Human physiology / by William Furneaux.

  • William Samuel Furneaux
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Human physiology / by William Furneaux. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    which has its own particular function to perform. These parts are called organs. Thus, we speak of the heart as the chief organ of circulation, the stomach as an organ of digestion, the lungs as organs of respiration, and the muscles as the organs for producing motion. The various organs of the body may be conveniently arranged in groups or systems, according to their respective functions. The chief of these systems are I. The osseous, or bony system. 2 The muscular system. 3. The digestive system. 4. The absorptive system, 5. The circulatory system. 6. The respiratory, or breathing system. 7. The excretory, or purifying system. 8. The nervous system. All the organs of the body are more or less complicated in structure. Each one is built up of elementary structures which are called tissues. For example, the heart is composed of a fleshy substance which we term ?>iuscular tissue, some fatty substance or adipose tissue, nervous tissue, and a certain amount of co?inective tissue. The osseous (Lat. os, a bone) system consists of a large number of bones, which constitute the skeleton, and form a strong frame- work, which supports and protects the softer structures of the body. These bones are connected together in such a manner as to form joints or articulations (Lat. articulus, a joint), and are bound firmly together at these joints by strong white fibrous bands called ligaments (Lat. ligo, I bind). In some parts of the body, where an elastic and yielding substance is required, which is at the same time very strong, cartilage or gristle takes the place of bone, as in the more prominent part of the nose. We may regard the backbone as the central portion of the osseous system, for a glance at the accompanying figure will show that the other bones of the skeleton are connected either directly or indirectly with it. This bone (or, rather, column of bones) passes through the hinder part of the trunk of the body, part of it belonging to the neck, part to the back, and part to the loins. The ribs are connected with that portion which lies in the back, and, extending round the chest, are for the most part connected with the breast-bone in front. At the upper part of the chest are the shoulder-bones: to these the bones of the arms are attached. The lower portion of the backbone is wedged in between the bones of the hip, which form a hollow basin-like cavity, and support the organs of the abdomen.
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