[Sidenote: The periosteum]
Every bone is covered by a thick, tough layer, the _periosteum_,
which has three uses. When the bone is injured by disease or
accident, the periosteum makes new bone to fill in and repair the
break. It also builds new bone on the surface of the old as long as
the body is growing. Finally, the periosteum gives strong and firm
attachment to the muscles, which send tendons into it.
[Sidenote: Joints]
Every bone in the body (except the hyoid bone, to which the tongue
is attached) is joined with some other bone. Most of them join with
two or more bones. In most instances the end of a bone which joins
with another is rounded off and made very smooth, so that it can
slide easily over the other bone. There are three principal kinds
of joints in the body. They are called the _ball and socket_ joint,
the _hinge_ joint, and the _serrated_ or _saw-tooth_ joint.
[Illustration: FIG. 77. The skeleton.]
[Sidenote: The ball and socket joint]
The ball and socket joint is one that can move freely in all
directions. We see it illustrated in the joints of the shoulder
and hip. In these joints one of the bones has a deep depression
in it, and this depression forms the _socket_. The other bone has
a rounded head that fits into the depression. We call this rounded
head the _ball_.
[Illustration: FIG. 78. The structure of a bone.]
[Sidenote: The hinge joint]
The hinge joint is illustrated in the knee and elbow joints. These
joints can move backward and forward in one plane like a hinge, but
they cannot move in a circle like the ball and socket joints. You
cannot swing your forearm about on a pivot at the elbow as you can
your whole arm, nor will the knee joint bend in every direction as
does the joint at the hip.
[Sidenote: Serrated joints]
Serrated joints do not move. The bones having serrated joints are
fitted tightly together so that they form practically one bone. We
find this kind of joint illustrated in the way the bones of the
skull are put together.
[Sidenote: Ligaments]
The joints of the body are not held together by rivets, pins or
bolts as are the joints of a machine, but by bands of very tough
tissue placed about a joint in such a way as to allow it to move
freely, although the bones are all the time held firmly together.
These bands are called _ligaments_. Ligaments are much better than
bolts or pegs would be, because they stretch a little, and thus
prevent the breaking of the bones when the joint is put under a
severe strain.
[Illustration: FIG. 79. The muscles.]
MUSCLES AND TENDONS
[Sidenote: What muscle is]
The lean meat of any animal is composed entirely of muscle tissue.
It is the function of the muscles to move the body.
[Illustration: FIG. 80. The biceps muscle contracted.]
[Sidenote: How the muscles work]
The muscles are nearly all attached to the bones. They are just
long enough to let the joint straighten out when the muscles are at
rest, but when the joint bends the muscle contracts. When a muscle
contracts it becomes shorter and thicker. Sometimes it becomes very
much thicker in one place. Every boy knows how much thicker the arm
muscle (_biceps_) becomes when he bends his elbow hard. He calls
this "showing his muscle."
[Sidenote: Tendons]
There is not room enough on most of the bones for all the muscles
to be attached directly to them. Instead of being thus attached
directly to the bone, they end in what we call _tendons_. These
tendons are hard and strong, and a very small tendon will lift as
much without breaking as quite a large muscle. The muscles are soft
and would have to be attached over a large area in order to secure
the required strength. The tendons, being so much stronger than
the muscles, can be attached to a very small area and yet secure
the same amount of power as would result from attaching the muscle
itself.
The tendons pass directly into the periosteum, the thick, strong
covering of the bones. So strong is this attachment that the bone
will often break before the tendon will pull loose.
THE SKIN
[Sidenote: The skin as an armor]
The entire body is covered with skin, which regulates the heat of
the body and acts as an armor against blows and cuts which would
otherwise injure the delicate nerves and blood vessels beneath. It
also serves to some extent to keep out the germs of disease. The
skin appears to be smooth, but if you examine it through a strong
magnifying glass you will see that it is divided into little areas.
The dividing lines do not run straight, however, and the areas are
not square like those you find on a checkerboard.
[Illustration: FIG. 81. A section of the skin, highly magnified.]
