The building and care of the body; an elementary text-book in practical physiology and hygiene

Front matter

BUILDING ND CARE THE BODY

N. MILLARD ir ym \w i >y*±* r^ v i H m vT fi/i »

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Preface

Teaching pupils to develop strong, healthy bodies should be one of the chief aims of our schools. That unwise habits of eating and breathing are often the cause of weakening the body and sowing the seed of future ill health is a well-known fact. That daily habits as to cleanliness, exercise, rest, and protection of the body are also very important factors in gaining and preserving health and strength is an equally familiar truth.

Habits in all these respects are formed early in life, and the longer incorrect ones are practiced, the more difficult it is to change them. Unfortunately, too, knowledge gained after the formation of incorrect bodily habits often effects few changes, unless chronic invalidism compels thereto. It naturally follows, then, that Physiology and Hygiene, the study in the school curriculum which especially has to do with the development and care of the body, should deal with topics that are vital to the formation of good health habits, and should present them in a way that will both interest and impress children. The statement that it is right or best to do or not to do certain vi PREFACE

things often makes little or no lasting impression upon young folk. If they can be led to see, however, that certain practices are likely to make them better looking, abler in play and in work, and generally happier, more comfortable, and more useful, the information may be both retained and applied, for these benefits appeal to the child mind as well worth while.

As the title of this book, "The Building and Care of the Body," suggests, it has been written to fulfill the above stated conditions. Its aim throughout is to influence children to form habits likely to result in the development of strong, healthy bodies. The fact that bodily weakness is attended by discomfort and handicap, and that vigorous health results in improved appearance, more enjoyment, higher efficiency, and greater usefulness, is strongly emphasized. That each individual child is largely responsible for the health and efficiency which he will enjoy in manhood is also made prominent. In each chapter emphasis is placed upon the points vital to health. For example, under foods and digestion, the value of the various foods to the body, and the importance of the wise selection of foods, thorough mastication, and the daily evacuation of the waste products of digestion, are among the topics made especially prominent. Under respiration, the value of pure air, breathing through the nose, and rhythmic, deep breathing are

PREFACE Vll

among the points especially emphasized, as are also the evil effects of adenoids and improper posture. The benefits of bathing, the importance of keeping the kidneys well flushed, the necessity for protecting the brain and spinal cord, the bad effects of obstructing the circulation, and the wisdom of guarding against contagious diseases, especially tuberculosis, is each made prominent in its respective chapter. An earnest endeavor has also been made to impress children with the great value of the eyes, ears, and teeth to the body, and to state the directions for protecting and preserving each so simply and clearly that they will appeal even to the youngest as both easy to follow and directly beneficial. The chapter on the care of little children should prove a valuable feature, since so many school children assist in the care of little ones at home.

Facts concerning anatomy and processes are given, if they can be readily understood, and will help children to see the need of forming habits conducive to health; otherwise they are omitted. After each chapter Points for Special Study are given, and these are printed so that they can be studied with the least possible strain to the eyes. Questions for use in study and recitation also follow each chapter.

Like the basic information in other studies, the essential facts of Physiology and Hygiene need conviil PREFACE

stant repetition, if they are to be well understood and practically applied. For this reason "The Building and Care of the Body " may be used to advantage in three successive grades. For example, in the fourth grade it may be read, and the important points talked over in class; the text may be profitably read and discussed again in the fifth grade, and the Points for Special Study memorized; and the whole may be carefully studied in the sixth grade, pupils being required to answer the questions following each chapter. Under the guidance of either teachers or parents, such use of the pages that follow should inspire children with the idea that health and strength are the best wealth, and that not medicine, but common sense in daily living, will insure them the possession of this splendid capital for the future.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. The Best of All Good Things .... 1

II. The Body 4

Chapter I The Best Of All Good Things

Why should so many years be spent in school? Most children would answer, " To learn." If asked the reason for learning, the reply would very likely be, " So that we can earn money when we grow older." Further question as to the benefits expected from the money would bring many different answers.

A beautiful home on the avenue might be the fond wish of some. Others might be hoping for positions of wealth and power; and still others, for travel in foreign countries, or some similar benefit in the future.

Many of these good things would, indeed, add much to one's power to be happy and useful, and so they are well worth striving for. But to enjoy any of them fully, there is something else that all need to have. That something is a strong, healthy body. With it one can be happy and useful, even though he is poor. Without good health one cannot be entirely happy, no matter how rich he may be. For this reason a strong, healthy body may well be called one of the very best of all good things.

