The reformed botanic and Indian physician : a complete guide to health / by Daniel Smith.

  • Smith, Daniel, 1790-
Date:
1855
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The reformed botanic and Indian physician : a complete guide to health / by Daniel Smith. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    and these tubes are as small as a hair. It travels along through these tubes in the same manner that the particles of oil travel along through the little tubes in the wick of a lamp till they unite in larger tubes. These terminate in glands, from which larger tubes or pipes collect and carry the chyle from all parts into one common vessel, called the receptacle or thoracic duct, which holds about a table-spoonful. From this bag a large pipe proceeds, which runs up the back part of the chest and along till it reaches the neck at the top of the left shoulder. It is now poured into a large vein, called the subclavian vein, which carries the chyle, ^together with the old blood coming from the veins situated all over the body, to the heart, the great fountain of life. The blood now formed runs along, being of a dark color, but which is not yet healthy, and flows to the lungs. Here the air we inhale or breathe in changes the dark color of the blood to red, as we see it when we prick our finger. Then it flows back to the heart, and by a contraction of the heart it is thrown into tubes, called arteries, with sufficient force and rapidity to carry it to all parts of the body. The blood contains the* elements of all those substances which compose our body. It is the blood that makes our bones, our skin, our hair, and every limb; and it is the blood which makes us grow. So - you see if we did not eat we should not have any blood, and so of course we could not grow. You may think it very strange that the red blood flowing like the water in a river, can make something as hard as a bone or flesh ; but when you cut your finger, or break a bone, the reason why, after several days or weeks, it heals or becomes well, is, that the blood, in passing the place cut, leaves a little something there, the next time it leaves