The Domestic physician, or, Guide to families : containing directions for the preservation of health, and the removal of disease : also, a plain and accurate description of the complaints generally incident to the human frame : with an account of the most efficacious remedies, and directions how to use them : chiefly selected from the best authors, and made plain to persons of common understanding.

Date:
[1814]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Domestic physician, or, Guide to families : containing directions for the preservation of health, and the removal of disease : also, a plain and accurate description of the complaints generally incident to the human frame : with an account of the most efficacious remedies, and directions how to use them : chiefly selected from the best authors, and made plain to persons of common understanding. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

    33/660 page 25
    The Diaphragm, and Liver. office, which are called intercostals, from their being situated between the ribs, and are both internal and external; they run obliquely from the edges of one rib to those of the ribs nearest each other, the whole length of the ribs, and from the highest rib to the lowest: the fibres of the external have a direction contrary to that of the internal, by which contrivance their joint action becomes the more steady, and the ribs being pulled in the diagonal of these two direc- tions, endeavour to pull the ribs nearer to one another; drawing the inferior ribs nearer the superior; and thus the cavity of the thorax is widened, that the lungs may expand themselves in inspiration. But there is another contrivance to promote this purpose; the Diaphragm or Midriff. This mus- cle, which divides the breast from the lower belly, arises from the breast-bone before, from all the ribs on each side, from the seventh to the twelfth ; and behind from the last vertebre of the thorax, and the first one of the two loins. Its fibres run fleshy from the circumference to the centre some way, and then become tendinous; the whole diaphragm slants, its anterior organs being remarkably higher than its pos- terior ones; it is not plain, but remarkably convex towards the thorax, and concave towards the abdo- men; insomuch that its middle or centre rises always higher in the thorax than its highest origin at the sternum; when it acts, the fleshy fibres shortening, pull the tendinous centre towards their origin, there- by rendering it plainer and less convex, and so length- ening the cavity of the thorax downwards; hence the enlargement of the breast is promoted two ways, by the intercostal muscles raising the ribs, and making it wider, and the action of the diaphragm rendering it longer or deeper ; and by these means the several uses above specified, from the action of respiration, are promoted. Immediately under the diaphragm lies the Liver. It is of an irregular shape; its right part almost fills hat is called the right hypociiondre, or side under the ribs betoiv the diaphragm, in an adult body, w hen
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3