Physiology and hygiene for children

Front matter

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Preface

It is important that every boy and girl shall became familiar, while at school, with the primary laws of health. A knowledge of the structure of the body, its parts, and their uses, is the foundation for an intelligent understanding of these laws. Anatomy and physiology are, therefore, treated here chiefly as an aid to the teaching of hygiene.

In order that children may readily understand the story of their bodies, it is told in clear, simple language, and with a minimum of technical terms.

Great care has been taken in the treatment of each chapter and topic to observe the relative importance of the various organs. Those which have more important functions are described in greater detail than those whose functions are less important. The interdependence of organs has also been kept prominently in view, in order that the pupil may realize that he is learning about an active living body, and not about isolated parts.

The value of this book as a teaching instrument is greatly enhanced by the best illustrations that could be obtained. The authors were given carte blanche by the publishers, and instructed to spare no expense in securing pictures that would illustrate the text in the best possible manner. Color has been used to make the illustrations more attractive, and also to make

4 PREFACE

it easier to differentiate parts, but there has been no uniform attempt to imitate the natural color of the parts.

The law requiring that twenty-five per cent, of the text matter shall treat of '' the nature and effects of alcoholic drinks and other narcotics " has been complied with. The injurious effect of alcohol upon different organs is stated plainly and concisely ; and, in addition to that, as much emphasis as possible has been placed upon the positive benefits in improved health and strength which arise from abstinence from the use of alcoholic drinks and tobacco. In order that this lesson may make a deep and lasting impression, it is presented in the concrete form of letters written by men whose opinions M'ill at once be accepted as worthy of confidence.

The authors take pleasure in acknowledging their obligations to the gentlemen who kindly furnished the letters contained herein, and also to Mr. M. Anagnos, Director of The Kindergarten for the Blind, in Boston, Mass., for annual reports containing the story of Thomas Stringer.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. — Introduction 7

III.— Muscles 33

Chapter I The Body

Once there

THE OLD HALL CLOCK.

was a little boy named Charles, who lived in a great city. In the hall of his father 8 house stood a tall clock, and little Charles used to stand before it and watch the heavy pendulum swing back and forth, and listen to the regular tick-tock, ticktock, like a voice speaking to him. At times he would hear a sudden click, and then out would I'ing a bell, clear and sweet, telling that another hour had passed.

What made the pendulum swing?

What made the hands go round?

What made the bell ring at exactly the right time every hour ? Little Charles could not tell. So day after day he would stand and watch the old clock and wonder about it.

One morning when he came down stairs there was no sound in the hall. He looked up at the clock and saw that the pendulum was still. The clock had stopped. Later in the day a strange man came to fix it. Charles watched him as he took off the front. Inside were wheels and chains and weights. The man took the wheels out one by one, polished them, oiled them, and put them back, fitting each part nicely to the other. Then he wound up the weights, put the front on the clock again, started the pendulum to swinging, and once more Charles heard the pleasant tick-tock, tick-tock, to which he loved to listen. Now he knew what made the hands go round, the pendulum move, and the bell ring. It was the wheels and the chains and the weights inside. While Charles had often wondered about the clock, he had never thought very much about himself. And yet a boy is nmch more wonderful than a clock. It can move its hands only round and round ; he can move his hands in every direction. It can say only tick-tock; he can say whatever he wishes, It can

INSIDE THE CLOCK.

THE BODY 9

stand only where it is placed; he can run and jump and play. What gives a boy the power to do all these things ? Would you like to know ?

The body of a boy, like the body of a clock, has many strange things inside — not wheels, chains and weights, but other things which are just as strange, and which all work together. The picture on page 11 shows part of a body with the front taken oflf. Look at it and you will see some of these things.

From this little book you can learn something about your body and the things inside it. Each chapter tells you the name of some part of the body, how it looks, and where it is ; that is anatomy. Next, it tells you the use of each part ; that is physiology. And then it tells you how to take care of each part; that

is HYGIENE.

The body. — We often call that part of a man which you see in the picture the body, but its real name is the trunk. The upper part of the trunk is the chest, the lower part is the abdomen. Joined to the trunk are the head, arms and legs. All these together make the body.

