A manual of ambulance / by J. Scott Riddell.

  • Riddell, J. Scott (John Scott), 1864-1929.
Date:
1904
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A manual of ambulance / by J. Scott Riddell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    flesh is hung, and to which the muscles are attached for purposes of movement. Viewed as a whole the skeleton is more than a mere frame-work for the support of the superstructures, for it plays a considerable part in the movements of the body, and has an important function to serve in affording protection to the vital organs of the body by forming firm bony walls for the cavities which contain them. The brain and spinal cord (nervous organs, delicate and easily injured) are safely housed in the skull and spinal column, while the chest-wall (formed by the ribs, the breast bone, and the spine) serves to protect the heart and lungs. If from an adult skeleton we take a typical bone—e.g., a thigh- —we find on examination that it consists of a fibrous basis impregnated with lime salts, the principal of which is phos- phate of lime. These salts can-be dissolved out of a bone by strong acids, leaving the fibrous basis, which is soft and ^ easily bent, and consists of cartilage or gristle. In a young child the central frame-work is made up mainly of this cartilage or gristle, and if undue pressure be brought to bear upon it (particularly in unhealthy and improperly cared-for children, in whose bones little lime has been deposited), it readily yields, leading to the production of such deformities as “ bandy legs,” “ knock-knees,” and “ curved spines.” As the child grows older, lime salts are deposited in the cartilaginous basis, and it becomes solid and firm, and is known as “ bone.” If, however, the lime salts are not deposited in sufficient quantity, owing to improper or insuffi- cient feeding, or bad hygienic surroundings, the bones retain to a considerable extent their cartilaginous character, and tend on injury to bend rather than to break. In the healthy adult the bones of the extremities have become firm cylinders of fibrous tissue impregnated with phosphate of lime, and if a severe strain be brought to bear upon them, they will more readily fracture than bend. In elderly people the elasticity naturally present in young bones is, to a considerable extent, lost, the bones then becoming exceedingly brittle and liable to fracture. From an examination of a dried skeleton one is apt to picture the bones as masses of dead tissue, but it should be remembered that in life the bones are liberally provided with blood, which is supplied to them through the intervention of a specially protecting and nourishing membrane known as the periosteum. Fio'. 1 represents the human skeleton, viewed from the front; and after full consideration of the remainder of this chapter, in which the different parts of the skeleton are dealt with seriatim, it is desirable that the reader should make a careful examination of the skeleton as a whole by reference to the
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