But how may this best of all good things be gained ? Do not our bodies " just grow," like Topsy in " Uncle Tom's Cabin " ? Do we not become healthy or sickly simply as a matter of luck ? Surely children can do nothing to keep themselves strong. Mother, or nurse, or the doctor are the only ones who can do that.

Strange as it may seem, children do not become healthy or sickly just as a matter of luck. Mother, or nurse, or the doctor are not the only ones who can help keep boys and girls strong and well. In fact, the one who can do the most toward making any child a strong, healthy man or woman is that child himself.

" I should just like to know how ! " some little folks may exclaim. " There are those big college girls or fellows who play ball, or golf, or tennis in such fine style! Or there is my Aunt Mary who can do everything so well, and is young and handsome at fifty! Or there is dear old grandfather, hale and hearty at seventy-five, who seems to enjoy life just as much as young people ! I would surely work my hardest to become like them! "

It is possible to become like the grown-up young people who play games so well; or even like handsome,

THE BEST OF ALL GOOD THINGS 3

useful Aunt Mary, or hale and hearty grandfather. Indeed, most children can gain such good fortune, if they only begin to try for it soon enough. Two things, however, must be learned if they succeed. The first is how to help wisely in the building of their bodies; the second, how to protect and to keep their bodies from harm.

The chapters which follow tell you how to do both of these important things. Read them as eagerly and earnestly as if they showed how to gain the largest of fortunes. Try also to put into daily practice what they teach. By so doing you will gain for yourself the best of all good things, a strong, healthy body.

Chapter II The Body

Before we can learn to become good builders and caretakers of our bodies ; we shall need to know the names of their chief parts. Of course we know such commonly named parts as the head, neck, arms, and legs. The part of the body between the neck and legs is called the trunk. The trunk is divided into two parts. The upper of these is named the chest or thorax, and it contains the heart and lungs.

The lower part of the trunk is named the abdomen (ab-do'men). In the upper left-hand side of the abdomen is the stomach, and in the upper right-hand side, the liver. The intestines (in-tes'tinz) occupy the rest of the front side of the abdomen. Back of these are the kidneys, bladder, and other important organs.

The heart, lungs, stomach, liver, etc., are called organs, because they do important work in the body. Later on we shall learn the part each has, and how necessary all are to our health and well-being.

Did you ever see a butcher cut up an animal for the market? If so, you may have noticed that underneath the inside covering or skin there were both muscle

THE BODY and fat. Under these you also saw the hard bone which he had to use an ax or saw to cut through.

The Skeleton. — In the human body there are about two hundred bones. All these bones in place together make up the skeleton. The skeleton is often 7 , spoken of as the framework ES of the body. On page 6 we see the skeleton of a man with the common names of

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its larger parts shown. These diaphragm names should be learned, L,VER ~

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for they are often used.

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Growth. — All of us were once little babies. If we »»»' live to be twenty-one years

J J IV

old or more, we shall very likely be as tall as some of the men and women whom

We KI1UW. Ill OLliei WOIUb, Physiology, World Book Company, pub-

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we shall have our growth.

Section of the body showing the Year by year OUr bones, positions of the organs in the cavi-

muscles, and organs will

grow larger. Daily the tissues (tish'uz) (the thin layers

that make up these bones, muscles, and organs) will

NASAL BONES

SHOULDER JOINT,

SCAPULA OR SHOULDER BLADE-

ELBOW JOINT-

THE CRANIUM OR SKULL

MALAR (CHEEK) BONE SUPERIOR MAXILLARY OR UPPER JAW BONE

NFERIOR MAXILLARY OR LOWER JAW BONE SPINAL COLUMN

(CLAVICLE) COLLAR BONE

HUMERUS

OR BONE OF

THE UPPER ARM

( BONES J OF THE RADIUS J L0W ER

METATARSALS OR

BONES BETWEEN THE

ANKLE AND TOES

The Skeleton.

THE BODY 7

wear out and have to be repaired. Always the body must keep all of its parts warm. Food, air, and water are the materials the body makes use of for growth and repairs and for warmth.

The Blood. — Sometimes we have seen blood flow from a cut. Maybe we thought little of the blood or the cut, for it did not hurt much. But our parents or teachers quickly bound the wound to stop the flow of blood. They knew that blood is the great building agent which carries what is needed of food and air to all parts of the body. For this reason they feared we might be weakened by the loss of blood.

