The Principles of Medicine (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: FORMATIVE FORCE. 11. I think, from what has been already stated, that we may make three propositions, the truth of which will not be disputed by any one?indeed, they will not ouly correspond with the experience, but also the reason of my readers. They arc these: ? first. That there is a force in the organic world differing from chemical and physical forces, and which may be appropriately termed the Formative Force. Second. That this force is not possessed by all persons in equal degree; that in some it is strong, giving health and grtat power to live; while in others it is feeble, consequently giving disease and death. Third. That this force is not a fixed quantity with any individual, but that it may be increased and diminished. i2. These propositions being admitted, onr investigations will be turned to those circumstances that influence this format ive force, or power to live. As regards its entity, or whether from the spintual or natural world, we care but little. What we are interested in knowing is, how it may be conserved, and how it may be mcreased when deficient. 13. Localization of the Formative /W.-With many this force has been thonght of as having some central seat, from which it flows forth to give vitality to the body at large. That this is an error will be readily seen, as there is no individual part so con- stituted as to be a reservoir for, or generator of, such force. But more especially, if we study the histology of the body, we will that it all bnilt upon the same plan, and of the "same elements, and that each ultimate structure or cell has this formative force mherent in itself. 14. Recognizing cell growth as the ultimate formation of the dy, we may safely assume that the formative force by which they are organized is the ultimate...