[Sidenote: Sweat glands]
After looking at the skin with a strong magnifying glass you will
think that you must have seen all its irregularities, but if you
will look at it with a powerful microscope you will find out many
other things. In the first place you will see many little openings
in the skin. These little openings make the ridges which divide the
skin into little areas. Some of the openings are _sweat glands_,
and there is always some perspiration coming out of them. When you
are very warm you can see, without the aid of the glass, the drops
of perspiration as they come out on the surface of the skin. When
you are not very warm you cannot see these drops of perspiration,
but they are nevertheless coming out all the time. When the
perspiration comes so slowly that you cannot see it, it is called
_insensible perspiration_.
[Sidenote: Hair]
The whole body is covered with hair. You can see the hair on your
head and some of the hair on your arms and the backs of your hands,
but most of the hair on the body is so fine that you cannot see it
without a microscope. Each of the fine hairs on the body has a root
that goes through the skin just as the root from each hair on your
head goes through it.
[Sidenote: Sebaceous glands]
Opening into the little pockets in which the hairs stand, are
glands that secrete a kind of oily material. They are called
_sebaceous glands_ or _follicles_. Sometimes these follicles
become stopped up; then the material they secrete becomes thick
and cheesy, and the little black points appear on the skin which
we call _blackheads_. The white matter which comes out of these
blackheads is merely the secretion of the glands from which the
water has been absorbed, leaving the solid or cheesy portion.
[Sidenote: Nails]
There is a part of the skin that we do not usually think of as
skin. We mean the _nails_. The finger nails and the toe nails do
not look like the rest of the skin of the body, but they are made
of just the same kind of cells. The cells of the nails are flat,
dead, and closely packed together. There are no sweat glands, or
sebaceous glands, or any hairs in the nails.
THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
[Sidenote: The alimentary canal]
The digestive system is the part of our bodies in which the food we
eat is so changed that it can be made use of by the little cells
in the body. It is composed of a long canal with many parts and
enlargements, each part necessary for a certain required work. This
canal as a whole is called the _alimentary canal_.
[Sidenote: Teeth]
The mouth does the first part of the work for the digestive system.
Here we find the teeth, which are used for grinding the food. The
teeth are composed of three parts, the _head_ (or _crown_), the
_neck_ and the _root_. The head, or crown, is very hard. Each
tooth is hollow, and in the hollow portion there are nerves and
blood vessels.
[Sidenote: The salivary glands]
Opening into the mouth are three pairs of glands known as _salivary
glands_. One pair of glands is located just above the angle of the
jaw. It is these glands that become swollen when we have mumps.
Another pair of glands is placed just inside the jaw bone, near the
root of the tongue, and the third pair is located under the tongue.
These three pairs of glands secrete the saliva which moistens the
food and aids in digesting the starch.
[Illustration: FIG. 82. The alimentary canal.]
[Sidenote: The esophagus]
The food passes from the mouth; through a passage called the
_esophagus_, or gullet, to the _stomach_.
[Sidenote: The stomach]
The stomach is one of the enlarged parts of the alimentary canal.
Its walls are quite thick, and in these walls are thousands of
little glands. These glands secrete a fluid called _gastric juice_.
When the food enters the stomach it is held there for a long time,
and the walls of the stomach squeeze upon it so that the food is
mixed with the gastric juice until every bit of it that will be
of any use to the body has become fluid in character. Not only
does the gastric juice make the food liquid, but it acts on it
and changes some of it so that it will be suitable for use by the
little cells of the body. As fast as the food is made liquid by
the juices of the stomach it is allowed to pass into the intestine
through an opening called the _pyloric opening_.
[Sidenote: The intestine]
The intestine is a long, narrow, twisting and turning tube that is
divided into two principal parts, the large and small intestine. In
the walls of the intestine are many little glands that secrete a
fluid that helps in digesting the food. Two fluids, one made by the
liver, the other by the pancreas, are brought into the intestine by
two small tubes, which come together in the wall of the intestine
six or seven inches below the pyloric opening. These fluids perform
a very important part in the digestion of all the different
foodstuffs.
