Sea-sickness and how to prevent it : an explanation of its nature and successful treatment, through the agency of the nervous system, by means of the spinal ice-bag : with an introduction on the general principles of neuro-therapeutics / by John Chapman.
- Chapman, John, 1821-1894.
- Date:
- 1868
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Sea-sickness and how to prevent it : an explanation of its nature and successful treatment, through the agency of the nervous system, by means of the spinal ice-bag : with an introduction on the general principles of neuro-therapeutics / by John Chapman. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![and illustrated by Dr. Draper of New York, in his admirable work on Physiology, and is adopted by Dr. Carpenter^ The mode of attraction by which the “ auxiliary force is exerted in the capillaay vessels ’’ is thus stated by Dr. Draper, who, speaking of the blood in the systemic capillaries, says :—“ The oxidizing ar- terial blood has a high affinity for those portions [of tissue] that have become wasted: it effects their disintegration, and then its affinity is lost. The various tissues reqaairc repair; they have an affinity for one or other of the constituents of the blood; they take the material they need and their affinity is satisfied; or secreting cells originate a drain upon the blood, and the moment they have removed from it the substance to be secreted, they have no longer any relation with it. So processes of oxidation, and processes of nutrition, and processes of secretion, all conspire to draAV the current onAvard from the arteries, and to push it out towards the veins; and though these processes may present themselves in many various aspects, they are all modifications of the same simple physical principle.In the pulmonary capillaries the same physical principle comes again into action. “ The A^enous blood has a high aflinity for the oxygen of the air, an affinity which is satisfied as soon as the blood presents itself in the cells of the lungs. Ar- terialization being accomplished, the portions to be exchanged exert a pressure on those that have changed, and the blood, moving fonvard in the pulmonary veins, reaches the left auricle of the heart.'’'’ This doctrine of the nature of the forces effecting the circu- lation of the blood enables us to explain how ice, applied to the back, increases the force and frequency of the heart’s action. The terminal branches of the arteries having been alloAved to dilate in the manner already explained, an increased quantity of blood is brought in contact Avith the tissues, betAveeu Avhich and itself a chemical attraction exists. The amount of attractiA'C force exerted thus becomes larger than before, and therefore the amount of chemical change also. The Avholc of the transformative pro- cesses are proportionately intensified, and the vitality of the part in like manner heightened. Iiacreased rapidity of tex- tural transformation involves increased demands on the nutritious and vitalizing elements of the blood, Avhich is consequently drawn to the part in still more copious streams, and Avhich passes through its cajjillaries more swiftly than before; Avhile the greater heat evolved reacts as a stimulant and tavour- ing condition of still more rapid chemical change, and be-](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22342977_0018.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
