Ourselves, our food, and our physic / by Benjamin Ridge.

  • Ridge, Benjamin
Date:
1861
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Ourselves, our food, and our physic / by Benjamin Ridge. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    29/220 (page 17)
    vessels, called the Veins. Tliesb are valvular structures, because they bave their stream uphill, each valve formiug a lock. They are, as may bo inferred, different to the sirterics, which begin largo and end small, whilst veins begin small and • end large, because they have to take back all the residuary ' blood of the ai-teries and capillai-ies from all j)ai-ts of the body. It wiU be seen how beautifuUy this venous or resi- iduary blood is used again as a diluent to other animal- i ized fluids. It is returned from all parts of the upper and ■ lower extremities, meeting at last at one given point. That portion only from the aMominal organs going to tho liver to ! make bile. Tho now' material made from tho fresh food is 1 taken up by certain vessels called the Lacteals. These empty : themselves into a reservoir, called the Thokacic Duct, which idischai'ges its contents at the same terminal point as the veins, and thus tho new becomes diluted with the old blood. ' There is also anotlier astoimding jirocess, which is the Ltm- ! PHATTO System. Vessels bearing this name ti-averse tlie Avhole i body, and absorb all suri)lus or unappropriated fluid of every 1 description. This quantity is enormous, even in the natural states; but through the effect of blows, bruises, swellings, hardness from cuts and w'ounds, and during the repairs of great injuries, their activity is increased. They thus convey an immense mass of animalized fluids of a vital and most useful character, the fabrication of tho body itself, into the same duct as the new food-fluid is conveyed into, and which, ; thus united, is tho new vital element. Thus, again, we see : the economy of Nature and the self-dependence of animal life, for how little new material for the fresh blood is required in ' comparison to the quantity already present in the body ! It may be reasonably infon'cd that one-fifth is only required of new elementary matter, four-fifths being supplied by the animal structure itself. The venous blood, as a separatii element, is also subject to its specific diseases, and from this I have reason to think we have most of the congestive actions. A discrimination of disease, as influenced by the condition of tho blood, whether ai’terial, capillary, or venous, is a jjoint of the gi'catest importance. Considering the many sources, as w'ell as the condition of the new blood, which is a dark, homogeneous mass, a (;ertain purificatiou of it appears necessary. This is accomplished in c