[Sidenote: Villi and lymphatics]
Besides the little glands in the walls of the intestine there
are many thousands of little finger-like projections standing up
from the walls. These are called _villi_. Each villus has in it
very small vessels, into which the food passes after it has been
digested. These vessels are of two sorts: blood vessels, which
take up the digested starch and proteid foods, and another sort
known as _lymphatics_, which take up the fats. All the lymphatics
combine into a single vessel which empties into the great vein at
the base of the neck. Thus the fatty foods pass into the blood and
are mingled with the food materials taken up directly by the blood
vessels.
CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD
[Sidenote: Two kinds of blood vessels]
There are two kinds of blood vessels in the body. We call them
_arteries_ and _veins_. The arteries serve to carry the blood from
the heart to all parts of the body, and the veins serve to carry
the blood back to the heart. The heart is really a part of the
blood vessels, half of each side being like the veins and half like
the arteries.
[Sidenote: Arteries and veins]
The walls of the arteries are thicker than those of the veins. Two
sets of arteries leave the heart, one from each side. The artery
that starts from the right side of the heart goes to the lungs and
carries _venous blood_, which has a very poor supply of oxygen and
is full of impurities. We call this the _pulmonary artery_. The
artery that leaves the left side of the heart goes to all parts of
the body but the lungs and carries _arterial blood_, which has much
more oxygen and is much more free from impurities.
[Sidenote: Capillaries]
If we follow the blood as it circulates we will see how it reaches
all parts of the body. The big artery that leaves the left side of
the heart divides into smaller and smaller arteries until there
are branches going to every part of the body. These branches keep
dividing until they are so small that we call them _arterioles_,
and these little arterioles again divide and become so small that
we call them _capillaries_.
[Sidenote: Changes in the blood]
While the blood is passing through the arterioles and the
capillaries, something is happening to it. The little cells with
which these small vessels come in contact have been taking the
oxygen and the nourishing material out of the blood. At the same
time they have been putting something into the blood. In place of
the oxygen they have been putting in carbon dioxid and in place
of the nourishing material they have been putting in the worn-out
materials from the cells. As the blood passes through certain parts
of the body, such as the kidneys, the worn-out materials from the
cells are taken out of the blood and sent out of the body. The
carbon dioxid is left in the blood until it goes to the lungs.
[Illustration: FIG. 83. The white vessels represent the circulation
of the arterial blood; the gray, the circulation of the venous
blood.]
[Sidenote: Venous blood]
The blood has now been followed to the capillaries, where oxygen
and nourishing material have been taken out of it, and where
something else has been added to it. As we follow a little
capillary, we find that instead of dividing again, it joins others
and gradually grows larger. As these blood vessels grow larger the
walls do not become so thick as the walls of the arteries of the
same size. These larger vessels formed by the union of capillaries
are called _veins_. In other words, the veins are simply
continuations of the arteries that have divided into extremely
small branches and have now come together again. The blood which
has been changed is now called _venous blood_. It has much less
oxygen in it, but has received a great deal of carbon dioxid. The
veins continue to come together, until finally they form a single
large vein which empties into the upper half of the right side of
the heart. From there the blood is driven into the lower half of
the right side of the heart and thence to the pulmonary artery,
which goes to the lungs. The blood is not changed in the heart, so
what goes into the pulmonary artery is still venous blood.
[Sidenote: Arterial blood]
The blood goes straight from the heart to the lungs and there it is
changed into arterial blood. The change consists in taking oxygen
from the air and giving off carbon dioxid to the air. From the
lungs the blood goes through the capillaries again into the veins,
the small capillaries in the lungs uniting to form the pulmonary
veins. These veins finally unite into one vein that empties into
the upper half of the left side of the heart, and from there the
blood goes to the lower half of the same side. The blood has now
reached its starting point and is ready to begin its journey again.
The journey of the blood is as follows:
[Sidenote: Entire circulation]
From the right side of the heart to the arteries; from arteries
into arterioles; from arterioles to capillaries; from capillaries
into veins; from veins into the heart; from the heart to the lungs;
and from the lungs back to the heart again.
THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
[Sidenote: Use of the respiratory system]
That portion of the body by which we breathe is called the
respiratory system. This system is composed of the _nasal passage_,
the _pharynx_, the _larynx_, the _trachea_, the _bronchi_, and the
_lungs_. The mouth is not a part of the respiratory system; we
should never breathe through our mouths.
