An elementary treatise on human physiology : on the basis of the Précis élémentaire de physiologie / par F. Magendie.

  • Magendie, François, 1783-1855.
Date:
1844
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An elementary treatise on human physiology : on the basis of the Précis élémentaire de physiologie / par F. Magendie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    Table of the Tissues of the Human Body. h ( 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. a < i Cellular. Vascular Nervous Osseous. § Fibrous ( Arterial. ^ Venous. ( Lymphatic. < Cerebral. \ Of the ganglions. (Fibrous. < Fibro-cartilaginous. ( Dermoid. „ . S Voluntary. Muscular. .... f involuntary. Erectile. Mucous. Serous. Horny, or epidermic . . { EpMennic. Parenchymatous. Glandular. These different tissues, with the fluids, compose the organs or instruments of life. When several organs tend to one common end, they may be called an apparatus. The number of these and their arrangement constitute the differences between animals. Physical Properties of the Organs. The examination of the physical properties of the organs shows that they possess most of those which belong to inorganic bodies; there are different degrees of hardness, from that of silex to great softness, elasticity, transparency, refrangibility, colours and forms extremely varied, &c. All these properties are important during life, which in many instances depend upon their integrity. View- ed in this relation, the human body offers many arrangements which leave no doubt of the necessity of a knowledge of natural philosophy to enable us to study life. It presents a curious and complicated optical instrument; an acoustic apparatus; an hy- draulic machine most ingeniously arranged to circulate a fluid; a piece of mechanism admirable for the multiplicity of the pieces which compose it, its strength, and the diversity of the motions it is capable of executing, &c. Among the physical properties of the organic tissues, there are some which merit special attention, because they are common to all the tissues, are kept in constant operation during life, and preside over many of the functions. It is the more important to point them out to the attention of beginners, as they are doubted by many physiologists. One of the most remarkable of these, and to which I not long since called the attention of physiologists, is the property of imbibition, which exists in all the tissues. If we place any liquid in contact with an organ, a membrane, or tissue, in a shorter or longer time the liquid will pass into the areoles of the organ or tissue, as it would have penetrated into the cells of a sponge or of a porous stone. The time required for the imbibi- tion will depend on the nature of the liquid, its temperature, and the particular tissue, but in all the imbibition will take place. In this respect some of the tissues are true sponges, which absorb