Organs. — The works of a clock are called a machine. They are made to do special work, and are afterw^,rds put into the body of the clock, Tte strange things that you see in the chest and abdomen also do special work, but they are called organs. They grow in the body from the first, and are parts of it. Each part of the body that does special work is called an organ. The eye is an organ of sight. The ear is an organ of hearing. The hands and feet also are organs.

Many organs are very delicate, and so we find them placed in hollow cases of bone, called cavities, to keep them from being injured. For this reason the brain, which is the organ of the mind, is shut up in the skull, and many important organs are shut up in the large cavities of the trunk.

Look at the picture on page 1 1 and you will see the ribs and the breast bone, which protect the cavities. Behind the ribs are organs called lungs. In the centre of the neck you can see a tube called the windpipe, which extends upwards from the lungs. The air which you breathe p^se^ through the windpipe into the lungs. Both the^lungs and the windpipe have been colored purple in the picture.

Turn to the picture on page 14. The ribs have been taken off, one' lung has been taken out, and the other lung has been drawn back so that you can see the cavity of the chest. There you will see an organ

A VIEW OF THE INSIDE OF THE TRUNK. (Seti Appendix for Key.)

PHYSIOLOGY FOR CHILDREI^ called the heart, colored red. Above the heart are red and blue tubes which go from it to other parts of the body. Just under the heart and lungs you can see the partition which separates the chest from the abdomen. Below this partition is an organ called the liver. Below the liver is the stomach. In the picture the liver has been colored brown, and the stomach yellow, with red lines over it. A tube goes from the mouth down to the stomach. It is just behind the windpipe, and so cannot be shown in the picture. It is through this tube that food passes from the mouth to the stomach. Below the stomach, neatly folded

and curled up, is the intestine.

Although the body has many organs, all work together and help one another. If one organ is in pain and cannot do its usual work, other organs share the injury and are unable to do their work well. 1/Cells. — If you cut open a ripe orange and pick it apart carefully, you will find that it is made up of a great number of little sacs which are full of juice.

THE CELLS OP AN ORANGE '. LITTLE SACS FULL OF JUICE.

THE BODY 13

These are called cells. They are packed closely and are held together by small threads, or fibres. The fibres in the orange are found either as small threads, or woven together in thin sheets like tissue paper.

All vegetables and animals are made up of cells. Every part of your body, every organ in it, all your muscles and bones, your skin and hair are built up of cells. Most cells are so small that you cannot see them unless they are made to look much larger than they really are by the use of a microscope. This is true, for example, of the cells of a grain of wheat, a potato or a blade of grass. It is also true of the cells of muscle, bone, skin, and hair.

Cells are held together by little fibres. Many of these fibres are Joined together into sheets, or tissues. Because these tissues connect cells and hold them together, they are called connective tissue.

Growth and health of the body. — We grow rapidly in early life. As the years pass by we grow more and more .slowly, but continue to grow until about our twenty-fifth year. Part of a child's food is used to make him gi'ow, and so he requires more to eat in. proportion to his size than a grown person does.

Exercise and work that is not too hard produce growth and health.

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE INSIDE OF THE TRUNK. (See Appendix for Key.)

THE BODY 15

Plain wholesome food and pure drinking water are necessary to health.

Pure air and sunshine are also necessary for health and growth. Notice the sickly plants that are kept too long in a north window, or in a cellar, where the sun cannot shine on them. Notice, too, how pale are the unfortunate children who are crippled and unable to run about outdoors. Whatever else j^ou may be afraid of, never be afraid of sunshine and fresh air.

The use of alcoholic liquors and tobacco often injures the health.

The following extract is from a speech by the Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, and gives the result of the use of alcoholic liquor which he observed in the home of his boyhood :

Twenty -five years ago I knew every man, woman and child in Peekskill, and it has been a study with me to mark boys who started in every grade of life with myself, to see what has become of them. I was up last fall and began to count them over. It was an instructive exhibit. Some of them became clerks, merchants, manufacturers, lawyers, doctors.

It is remarkable that every one of those that drank is dead ; not one living of my age. Barring a few who were taken off by sickness, every one who proved a -wreck and wrecked his family, did it from rum and no other cause.

Of those who were church-going people, who were steady, industrious and hard-working men, who were frugal and thrifty, every single one of them, without an exception, owns the house in which he lives and has something laid by, the interest on which, with his house, would carry him through many a rainy day. [Tfie Voice, March 20, 1890.]