There are many good stories that we like to hear. I hope that there are also many of us that enjoy reading good books. But of all the good tales we have heard or read, few are more curious, and none can be of greater value to us, than the ones that are to follow.

These stories will tell how the body makes use of food, air, and water in building, warming, and repairing itself. At the very outset there is one fine thing that we shall be glad to hear. The better we know these stories, the handsomer, and happier, and more useful we can be. The better we can tell them to others, the more good we shall be able to do our friends.

Note. — After many of the chapters points for special study will be given. Pupils should be able to tell all of these to their teachers and parents. They should also be able to answer the questions that are given.

1. The part of the body between the neck and the legs is called the trunk,

2. The upper part of the trunk is named the chest or thorax. It contains the lungs and heart.

3. The lower part of the trunk is called the abdomen. It contains the stomach, intestines, kidneys, liver, and other important organs.

4. The body makes use of food, air, and water for growth and repairs and for warmth.

5. Blood is the great building agent that carries what is needed of the food and the air to every part of the body.

1. Give the name of the part of the body between the neck and the legs.

2. What is the upper part of the trunk called, and what organs does it contain?

3. Name the lower part of the trunk, and tell what organs it contains.

4. About how many bones are there in the body?

5. What is the skeleton?

6. Name three materials that the body makes use of for growth, repairs, and for warmth.

7. In what are building and fuel materials carried to all parts of the body?

Chapter III The Food Components

In the last chapter we learned that blood carries what is needed of the food to every part of the body. We know how unlike blood is to bread, vegetables, and many other foods. How great must be the changes before the food we eat is in such form that it can be taken into the blood !

Food Components. — A component (kom-po'nent) of anything is one of the materials of which it is made. One of the first things to learn about food is that only certain of its components are of use to the body. These are proteid (pro'te-id), fat, starch, and sugar, and some mineral salts, of which lime, iron, phosphorus (fos'for-us), and common salt are among the most important.

Proteid is the chief component of blood, muscle, and all the vital organs of the body. For this reason our food should contain plenty of proteid for the growth and repair of the tissues. Otherwise our muscles and organs will not be strong. The white of egg, lean meat, peas, and beans are examples of food rich in proteid.

Fat. — We all know how useful coal is in furnishing warmth to homes and power to engines. Why is fat of similar use to the body? Because it furnishes fuel for warmth, and energy to give muscles the power of motion. Meat, cream, butter, olive oil, and lard are good examples of foods that are rich in fat.

When do our bodies need the most heat? In cold weather, of course; and that is the season during which, as a rule, we should eat the most fat. People of the polar regions eat large quantities '(kwon'ti-tiz) of tallow or whale blubber. Here such foods would be distasteful. There they need them for warmth, and so enjoy their taste.

When do our bodies need the most energy? Without doubt at times when the muscles are in active use. This explains why people who work hard or play hard need to eat much fat. When we are doing chiefly mental work, with little physical exercise, less fat should be eaten than when we are actively using the muscles.

Starch. — Starch also furnishes fuel to the body, but it does not give nearly so much heat and energy as fat. Potatoes have much starch. So also have flour, rice, oatmeal, and all cereals. In a temperate climate

THE FOOD COMPONENTS 11

the body should be supplied with much more starch than fat.

Sugar. — Sugar is another food component that furnishes heat and energy to the body. Perhaps we think of it chiefly as in sugar , candy , and sirup. It is also in milk, fruits, and certain vegetables, such as corn and beets. In fact, there are many factories in which sugar is made from beets.

Sugar is a good food when eaten in small quantities, but much should not be eaten at a time. The reason is that too much sugar is likely to get the digestive organs out of order. Without doubt many children are weak and sickly from eating too much candy and other foods rich in sugar.

Salt. — We may have read about animals traveling miles to find salt licks. They do this because they cannot live without salt. Men, too, must have salt, and that is why it is daily on our dining tables. It is better for food to be well seasoned with salt while being cooked. If it is, too much salt is not so likely to be eaten.

Other Minerals. — Lime is often in drinking water, and is present in most of the cereals. It is needed to keep the bones and other hard parts of the body strong and healthy. Small quantities of magnesia and soda are present in vegetables that grow under the ground. Iron is in all green vegetables. Phosphorus is in the yolk of eggs. All of these minerals are needed by the body; and hence they must be supplied in the food we eat.