[Sidenote: The use of the nose in breathing]
As the air passes through the nasal passage it is warmed and
moistened, and a great deal of dust and dirt is taken out of it.
Thus the nasal passage serves to warm, to moisten, and to clean the
air we breathe, and is a very important part of the respiratory
system, since either cold or dry air is very irritating to the
lungs.
[Illustration: FIG. 84. The air passages of the head and throat.]
[Sidenote: Pharynx, larynx, and trachea]
There is only one tube leading from the back of the nasal passage
to the lungs. Different parts of this tube are given different
names. The pharynx is that part that extends from the back of
the nose to the vocal chords. The larynx is the part of the
throat where the vocal chords are located. We sometimes call it
the "Adam's apple." It is very prominent in some men, but seldom
noticeable in women. The trachea is the part of the tube leading
down from the larynx. At the lower end of the trachea the tube
divides into two parts that we call the bronchi, one leading to
each lung.
[Sidenote: The bronchi]
The bronchi carry the air from the trachea to the lungs. They
divide again and again until they become so small that there is a
branch for each little air cell in the lungs.
[Illustration: FIG. 85. The lungs.]
[Sidenote: The lungs]
The lungs are the most important part of the respiratory system.
They are made up of lobes. There are two lobes in the left lung
and three in the right. Each lobe is divided into _lobules_, which
means small lobes. Each lobule is divided into air spaces. In these
air spaces, or cells, the work of the lungs is performed.
[Sidenote: Air cells]
The capillaries run in the thin walls of the air spaces. The walls
of these fine blood vessels are so very thin that the air in the
air cells comes in almost direct contact with the blood in the
vessels. While the blood is passing through the vessels in the
walls of the air spaces, something happens to both the blood and
the air. The air we take into our lungs contains a great deal of
oxygen and very little carbon dioxid. The air that comes out of our
lungs contains a great deal of carbon dioxid and much less oxygen.
In other words, the oxygen from the air goes into the blood, and
the carbon dioxid from the blood goes out into the air.
[Sidenote: Necessity of pure air]
If the air we breathe is not pure and does not contain enough
oxygen, the blood cannot get all the oxygen we need, and the cells
of the body become sick and die. If, when we breathe, we do not
fill each little air cell in our lungs with air, a great deal of
the blood sent to the lungs for oxygen cannot get it. If we wear
very tight clothing we cannot take a full breath and hence cannot
fill all the air spaces with air. If the air spaces in the lungs
are not filled, the blood does not get the oxygen it needs, as
there is no other place in the body to get it.
THE EYE AND THE EAR
[Sidenote: The eye compared to a camera]
The eye is one of the most important organs in the body and also
one of the most delicate. It is very much like a camera.
[Sidenote: The cornea and the sclera]
When you look at an eye you are likely to think that the front of
it is blue or brown. The colored part is not the front of the eye.
If you look at the eye from the side you will see that there is a
curved part in front of the colored part and that the curved part
is perfectly clear. This curved clear part of the eye we call the
_cornea_. The cornea connects with the white part of the eye, and
this white part extends all around the rest of the eye, except at a
small point in the back where the _optic nerve_ comes through. This
white part we call the _sclera_.
[Sidenote: Aqueous humor]
The space between the cornea and the colored part of the eye is
filled with a clear fluid that is called the _aqueous humor_, which
means watery fluid. The space occupied by this fluid is called the
_anterior chamber_ of the eye.
[Sidenote: The iris]
The iris, which is the colored portion of the eye, is a curtain
that is hung between the anterior and posterior chambers of the
eye. It prevents any light getting into the posterior chamber
except that which passes through a round hole in the iris called
the _pupil_. The pupil grows larger or smaller according to the
amount of light needed by the eye. If you look away from a bright
light at something in the dark, the pupil grows larger; if you
look back at the light, it grows smaller. You can see this in a
hand mirror.
[Sidenote: Lens]
Behind the pupil is a clear mass shaped like a very strong
magnifying glass. This is the _lens_. The lens causes to be formed
on the back of the eye a clear picture of whatever you are looking
at. When you focus a camera, you move the back towards or away from
the lens. When you focus your eye you cannot move the back of the
eye, but you can make the lens more or less convex as may be needed
to make a clear picture.
