A probationary essay, on the causes and treatment of lateral curvature of the human spine; submitted ... to ... the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh / [Robert Knox].

  • Knox, Robert, 1791-1862.
Date:
1825
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A probationary essay, on the causes and treatment of lateral curvature of the human spine; submitted ... to ... the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh / [Robert Knox]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    most fleshless spine of the enfeebled inhabitant of modern cities, to the athletic frame of the English peasant, bearing no small resemblance to the ini¬ mitable Torso of Hercules. It is by means of two cushions of long muscles and others, which, though broad, are very powerful, that the trunk and head are maintained in the erect position, whether the person be seated or in a standing attitude. Now, it ought always to be re¬ membered, that the mere act of sitting down does not relieve the muscles which support the trunk and head : to relieve these a horizontal position is indispensable. A very simple experiment will, I apprehend, render this intelligible to the weakest capacity. The extreme difficulty of keeping the arm extended, even for a few minutes, is well known, and how painful the continued action of any particular set of muscles becomes, unless relieved by rest, or by the employment of their antagonists ; yet it is no unusual occurrence for the extensor muscles of the spine to be kept in action during fourteen successive hours, either at the desk or at mechanical employments. The effects of such ha¬ bits in producing deformity of the spine, and the manner in which such deformity is more immediate¬ ly produced, will form the subject of the following section.