Good Sense in the Use of Food. — Of course we want to be just as good-looking and likable persons as we can. We want also, I am sure, to be just as skillful as possible at play and at work. Here is a fact, then, worthy of our careful attention (at-ten'shun). Using good sense daily as to what we eat will greatly aid us both in being and in doing our best.

If good lumber is used in its building, a house is usually strong and durable. So if food rich in building and fuel materials is supplied to our bodies, they, too, are likely to be strong and healthy. The saying, " Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are," is really not a claim without good reason. We should, indeed, be thankful that, even while quite young, we can so easily learn the building value of the common foods.

1. The food components that are of use to the body are proteid, fat, starch, sugar, and certain minerals, of which salt, lime, and iron are among the most important.

2. Blood, muscle, and all the vital organs are chiefly made up of proteid. On this account much proteid must be supplied in our food to keep the body strong.

3. Fat furnishes the body fuel for warmth and energy for motion. More fat should be eaten in cold than in warm

THE FOOD COMPONENTS 13

weather; and more while at physical work than when at mental work. Growing children, as a rule, need much fat.

4. Sugar should be eaten only in small quantities. Many children are made weak and sickly by eating too much candy and other sweets.

1. Name some foods that contain much proteid.

2. Mention some foods rich in fat.

3. What does starch furnish the body?

4. Name a few foods that have much starch.

5. Why do people in the polar regions eat much fat?

6. In what drink and food is lime found?

7. What minerals needed by the body are in the vegetables that grow underground?

8. What vegetables contain iron?

9. In what common food is phosphorus present?

Chapter IV Digestion — The Food Passage And Its Fluid Stations

Importance of Digestion. — We have learned of what use the different food components are to the body. Is finding out which of these the common foods contain all that is now necessary for wise building? That might be true if the body could get the needed materials from all foods with equal ease.

But such is not the case. It is much harder for the useful components to be taken from some foods than it is from others. The changing of food in the body to a form from which building materials can readily be taken into the blood is called digestion.

Suppose we were sure that our future wealth would depend upon how well we knew arithmetic. Very likely we should need little urging to study that subject as well as we possibly could. Our greatest wealth in the future — health and happiness — will depend largely upon our digestion. Fortunately what we need to know about it can be learned much more easily than arithmetic for there are no long tables to com-

THE FOOD PASSAGE AND ITS FLUID STATIONS 15

.Salivary GJand mit to memory. Indeed, the process of digestion is so curious that its study will be pleasure rather than work.

Most foods are solids. Blood is a liquid. For this reason food has to be dissolved or made liquid in form before being taken into the blood. In fact, digestion is largely a process of dissolving or changing the form of food. We shall now see where and by what this change in the form of food is brought about.

The Food Canal. — The passage in the body through which food passes is called the alimentary (al-i-men'- ta-ry) or food canal.

Its parts in order are the mouth, pharynx (f ar'mks) , esophagus (e-sof'a-gus), stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. The small and large intestines together are often called the bowels. The length of this passage in any person is, as a rule, five or six times his height.

That seems very long, since it is, at the most, only a few feet from the mouth to the base of the trunk.

Gaf!

Bladdej

Duodenu

Vermiforr Appendix

Alimentary canal.

More than two-thirds of this length, however, is in the small intestine, which, as we can see in the picture on page 15, lies in the abdomen in coils.

The Digestive Fluid Stations. — In five places along this lengthy passage there are chemical (kem'i-kal) stations supplying fluids that help digest food. These stations are called glands. How useful they are to the body, we shall soon see.

Who has not been interested in fairy stories about common things being changed into gold? Here is a fact more interesting and, at the same time, true. The fluids from the glands in the digestive passage change food into such form that its building and fuel materials may be taken into the blood. Let us now see where in the digestive passage these chemical or fluid stations aTe.

By looking at the picture on page 15 we can see that the first set is in the mouth, and that they are called salivary glands. The fluid they secrete is named saliva. The next set, the gastric glands, is in the lining of the stomach. They secrete gastric juice.

In the picture on page 15 notice the point where the stomach and small intestine join. Just at the right of this point is another chemical station in the food passage. It is called the liver, and the fluid it secretes is named bile or gall. By looking carefully at the picture on page 15 you will see a little sac called the gall

THE FOOD PASSAGE AND ITS FLUID STATIONS 17

bladder, in which the bile or gall secreted by the liver is stored.

