A familiar treatise on the five senses : being an account of the conformation and functions of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin ... / by Charles Bell.

  • Bell, Charles, Sir, 1774-1842.
Date:
1841
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A familiar treatise on the five senses : being an account of the conformation and functions of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin ... / by Charles Bell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    THE ORGAN OP TOUCH DESCRIPTION OF THE SKIN. The fifth and last sense is that of touch, which resides in the skin. The skin is divided into three coats,—the cuticle, rete mucosum, and the true skin. The cuticle is the outer coat. It is transparent, and by its insensibility blunts and defends the acute sensation ol the true skin. It is in general thin ; but over cer- tain parts, as the heels and soles ol the feet, and the palms ol the hands, it is thicker ; and instead of becoming thinner by labour or repeated pressure, it thickens and becomes more insensible. It, how- ever, this skin be too quickly exerted, it throws out a watery fiuid and causes blis- ters ; and if exerted in a less degree, the friction causes repeated layers ol cuticle, and thus forms corns. It has several per-