[Illustration: FIG. 86. A cross-section of the eye.]
[Sidenote: Vitreous humor]
Behind the iris and the lens, we find the posterior chamber of
the eye. This occupies by far the greater portion of the ball
and corresponds to the dark chamber of a camera. This chamber is
filled with a clear fluid called the _vitreous humor_, which means
jelly-like fluid. It is a clear, gelatinous substance.
[Sidenote: The retina and the optic nerve]
The optic nerve enters the eyeball from the back and spreads
its fibers out in a thin membrane called the _retina_, which
corresponds to the sensitive plate in a camera. The lens focuses on
the retina the image of any object you look at. The impression made
on the minute nerve endings in the retina is carried by the optic
nerve fibers to the brain. When this impression reaches the brain
we see the object.
[Sidenote: Movements of the eye]
Each eye has six muscles that turn it in whatever direction you
want to look. These muscles are very delicate, and for true
sight they must be exactly adjusted. If the muscles on one side
of the eye are stronger than those on the other side, you will
be cross-eyed or wall-eyed. If one of the muscles in one eye is
stronger than the corresponding muscle in the other eye, it pulls
the eyeball out of place and you "see double."
[Sidenote: The use of the outer ear]
The portion of the ear that you see on the side of your head has as
much to do with hearing as the outer rim of the horn into which you
speak has to do with making a record for the phonograph. You know
that the record is really made at the little end of the horn, while
the big end simply collects the sound. The outside portion of the
ear simply collects sounds, and the real hearing is done with the
portion of the ear that is not seen.
[Illustration: FIG. 87. The ear, showing the outer, middle, and the
inner part.]
The outer ear connects with the short tube that leads to the
_drum_, which is a thin membrane that separates the middle ear from
the outer ear. This drum does not have so much to do with hearing
as is supposed. To have a hole in the drum does not mean that you
cannot hear.
[Sidenote: The middle ear]
The middle ear is that portion which is just inside the drum. In
this we find a chain of little bones. The one attached to the
drum is shaped much like a hammer, and is called the _malleus_,
which means mallet or hammer. The next one is shaped like an anvil
and is called _incus_, which means anvil, and the third is called
_stapes_, which means stirrup. The flat part of the stapes fits
into a small opening that leads to the internal ear.
[Sidenote: The inner ear]
The internal ear is shaped like a snail shell. It makes several
turns, which are hollow like the ends of a conch shell. In these
channels the nerve that receives the impressions made by the sounds
is distributed. This nerve carries the impressions to the brain.
[Illustration: FIG. 88. The nervous system.]
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
[Sidenote: Importance of the nervous system]
This system is so important in its use and so difficult to
understand in its details, that a description of it should have
more space than can be given in this summary. Can you imagine
having no feeling and being unable to move? This would be your
condition if you had no nerves.
[Sidenote: Nerves compared to telegraph system]
Briefly, the nerves might be called the telegraph system of the
body. There is a great central station called the brain where
messages are received and sent out; there are many sub-stations
that make up the spinal cord. Twelve great nerves pass directly
from the brain to the body; all others pass from the spinal cord.
[Sidenote: Extent of nervous system]
Every nerve leaving these centres divides and sub-divides into
little threads as the arteries divide and sub-divide into
arterioles and capillaries, until every part of the body--every
muscle and part of the skin--has its nerve.
[Sidenote: Voluntary and reflex action]
Every time you _choose_ to move your hand, your brain sends to the
necessary muscles an instantaneous order to act. This is called
_voluntary action_. If you put your finger against a hot stove
you jerk it away before you could have time to _choose_ to do it.
This happens as an order from a sub-station and is called _reflex
action_.
Messages travel both ways and it is necessary that the nervous
connection with every part of the body remain unbroken, and
important that the nervous condition be kept healthy.
NOTES TO THE TEACHER
A false delicacy has often prevented the teaching of vital lessons
to growing children. The day is how at hand when foolish sentiment
must no longer prevent the spread of any knowledge which is
necessary to exterminate the plagues that have afflicted the race.
