Volume 1

The Cyclopaedia of practical medicine : comprising treatises on the nature and treatment of diseases, materia medica and therapeutics, medical jurisprudence, etc., etc. / edited by John Forbes ... Alexander Tweedie ... John Conolly.

Date:: 1833-1835

Credit: The Cyclopaedia of practical medicine : comprising treatises on the nature and treatment of diseases, materia medica and therapeutics, medical jurisprudence, etc., etc. / edited by John Forbes ... Alexander Tweedie ... John Conolly. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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

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$were rightly estimated, and the real powers of the mind properly directed. And this leads us to consider, what has hitherto been but too little attended to in conducting education, the direct inHuence which the e.xercise of the mental powers has on the bodily health. In the few following remarks on this subject we shall draw’ freely from an admirable paper published in the sixth volume of the Phreno- logical Journal, entitled, “ On Mental Exer- cise, as a Means of Health.” The principles inculcatetl are of the highest importance, and though emanating in this instance from phre- nological views, they have also so sure a basis in established physiology, that they may be beneficially applied even by those who still close their eyes to the truths of a science in whicli the writer of this article has no hesitation to avow his firm belief; and which, justly esti- mated, has more power of contributing to the welfare and hajipiness of mankind than any other with which we are acquainted. The importance of muscular exercise as a means of preserving and improving health is genemlly admitted. It ministers to the health of the body, and, as the brain has its due share of this advantage, mental energies are also pro- moted by it. “ Hut there is great retison to believe tliat exercise of mind, regular active employment both of intellect and of moral feeling, of which the various ]iarts of the ner- vous system are the organic media, contributes so essentially to the well being of the whole system, that it cannot be neglected without in- flicting jwsitive injury; and that, independently of its mental advantages, it is necessary to the enjoyment of full physical health. It is es- sential to health that the functions of the nervous system be well performed. Hut the intellectual powers, with the afl’ectiveand moral feelings, form a part of these functions, and so intimately connected are the physical and men- tal energies that they mutually influence each other; so that, in proportion as nervous sti- mulus is unduly expended on the one, it be- comes withdrawn from the other. Deficient or irregular exercise of nervous functions gives rise to much suffering, and in no class of beings more signally than in that to which so much of this essay has been devoted, namely, of young females of the upper and middle nmks, more especially those “ of a delicate and nervous constitution, who, without any existing disease, without even having under- gone any severe indisposition sufficient to de- bilitate the system, are nevertheless habitual invalids, and can scarcely venture beyond the limits of the drawing-room, or withdraw them- selves from the rays of the sun, without some evil, real or imaginary, instantly overtaking them, and forcing them back to their retreat.” Some of the sources of this extreme delicacy, and the means of remedying it, it has been the object of the foregoing pages to explain. “ Young men of the same rank suffer infinitely less, because the consbmtly recurring calls of business and public life operate upon them as stimuli, and, in spite of themselves, exercise (he feelings and employ the intellect on objects of some permanent value and importance, and thus keep up a stir of life and excitement of tire system which is favourable to the health of all the functions, and to which unhappily many of the opposite sex remain, especially in their youthful years, altogether strangers.” “ The three grand sources of vitality, failure or weakness of which may induce infirm health and delicacy of constitution, are the digestive, the sanguiferous, and the nervous apparatuses; and, accordingly, whenever great debility is observed to exist witltout any marked local disease, its true cause will almost to a cer- tainty be found in weakness or deficiency affecting one or other of the three great systems of organs just named. If digestion, for in- stance, be radically feeble, then the chyle or nutritive material will fail, and weakness follow’. If the lungs and circulating system be weak, the respiration will be imperfect, and the blood being inadequately acted on by air, its compo- sition will be impaired, and, sent in this state through the bloodvessels, it will no longer afford the usual ^stimulus and support to any of the organs, and hence again constitutional delicacy.' And, lastly, if the nervous functions be defective, not only will the mind suffer, but all the functions of the body will jiarticipate with it in languor, because all of them will receive a diminished and vitiated supply of nervous stimulus, a due share of which is essential to their healthy action.” The digestive, respiraton,’, and sanguiferous functions have been already noticed so far as the purposes of this essay require. It remains, then, only to pursue the consideration of ner- vous functions as involving and affected by the exercise of mind. So dependent is every part of the frame on the brain and nerves, that if the communication between them be cut off or obstnicted by dividing or compressing the nerve which conveys nervous influence, the function of the jrart, however healthy it may be in every other respect, will cease, be diminished, or othcr\vise disturbed. When any organ, too, is stinted of its due share of nervous stimulus by the too great activity of some other part absorb- ing more than its own proportion, the function becomes weakened. I'hus a diminution in the tone of all the other organs of the body will be experienced during an over-excitement of a few in writing or thinking intently, processes during which the vital actions and nervous energy are so much concentrated in the head, that from pure want of it the extremities become cold, ajid the action of the heart is lowered so as to weaken and retard the pulse, thus shewing that a weak and inactive nervous system must exert an unfavourable influence on the general health. For giridance in strengthening and develop- ing the nervous system so as to render it fit for the adequate performance of all its functions, we must look to the general principles of \>hy- siology and the dictates of experience. “ W hen any living part is called into frequent and regu- lar exercise, especially if the system is not yet arrived at full maturity, it is observed to become gradually more and more susceptible of action ;$