On the influence of atmosphere and locality; change of air and climate; seasons; food; clothing; bathing; exercise; sleep; corporeal and intellectual pursuits, &c. &c. on human health : constituting elements of hygiéne / by Robley Dunglison.

  • Dunglison, Robley, 1798-1869.
Date:
1835
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the influence of atmosphere and locality; change of air and climate; seasons; food; clothing; bathing; exercise; sleep; corporeal and intellectual pursuits, &c. &c. on human health : constituting elements of hygiéne / by Robley Dunglison. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    the earth under the equator, lived for a considerable time on the summit of Pichincha, 15,939 feet above the level of the sea, and consequently, 300 feet above the point men- tioned by Cassini; and the same gentlemen, whilst encamp- ed upon the mountain, frequently observed vultures soaring at the height of 1,300 feet above them,—or in an atmos- phere, where the mercury of the barometer was below fourteen inches. The remark of Cassini was founded on the presumption, that the atmosphere, at the height of 15,640 feet, is one half rarer than at the level of the ocean, and on the fact, that if the air be suddenly dilated one half under the receiver of the air-pump, an animal placed J under it dies. Such might be the effect upon man if the density were as suddenly diminished, but we have mul- titudes of instances to shew, that there is, within us, a capability of resisting injurious influences to a surprising extent, provided the system has even a short time for ac- f commodating itself to the new circumstances, under which | it may be placed. Even the small period that elapses in I the ascent of a balloon to this giddy elevation is sufficient i for the purpose; and death, we have seen, did not result where the elevation, attained in this manner, was even 6,095 feet greater than that indicated by Cassini as the limit of animal existence. The highest town, of any extent, on the earth is Potosi, in Bolivia, celebrated for the mines in its vicinity. It is 13,265 feet above the level of the Pacific ocean. Two hundred years ago, it is said to have contained 160,000 in- habitants, but the number is not now greater than 12,000. Perhaps the highest inhabited spot on tin's hemisphere is the farm of Antisana in Quito, the elevation of which is 13,400 feet. Yet the human family are capable of subsist- ing at these lofty elevations with the same facility as amidst the arctic snows when once habituated to them;—inconve- nience being felt by new settlers only, and even these, by the gradual ascent, have the different organs accommodated to the new external relations. We have no observations to guide us, regarding the