Volume 1

The philosophy of health ; or, an exposition of the physical and mental constitution of man, with a view to the promotion of human longevity and happiness / by Southwood Smith.

  • Smith, Southwood, 1788-1861.
Date:
1847
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The philosophy of health ; or, an exposition of the physical and mental constitution of man, with a view to the promotion of human longevity and happiness / by Southwood Smith. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    as to form a continuous and extended surface, constituting a thin, smooth, dense, and strong membrane, such as that which lines the externa] surface of bones termed periosteum, or the inter- nal surface of the skull (dura mater). At other times, they form a firm and tough expansion (aponeurosis) which descends between certain muscles, separating them from each other, and affording a fixed point for the origin or insertion of neighbouring muscles; or which is stretched over muscles, and sometimes over even an entire limb, in order to confine the muscles firmly in their situation, and to aid and direct their action (fig. XXVII.). Fibrous membrane also consti- tutes the compact, strong, tough, and flexible bands used for tying parts firmly together, termed ligaments, principally employed in connecting the bones with each other, and particularly about the joints; and lastly, fibrous membrane forms the rounded white cords in which muscles often ter- minate, called tendons (fig. XXV., XXVI.), the principal use of which is to connect the muscles with the bones, and to serve as cords or ropes to transmit the action of the muscle to a distant point, in the accomplishment of which purposes their operation appears to be entirely mechanical. 33. The fifth form of membrane, the mucous (fig. XXI.), derives its name from the peculiar fluid with which its surface is covered, called mucus, and which is secreted by numerous minute glands,