The following was received in reply to a request for permission to publish the above extract :

United States Senate, Washington, D. C, March 1, 1900.

Dear Sir: — 1 am in receipt, through Mr. A. H. Howe, of your letter of Feb. 9th.

You are at liberty to use the extract from my speech, of 1 which you inclose a copy, if you so desire.

Yours very truly,

Chauncey M. Depew.

1. The body consists of distinct parts.

2. Anatomy tells us what the different parts of the body are like

3. Physiology tells us the uses of the parts of the body.

4. Hygiene tells us how to take care of the body.

5. An organ is any part of the body that has a special work to do. * ^

6. Some of the most important organs, such as the brain and heart, are contained in cavities in the body.

7. The body is made up of cells held together by connective tissue.

8. The use of alcoholic liquors and tobacco often injures health.

Chapter II The Framework .of A Cottage

The framework of the body.— In this picture you can see a cottage which carpenters are building.

They have fastened together strong pieces of timber, to make the framework. This framework will give shape to the cottage, and support its parts.

The carpenters will nail boards and shingles upon the outside, and will lay floors and put in doors and windows. The framework will support all of these, and the finished cottage will look like the one in the second picture.

The human body has a framework of bones which gfves to the body its general

THE FINISHED COTTAGE.

THE FRAMEWORK, OR SKELETON, OF THE BODY.

shape. It supports the flesh which is laid over it, and also protects the tender parts of the body which are placed within it. If the skin and flesh were removed from a body, so that you could see this framework, which we call the skeleton, it would look like the picture on page 18.

What bones are made of. — Bone is a hard substance. You can find out by two little experiments something about the materials of which bone is made.

Place a bone in a hot fire for three or four hours. It will keep its shape, no matter how long you burn it; but if you try to handle it after it is burned, it will crumble to pieces. The part of a bone that remains after it has been burned is called mineral matter.

Get two ounces of muriatic acid at a drug store, and put the acid and a pint of water into a bottle.

Then put the leg-bone of a chicken into the bottle, and leave it there four days. When you take the bone out, you will find it so soft that it can be tied into a knot. The

A chicken's LEG-BONE TIED INTO A KNOT.

part of a bone that reiDains after it has been in acid is called animal matter.

The fire burned away the animal matter of one bone, and the acid dissolved out the mineral njatter of the other bone.

The animal matter in bone resembles gristle. It makes the bones tough.

The mineral matter consists largely of lime. It makes the bones hard and strong.

In early life the bones are elastic and will bend before they break. As people grow old their bones become less elastic and more brittle. It was long taught that this brittleness was caused by a loss of animal matter and an increase of mineral matter. Now, however, it is taught that bones become brittle .with age because they lose both animal and mineral matter. On account of this loss the bones of old people are not strong and break easily.

How bones look. — If you examine a short or a flat bone which has been well dried, you will find that the outer part is hard and firm. When the bone is broken, the inner part is seen to be like a sponge, full of small holes. The holes in the spongy part are connected with one another, so as to form little canals.

A long bone consists of a round shaft, with enlarged ends. The material of the ends is like that of a short bone. If you^ saw the shaft across, you will see a ring of hard bone with a hollow space running through it from end to end. This hollow space, when the bone is fresh, contains a yellow substance called marrow, which consists largely of fat and small blood tubes.

A fresh bone is pinkish white, because it contains blood.

An old dried bone is white, because it has lost the blood that was in it.

Joints. — In order that the bones of the body may make a framework they must be fastened together, just as pieces of timber must be fastened together to make the framework of a cottage. A place in the skeleton where bones are fastened together is called a joint. Every one has seen the hinges on a door. They are simply joints of metal, which allow the door to open and close. Many of our joints are

A LONG BONE.

like hinges : they allow bones to move upon one another easily.

To understand the value of such joints you have only to try to play ball without bending your arms at the elbow, or to write without bending your fingers at the knuckles, or to walk without bending your knees.

Some joints, like those of the elbow and shoulder, allow the bones to move freely. Others, like those of the spine, allow the bones to move only slightly; while the joints of the skull are fixed — they do not allow the bones to move at all.

