Talks Upon Practical Subjects (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE NERVES. BY LUCIEK C. WARNER, M. D. r ] AHE nerves of the body are the medium through I which the mind receives all impressions of external objects, and also through which it directs all bodily activity. Every sensation, whether of joy or sorrow, pleasure or pain, comes to us through the nervous system. It is thus that we recognize cold and heat, sound and silence, sunshine and shadow, light and darkness. The center of the nervous system is the brain and spinal column. It is through the brain that the mind acts in all its varied and wonderful manifestations. The whole physical system is directly connected with the brain by means of the nerves which run likelittle cords to every part of the body. These nerves terminate in the skin smd muscles, where they act as the sentinels stationed at the outposts to keep us informed of the conditions which surround us. But .these sentinels have a double duty to perform; they not only bring to the mind information, but they carry back to the . muscles orders for motion. A simple illustration will explain this action. If you put your hand in the fire, instantly the nerves carry to the brain the sensation of pain; as quick as thought the brain sends back word to the hand to get out of the way. Thus we see that the nerves act like telegraph wires to connect the brain with every part of the body; b'ut, unlike the telegraph wires, there is a double system of nerves, each with a distinct function; one the nerves of sensation, and the other the nerves of motion. There are some nerves of motion that are not under the control of the mind, like the great pneu- mogastric nerve, which runs from the brain to the throat, stomach, lungs, heart, and liver. These are organs whose activity is essential to life, and hence t...