In chapters 17, 18, 19 and 32, unpleasant facts are given in plain
language. They are facts that parents do not teach their children
and that most teachers will not frankly treat with classes in a
school. Though they are disagreeable to discuss, they are essential
for children of school age to know. Now that the dependence of
public health upon personal hygiene is recognized, personal habits
and sanitary conditions are more frankly dealt with than formerly.
It is an excellent thing occasionally, to have one or two points of
an assigned lesson answered in writing. Any topic that the teacher
may think advisable to treat in this manner may be discussed on
paper at the beginning of the recitation, five or six minutes being
allowed for that purpose. Even a whole chapter may be assigned to
be studied with a view of answering in writing the questions at the
end of the chapter. The written test can then take the place of the
usual oral recitation. This method is suggested to the teacher who
hesitates to discuss orally certain plain but essential facts.
Chapter 32 on the Spread and Prevention of Consumption can be
treated with best results orally, if the pupils are first made
to _feel_ the great danger of consumption and to realize the
possibility of preventing the vast havoc wrought by that dread
disease. The attitude of teacher and pupils should be that while
the discussion may be disagreeable, the disgusting habits referred
to in the text are so commonly practised that unless their dangers
are taught this disease can never be wiped out.
INDEX
Adenoids, 49, 50
Air, amount necessary for health, 45;
effects of impure, 45-48;
fresh air, when needed, 45-48;
how secured, 46, 47;
how changed in body, 45;
necessity of pure air, 45-48
Air cells, 175
Alcohol, effect of, on body, 67-70;
on brain work, 70;
on consumptives, 69;
on descendants, 69;
on liver, 68;
on morals, 69;
on nervous system, 69;
on powers of resistance, 68;
on stomach, 67;
false ideas about effects of, 67;
what business men think of, 70
Alimentary canal, 169, 170
Amoebic dysentery, how prevented, 122;
how spread, 122;
where prevalent, 122
Animals free from typhoid fever, 113
Antitoxin, how it acts, 108-110;
how discovered, 109;
sometimes considered a poison, 111;
prevents diphtheria, 110;
saves lives, 110
Aqueous humor, 177
Arterial blood, 172
Arteries, 171
Articles used by the sick, dangers from, 75;
how to treat, 76
Bathing, importance of, 60;
frequency of, 60
Baths, hot, 61;
cold, 61
Bedtime for children, 51
Blood, arterial, 172;
how changed in the body, 174;
venous, 171, 172
Boils, how caused, 95, 99
Bones, 163
Bronchi, 175
Building foods, 14, 15
Candy, when harmful, 54;
when not harmful, 54
Canned meats, why poisonous, 32
Capillaries, 172
Cells, are alive, 6;
body made of, 6;
body needs new, 14;
how killed, 7;
must not be killed, 6;
size of a, 5;
what they are like, 5
Circulation of the blood, 171-174
Clothing, effect of damp, 11;
promotes health, 9;
proper weight of, 10
Common drinking cup, 153
Consumption. _See Tuberculosis_
Cooking, effects of improper, 34, 35;
fatty foods, 34;
meats, 35;
starchy foods, 34
Cornea, 177
Coughing, dangers from, 147, 150-153;
how to prevent dangers from, 152, 153
Cuspidors, in public buildings, 152;
pocket, 152;
street, 152
Dairy, sickness about a, 26, 103, 115
Decomposed foods dangerous, 30, 32
Decomposition, cause of, 30;
effect of cold on, 31;
of foods, 30-32
Desserts, when harmful, 40;
when not harmful, 40
Dining table, effect of dirty, 37;
cheerfulness at, 37
Diphtheria, cure of, 108-111;
germs present after recovery, 101, 102;
germs present when throat is not sore, 104;
how to confine germs, 100;
how poison is fought, 108-110;
mild cases, how detected, 104;
nature of the poison, 108;
prevalence of, 100;
where germs come from, 100;
why some cases are not quarantined, 102-104
