Observations on the effect of madder root on the bones of animals : read before the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester April 10, 1801.

  • Gibson, B. F. (Benjamin F.), 1938-
Date:
1805
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on the effect of madder root on the bones of animals : read before the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester April 10, 1801. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

    9/20 page 9
    of the regenerated bone was filled with mar- row, and in every respect performed the office of that, tor which it was a substitute. This may be considered as a general outline of the progressive changes, which take place during the regeneration of a cylindrical bone, in a young animal, such as a pigeon, or chicken; and the same process is frequently performed in the human body, when, from some interna] cause, the life of a bone is destroyed. These changes involve many interesting particulars; but the circumstance most immediately con- nected with the subject of this paper is, that although the shaft of the bone required three weeks for its renewal, 'yet in seven days the osseous system generally had acquired a bright red. Now if we explain this change in co- lour according to the common opinion of ab- sorption of the white, and deposition of the red osseous matter,* we must necessarily draw • * The common opinion of physiologists, with regard to this curious fact, is, that when’ a bone becomes red, during the exhibition of madder root, the white osseous particles which composed it, have been entirely removed by absorption and replaced by new osseous matter of a red colour : and when a bone as'-umes its natural cr^lour, these red panicles have been removed and replaced by white. If this be the fact, it necessarily follows, that an animal has at least fifiy-lvvo new sets of bones in a year : B
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3