The ends of the bones at joints which allow movement are covered with a tough, smooth substance called cartilage, wliich is elastic like rubber.

The bones are held together at the joints by short, tough, white, glistening bands of connective tissue, called ligaments. You can see the ligaments of the wrist and the hand in this picture.

Ligaments are soft and bend easily, so as to allow great freedom of movement ; yet they are strong, and

LIGAMENTS OF WRIST AND HAND.

tough, and hold the bones securely in their right places.

The hinges of a door sometimes work with difficulty.

A drop or two of oil will cause them to move freely.

Many of our joints are supplied with a fluid vvdiich helps them to move easily, as oil helps the hinges. The inner surfaces of the ligaments have a smooth lining, in

BONES OF THE WRIST AND HAND.

which enough of this fluid is made to keep the ends of the bones slipper}^, so that they move smoothly upon one another.

Chief bones of the body. — It takes a great many bones to make the skeleton. There are about two hundred.

This seems a large num-

BONES OP AiVKLE AND FOOT.

ber, but all are needed. Each has its own place and its own use.

Look at the pictures on page 23 and compare the bones of the wrist and hand with those of the ankle and foot. The wrist and hand contain twenty-seven bones. Can you find them all in the picture? The ankle and foot contain twenty-six bones. Count thena in the picture. There are eight small bones in the wrist and seven in the ankle and instep. How many do you see in the palm of the hand ? How many in the foot between the instep and the toes? How many in the thumb ? in the great toe ? How many are there in each of the other toes? How many in each of the fingers ? The bones of the wrist, hand, and fingers are arranged in rows, and held in place by strong ligaments. These ligaments are so elastic that the hand and fingers can move rapidly and easily in different kinds of work and play. The bones of the foot, ankle, and instep also are held together by strong and elastic ligaments.

You see that the hands and feet are made on much the same plan, yet they serve very different purposes. It is not easy to use the feet as we use the hands, to hold and handle things, because the toes are short, and the bones of the great toe lie side by side, or parallel with the bones of the other toes. The bones of the thumb are not parallel with those of the fingers, but are so arranged that the tip of the thumb can be made to touch the tips of the fingers. This is important, for it gives us power to grasp and hold with the hands.

Now turn back to the picture of the skeleton on page 18 and compare the bones of the aiTu with those of the leg. How many bones do you find from the shoulder to the elbow ? From the hip to the knee ?

There is one small bone which forms the front of the knee and protects it. It is called the knee-cap. The elbow has no such bone. How many bones extend from the elbow to the wrist ? How many extend from the knee to the ankle? Which is the largest bone in the skeleton ?

The backbone, or spine, is made up of thirty-three bones, which are placed one upon another like spools on a string. In children each bone is separated from the one above it and from the one below it by a thin layer of cartilage. This cartilage allows the bones to move, so that the spine may bend and turn easily. The cartilage acts also as a cushion to prevent injury from a sudden jar. In grown people the nine lower bones of the spine are united so as to form only two bones.

Notice this picture of one of the bones of the spine. The small holes on either side are for blood tubes, while the large hole in the centre is for a delicate cord which passes down from the brain, and is called the spinal cord.

The spine is sometimes called the spinal column, because it ^^^ "^ '^'"^^ "^^^^ ^^ ^"^

SPINE.

forms a strong

column, or pillar, to support the upper

part of the body.

The skull is made up of a number of bones which are joined at their edges. The picture on page 27 shows where some of the bones are joined.

The skull forms a box that holds the brain. In the front part of it are two hollows, called sockets, for the eyes.

Only the upper part of the nose is made of bone. The lower part is composed of cartilage.

THE SPINAL COLUMN.

A VIEW OF THE SIDE OF THE SKULL.

the spinal cord extends from the brain downwards into the spine.

The ribs form a bony cage which protects the heart and lungs. All the ribs are fastened to the spine, and most of them to the breast-bone. They are moved gently upwards and downwards as we breathe.

Look at the picture on the next page and tell how

The lower jaw is fastened to the skull by two joints, one on each side of the face.

The jaw can move up and down, and also from side to side.

The picture below gives a view of the base of the skull. It shows the hole through which

A VIEW OF THE BASE OF THE SKULL.

PHYSIOLOGY I'OR CHILDREN many libs you see on each side. How many on each side are fastened directly to the breast-bone ? How many are not fastened to anything in front? How many are fastened in front to ribs above them ?