Dirt, a cause of sickness, 77, 78;
getting into milk from cows, 23, 117;
from cow barns, 23-25;
from milk cans and bottles, 26, 27;
from milkmen, 25;
from flies, 28, 80, 81
Diseased animals, effect on meats, 19-21;
effect on milk, 28;
tuberculosis from, 28, 155
Drafts, evil effects of, 10;
how to prevent harm from, 10
Ear, care of, 58;
drum, 179;
inner ear, 181;
middle ear, 179;
outer ear, 179
Esophagus, 170
Excreta from sick, how dispose of, 76, 118
Exercise, necessity of, 51, 161
Eye, how germs get into, 56;
how overworked, 57;
method of testing, 58
Far sight, 58
Flies, breeding places for, 77, 80;
as germ carriers, 80, 81, 116;
how to get rid of, 82, 83;
how to keep out, 83
Fly screens, where needed, 83
Foods, advertised, 16;
building, 14-16;
decomposition of, 30-32;
heat-producing, 14-16;
improper cooking of, 34, 35;
cost of suitable, 16;
uses of foods, 14-17;
uses of starches, 14;
uses of fats, 15;
value of meat as a, 15;
value of milk as a, 14
Garbage cans, should be covered, 83
Germs, cause of poison in meats, 31, 32;
carried by dogs and cats, 106;
effect of, in wounds, 95-99;
how, get through the skin, 95;
how, get into the body, 79;
how, get into foods, 79, 80;
how put into the air, 147, 150;
how kept out of the air, 151, 152;
how to fight, 74;
of lockjaw, 98;
man's greatest foe, 1;
nature of a, 73;
not alike, 73;
not killed by running water, 115
Hair, 169
Hearing, how tested, 58
Heat, how kept up in the body, 14
Hookworm disease, character of the worm, 120;
how it enters the body, 121;
how prevented, 122;
nature of the disease, 121;
where worm lives in the body, 121;
where prevalent, 122
Insects that carry disease, 92-94
Intestines, 171
Iris, 177
Joints, 163
Larynx, 174, 175
Lens, the, 178
Ligaments, 165
Lungs, 175
Lymphatics, 171
Malaria, how transmitted, 92;
how prevented, 93
Manure, a hatching place for flies, 80, 82;
how to dispose of, 82
Meal times, frequency of, 53;
regularity of, 53;
should be pleasant, 37, 38
Measles, after effects of, 128;
fatality of, 128;
necessity of care in, 129;
seriousness of, 128;
why to avoid, 128
Meats, characteristics of good, 18;
Clean Meat League, 19;
from diseased animals, 19-21;
germs cause poison in, 19, 32;
how kept clean, 18;
should be cooked, 35;
value of, as a food, 18
Milk, as carrier of disease, 22, 117;
effect of germs on, 22;
effect of disease in cow on, 28;
flies in, 28;
how germs get into, 23-28;
impure, dangerous, 22;
polluted water in, 27;
typhoid fever carried by, 117;
value of, as a food, 14, 20
Mosquitoes, as disease carriers, 92, 93;
how to get rid of, 94
Mouth, why some breathe through, 49
Mouth-breathing, effect of, 50
Muscles, attachment of, 167
Nails, how to care for, 61, 62
Near sight, 57
Nerves, compared to telegraph system, 181;
distribution of, 181
Nose, importance of breathing through, 48
Overcoats, necessity of, 12
Overwork, effect of, 51, 52
Paper napkins for consumptives, 152
Parties, time for, 53
Pencils in mouth, 155
Pharynx, 175
Play a form of work, 52
Playgrounds, 161
Pocket cuspidors, 152
Ptomaines, 19
Quarantine, breaking, shows selfishness, 126;
how broken by family, 105;
rules of, 105;
seriousness of breaking, 101;
when safe to raise, 102;
why necessary, 101;
why some cases escape, 102-104
Reflex action, 181
Respiratory system, 174-177
Rest, proper amount of, 51
Retina, 178
Rocky Mountain Spotted (Tick) Fever, how transmitted, 94
Rubbers, necessity of wearing, 11
Saliva, effect of, on starches, 39, 41
Salivary glands, 170
Scarlet fever, a dangerous disease, 124;
mild cases dangerous, 123, 124
Scarlatina, 125
Scarlet rash, why quarantine is necessary in, 125
School lunches, 37
Sclera, 177
Sebaceous glands, 169
Sewage, effect of, on water, 85-87, 115
Sickness about a dairy, 26, 103, 115;
due to germs, how prevented, 3
Sick room, stay away from, 75
Skin, care of, 60, 61
