The worth of fresh air : no. 1 of deposits in the Savings' Bank of Wisdom, made in behalf of working men and women.

Date:
[between 1850 and 1859?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The worth of fresh air : no. 1 of deposits in the Savings' Bank of Wisdom, made in behalf of working men and women. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    OBJECT OF THE BREATHING. round chambers which form the ends of those branches. Look at this picture. It is a representation of one of these chambers, greatly magnified, in order that its character may be readily seen. The wind-pipe branches out into several mil- lions of fine twig-like tubes, and then each tube ends in a blind extremity, or chamber exactly like this. Do you observe that the air-chamber in the picture is covered by a sort of net-work, stretched tightly over it? That net-work is formed of blood-vessels, through which the blood is constantly streaming, driven on by the action of the heart. This blood sucks air from the air-chambers into itself, and carries that air onwards to all parts of the living frame. But the blood-streams in the net-work of vessels also steam out into the air-chambers poison-vapours, which are then driven out through the windpipe and the mouth. Thus the breath which goes into the mouth is fresh air; but the breath which comes out of the mouth is foul air. Air is spoiled, and, as it were, converted to poison, by being breathed; but the body is purified by the breathing, because it is its poison-vapours that are carried away, mingled with the spoiled air. This, then, is why men breathe. Bbeathino- is THE BLOWING OF A EEESH WIND THEOTJGH THE LITING- BODY EOB THE CLEANSING AWAY OF ITS IMPURITIES. The purifying part of the air which is breathed actually circulates with the blood through all parts of the frame.