The collar-bone can easily be felt at the upper part of

your chest in front. It extends from the shoulder to the breast-bone, and serves as a prop to the shoulder.

The shoulder-blade, as you will see from the picture of the skeleton, is a strong bone which is spread out like a fan over the upper ribs at the back. At the centre, from which the fan spreads, is a shallow cup-like cavity into which the upper end of the armbone fits, and makes the shoulder-joint. The shoulder-blade is connected vrith the collar-bone also.

Hygiene. — We often hear that ^'as the twig is bent the tree is inclined.'' This is certainly true of the bones. The soft bones of children may be bent

THE RIBS AND BREAST-BONE.

into awkward shapes by wrong positions and unsuitable clothing. If the bending continues, the bones will harden into these shapes and the body will be deformed.

X-RAY PHOTOGRAPH OP BONES OF X-RAY PHOTOGRAPH OF BONES OF FOOT WITHOUT SHOE. FOOT IN SHOE.

The foot may be forced out of shape by tight, or badly fitting shoes. The picture on the left was taken without the shoe, and you see the natural shape of the foot. The picture on the right shows how the bones of the foot may be pressed out of shape by a tight shoe.

The ribs may be pressed inward by tight clothing about the waist. In this way internal organs are sometimes pushed put of place, so that they cannot do their work as they should.

FROM AN X-RAY PHOTOGRAPH OP A STRAIGHT SPINE.

Every one should form the habit of sitting and standing upright. By constant stooping you may become round-shouldered. If you form the habit of holding your body in a one-sided or stooping position you may gradually grow out of shape, and you will find it very difficult, or even impossible, to straighten up again.

For this reason desks in a school-room should always be suited to the height of pupils. If the desk

FROM AN X-RAY PHOTOGRAPH OP A CURVED SPINE.

is too high, the right shoulder is raised above the left, and the body will be bent to one side. If the desk is too low, the habit of stooping will be formed, and the pupil will become round-shouldered. Here we have the picture of the spine of a girl when she was seventeen years of age. Her spine became curved while she was attending school.

The seat should be so arranged as to allow the feet to rest comfortably. If the feet have no support their weight may cause the thigh bones to be bent out of shape.

A sudden twist or wrench of a joint may overstretch or tear the ligaments and produce an injury which is called a sprain. A sprained joint should always have rest.

1. A framework of bones gives shape to the body, and supports and protects other parts of it.

2. Bone is a hard substance composed of animal matter and mineral matter.

3. The outer part of all bones is hard and firm, the inner part is either spongy or hollow.

4. A joint of the body is a place where two bones are fastened together.

5. The ends of the bones of a movable joint are covered with cartilage, and are held together by ligaments.

6. Movable joints are furnished with oil.

7. Bones may be forced out of shape and may remain so.

Chapter III

What muscles do for us.— A bit of stone from the mountain side may ti*avel down to the seashore and become one of the pebbles at the water's edge, but in its long journey it never moves itself. The rain washes it down into a stream, and the stream carries it to the shore.

A seed that falls to the ground would perhaps grow better in the soil of a neighboring field, but it cannot get there unless the wind carries it. It has life, but it has no power to move.

Watch, however, the graceful movements of a bird as it flies from tree to tree. It can make these movements because it has muscles. The movements of all animals, from the tiny insect to the great elephant, are due to muscles. Even the slightest motion of the body, such as the winking of an ej^elid, is produced by muscles.

When a ball is lying on the floor it has no power to move itself, and when rolling it has no power to stop itself. But if a boy is running he can stop when he chooses, because he has muscles. Our muscles not

THE MUSCLES OF THE SURFACE OF THE BODY.

only enable us to move ; they also enable us to keep from moving. It is by means of our muscles that we can hold an arm out straight from the shoulder, and sit or stand upright. When we become weak from illness, we have to lie in bed because our muscles cannot hold us up.

The muscles serve still another purpose. They cover the skeleton and give to the body its graceful curves and beautiful outline.

Very few boys and girls have ever seen a whole muscle, but every one has seen a beefsteak, and that is a slice of muscle. We are eating muscle whenever we eat the lean flesh of a chicken, lamb, or other animal.