Smallpox, fatality of, 131;
how prevented, 135-137;
during Franco-Prussian War, 132;
in Sweden, 133;
in Gloucester, 134;
in the Philippine Islands, 134
Spitting, dangers from, 151;
how avoided, 152;
where to spit, 152, 153;
where not to spit, 151
Springs, how polluted, 87
Street cuspidors, 152
Sunshine, effect of, on germs, 77, 78
Suppuration, how the surgeon prevents, 96;
how you may prevent, 97;
real cause of, 96
Sweat glands, the work of, 60
Teeth, brittle, 42;
dangers from poor, 41-43;
how to care for, 43;
necessity of baby teeth, 41;
uses of teeth, 41;
why, decay, 42
Tendons, 167
Tobacco, a poison, 64;
effect of, on blood, 65;
on heart, 66;
on nervous system, 66;
on nose and throat, 65;
on stomach, 66;
extra work caused by, 64
Toilets, improper construction of, 86;
proper construction of, 87;
relation to wells, 85-87
Tonsils, 49, 50
Trachea, 175
Tuberculin test, 155, 156
Tuberculosis, can be prevented, 142, 148, 157;
fatality of, 142;
fresh air in, 157, 158;
germ, discovery of the, 145;
how to get, out of a house, 147, 148;
how germs leave the body, 150, 151;
how spread from cows, 28, 155;
how spread from the lips, 153-155;
how detected in cows, 155;
a house disease, 146, 147;
not inherited, 146;
of the glands, 144;
of the joints, 143;
of the spine, 144;
of the stomach, 144;
of the throat, 143;
prevalence of, 142;
pure food in, 158;
rest in, 157;
should be recognized early, 157;
sunshine in, 158;
why called the Great White Plague, 142
Typhoid fever, animals free from, 113;
carried by flies, 80, 81, 116;
carried by milk, 22, 117;
effect of a single case, 114;
how germs leave the body, 113;
how germs get into the body, 113;
how germs get into water, 114;
importance of cleanliness, 117, 118;
life of germs in a stream, 115;
recovered patient dangerous, 117
Umbrellas, necessity of, 11
Vaccination, cause of sore arms after, 140, 141;
discovery of, 132;
how, prevents smallpox, 135;
necessity of repeating, 137;
pretended vaccination, 138;
when successful, 138
Ventilation, in homes, 46, 159;
in public buildings, 48, 161;
in workshops, 48
Veins, 171
Venous blood, 171, 172
Villi, 171
Vitreous humor, 178
Voluntary action, 181
Water, avoid polluting, 85-88, 115;
effect of sewage on, 85, 115;
how germs get into, 85-88;
polluted, in milk, 27;
safe sources of, 88
Wells, how polluted, 86, 87;
relation of toilets to, 86, 87
Windows, should be kept open, 45-47;
should be screened, 83
Wood-ticks, as disease carriers, 93;
how abolished, 94
Wounds, importance of keeping clean, 97
Yards should be clean, 77
Yellow fever, how transmitted, 92;
how prevented, 92
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Bujar and Baier state that the nourishing power of bacon is
represented by 2,767, while the nourishing power of butter is
represented by 2,610.
[2] The cleaning out of these cemented vaults is an exceedingly
unpleasant task. Some prefer to have a strong, water-tight box
placed under the closet seats. When this box is nearly full, it
can be removed to some place where fertilizer is needed, and there
emptied, the contents being plowed into the ground. In order to
make this task as simple as possible, it is a good plan to put the
box on skids, and have a heavy strip in one end with a bolt and
ring through it, so that a horse can be hitched to the box to draw
it away. If a little dry earth or lime is put into the box each
day, there will be no unpleasant odor.
[3] The teacher should demonstrate the action of acids and alkalies
on a solution of litmus.
[4] At the request of many practical teachers the author has
appended this brief summary of anatomy. The material is intended to
be used for reference or to be assigned as lessons in connection
with the chapters of the book, at the discretion of the teacher.
End of Project Gutenberg's Principles of Public Health, by Thos. D. Tuttle