Just opposite the liver and on the left-hand side of the small intestine is the pancreas (pan'cre-as), which is also a chemical or fluid station of our food canal. The digestive fluid it secretes is called pancreatic (pan'- kre-at'ik) juice. This fluid enters the intestine through the same duct as the bile and at a point in the small intestine near the stomach. In the lining of the small intestine are the intestinal glands, the fifth and last of the fluid-secreting glands. They secrete intestinal fluid.

So we see that there are five fluids which mix with the food at different places along the digestive canal, and aid in digestion. After years of careful experiments, doctors have found out that each of these five fluids has its special work. The part each has in so changing food that its building and fuel materials can be taken into the blood, we shall read in chapters that follow.

1. It is harder for the digestive organs to take the useful components from some foods than from others.

2. The changing of food in the body to a form from which building materials can be readily taken into the blood is called digestion.

3. Solid food must be changed to liquid form before it can be taken into the blood.

4. The passage in the body through which food passes during digestion is called the alimentary or food canal. Its length is about five or six times a person's height.

5. The parts of the food canal in order are the mouth, the pharynx, the esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine, and the large intestine.

6. Along the food passage there are five different places where glands furnish fluids that assist in digestion.

1. Which of the five parts of the food canal is the longest? What part of the length of the entire canal is it?

2. What glands are in the mouth, and what fluid do they secrete?

3. Where and by what glands is gastric juice secreted?

4. What fluid does the liver secrete, and where is this fluid stored?

5. By what is pancreatic juice secreted?

6. Where does the intestinal juice mix with the food?

7. What are the small and large intestines together often called?

Chapter V Mastication

If bread or any similar food is left in water, it becomes soaked, and its parts separate. The warmer the water, the more quickly these changes take place. The smaller the parts into which the food is broken before being placed in the water, the more rapidly it will become moistened, If certain chemicals are added, greater and more rapid changes will take place.

The Use of Saliva. — Something similar happens when food is eaten. The action of the jaws in chewing, and the movement of food about the mouth, causes saliva to pour out from the glands, and mix with what is being chewed. The longer food is chewed, the finer it becomes, and the more freely saliva mixes with it.

Saliva is the fluid that keeps the inside of the mouth moist. Like water, saliva moistens food. It also contains an alkali (al'ka-ll) that digests or begins the digestion of starch. While saliva does not digest the other food components, it aids in changing them to a liquid form, thus better preparing them for the juices farther on in the food passage.

Benefits from Thoroughly Chewing Food. — Another great benefit comes from thoroughly chewing food. Our appetite is satisfied when enough has been eaten. This is because food in a liquid or semi-liquid form affects the nerves of taste on the tongue. Poorly chewed food does not affect these nerves of taste, and so too much is likely to be eaten before the appetite is satisfied.

Bad Results from not Chewing Food Thoroughly. — Three bad results come from eating too fast and not chewing the food thoroughly. The digestion of starch is not well begun in the mouth. The other food components are not properly prepared for the digestive juices farther on. The sense of taste is not satisfied by partly chewed food, and so too much is likely to be eaten.

Have you ever heard a person say that his stomach felt as heavy as lead? Very likely he had been eating too fast. On that account his stomach was overloaded with food, which was neither well divided by the teeth nor well mixed with saliva. No wonder that it seemed heavy in his stomach.

Effects of Cold or Acid Foods on Digestion. — The following is another important fact that all can understand. The normal or usual temperature (temper-

MASTICATION 21

a-tur) of the inside of the mouth and stomach is about 98|- . Look at a thermometer, and notice how that point is marked. The digestive juices flow freely at that temperature, but when, from any cause, the inside of the mouth or stomach becomes cooler, both saliva and gastric juice cease mixing freely with the food.

For this reason much cold food or drink should not be taken with our meals. That is as plain as can be. Another point equally plain is that very little acid food, such as pickles, should be eaten, since acid weakens the effect of saliva. Much water also weakens or dilutes both saliva and gastric juice. Hence very little or no water should be drunk while eating.

Loss from Hasty Eating. — Children often eat hastily to get out quickly to play. Of course they do not stop to think that it takes good muscle to make skillful players. To build such muscle the best materials must be furnished the blood; these cannot be long supplied by poorly digested food.

Thoroughly chewing the food and mixing it with saliva is called mastication (mas-ti-ka/shun). Complete mastication is one thing in preparing food for building materials in our bodies over which we have full control. It is easy enough to eat slowly and chew thoroughly, if one only gets into the habit of doing so. One does not have to be large or clever to learn to do either.