Gender of the Liver—Productions of the Liver—A Hope for the Afflicted—Evidences of Truth—Loaded With Ignorance—Lack of Knowledge of the Kidney—How a Purgative Acts—Flux—Bloody Dysentery—Flux More Fully Described—Osteopathic Remedies—Medical Remedies—More of the Osteopathic Remedy.
Gender of the Liver—Productions of the Liver—A Hope for the Afflicted—Evidences of Truth—Loaded With Ignorance—Lack of Knowledge of the Kidney—How a Purgative Acts—Flux—Bloody Dysentery—Flux More Fully Described—Osteopathic Remedies—Medical Remedies—More of the Osteopathic Remedy.
Let us abruptly assume that the liver is the abiding placenta of all animated beings. If this position be true we are warranted and justified in the conclusion that the germs necessary to form blood vessels and other parts of the body must look to the liver for the fluids in which they would expect to construct in form and size. It seems to be nature's chemical laboratory, in which are prepared by receiving chemical qualities and quantities to suit the formation of hard and soft substances, which are to become the parts and the whole of any organ, gland, muscle, nerve, cell, veins and arteries. In evidence of the probability of the truth of this position, we will draw your attention, first to its central location between the sacral and cerebral nerve centers. There it lies between the "stomach" the vessel which receives all material previous tobeing manipulated for all nutrient purposes, and the heart, the great receiving and distributing quarter-master of all animal life. It supplies squads, sections, companies, regiments, battalions, brigades and divisions—to the whole army, and all parts that are dependent upon the nutrient system.
The liver seems to be able to qualify by calling to itself all substances necessary to produce gall. Its communications with all parts of the body is direct, circuitous, universal and absolute. If pure it produces healthy gall and other substances, and in fact when healthy itself all other fluids are considered to be pure, at which time we are supposed to enjoy good health and universal bodily comfort. With a diseased liver we have perverted action which possibly accounts for impure and unhealthy deposits in the nasal passage and other parts of the body in their own peculiar form. Polypus of the nose, tumefaction of lungs, lymphatics, liver, kidneys, uterus, and even the brain itself. Suppose such deposits, composed of albumen and fibrin, prepared in the liver should be deposited in the lining membranes of veins leading to the heart, and by some other chemical action this accumulated mass should come loose from the veins, would we not expectwhat is commonly called clots enter the heart, and shut off the arteries, supplying the lungs, stop the further circulation of blood and cause instantaneous death called heart failure, apoplexy and so on? Is it not reasonable to suppose that under those deposits that softening of arteries has its beginning, which results in aneurisms and death by rupture of such abnormally formed arteries? Are the lungs not liable to receive such deposits and form tubercles to such proportions as to become living zoophytes capable of covering all of the mucous membrane of the lungs, air passages and cells, and establish a perpetual dwelling of zoophytes and absorb to themselves for their own maintenance and existence, blood and nourishment of the whole body unto death? This being the result of one chemical action of the body and all by and from nature, is it not reasonable to suppose that the provision by nature is ready to produce of itself the chemicals of kind, quality and quantity equal to the destruction of this enemy of life?
I think before all diseases pass the zenith, after which the decline is beyond the vital rally, they are curable by the genius of nature's own remedies, and believe the truths of this conclusion have been supported abundantly by daily demonstrations. Ibelieve there is hope for the consumptive equal to one-half if not greater when taken in proper time, which is at any period of the disease, previous to breaking down by ulceration or otherwise, lung tissue, and even after this period, hope is not altogether lost.
Nature and good sense are terms that mean much to persons who are used to set aside all else for facts. A fact may and often does stay before our eyes for all time powerful in truth, but we heed not its lessons. Instances, at least a few, would not be amiss at this time. Electricity, the most powerful force known, was never able with all its works to get the attention of man's thoughts, more than to call it thunder and lightning, and let it pass from his mind from time to time, till brighter ages woke up a Franklin, Edison, Morse and others who heeded its useful lessons enough to make application of its powers for its force and speed. By the results obtained, they and others have used its powers and gotten truths as rewards, that they did not know even existed in or out of electricity or in any of the store-houses of all nature. But as the winds of time have blown open a few leaves of nature's book, and their brilliant pages and useful lessons have found a lodging place in such personsas were endowed with wisdom to see, and patience to persevere, by their energy and wisdom to-day we have many pages to add to our books of useful knowledge. We can now talk around and all over the earth by the power of the dreaded thunder and lightning. By it we travel, by it we see at night, by it we search on land and sea for friend or foe; in fact, it is dreaded no more but sought, used and loved by all who know of its uses in civil life. Thus our enemy has become our footstool. By the speed of man's ability we know and use the comforts that nature holds in store for us until we call for and use them.
Other and just as useful questions as electricity await our attention. Parts and uses of the human body, to-day are to us as little understood as electricity was at any time. The lung to-day is an unknown mystery, as to what its power and uses are; we only know that air goes in and out of the lungs; farther than that we are at sea. We have just as little knowledge of the heart as the lungs, we find a hollow fibrinous tank receiving and discharging blood; we are not prepared to say whether the corpuscle is formed in the heart or not; all else is conjectural and speculative on the subject the corpuscle. We see channels leading to and from it, to and from all parts of the body, muscles and glands.We know it moves when we are alive, we know it is silent in death.
We pass from there to the liver loaded down with ignorance, from what we know, cannot tell whether it is male or female, we simply know its size, location and something of its form and action, but nothing beyond conjecture. It stands to-day one of the wonders to him that tries to reason.
We will leave this organ of many pounds with an open confession of our ignorance and take up the kidney. At what time was the man and woman born that knew and left on record a true and reliable knowledge of the renal capsule. We do not know whether that is the organ that makes our teeth, our hair or generates a powerful acid by which lime is kept in solution, so as not to form stones and such deposits.
Nature's method is simple and easily comprehended in delivering purgative medicines, with their softening powers to dry constipated fecal matter. For instance: We would give a purgative in the shape of salts, rhubarb, calomel and other substances of choice. The first question of the physician is how is this to pass through so denselypacked substance or fecal matter which is in the bowels? At this time we will be short in the statement. The purgative poisons are taken up by the the secretions conveyed to the lymphatics. To soften and wash out is the object of nature. The lymphatics begin the work of washing out by starting action of the excretories and furnishes the water to soften, which is injected into the bowels from the mouth to the extremities by a system of salivation.
Flux is common in all temperate climates. It generally shows its true nature as dysentery after a few hours of tiresome feeling, aching in head, back and bowels. At first nothing is felt or thought of more than a few movements of the bowels than is common for each day. Some pain and griping are felt with increase at each stool, until a chilly feeling is felt all over the body, with violent pains in lower bowels, with pressing desire to go to stool, and during and after passage of stool a feeling that there is still something in the bowels that must pass. Soon that down pressure partially subsides, and on examination of passage a quantity of blood is seen which shows the case is bloody flux, as the disease is called and known in the southern states of North America, or bloody dysentery in the more northern states. It generally subsides by the useof family remedies, such as sedatives, astringents, and palliative diets. But the severity in other cases increases and the discharges have more blood, greater pain, mixed with gelatinous substance even to mucous membrane of bowels, high fever all over except abdomen, which is quite cold to the hand. Back, head and limbs suffer much with heat and pain, and much nausea is felt at all motions of bowels. Bowels change from cold to hot, even to 104, at which time all symptoms point to inflammation of the bowels. The colon in particular, at which time discharge grows black, frothy and very offensive from decomposition of blood. Soon collapse and death close out the case, notwithstanding the very best skill has been employed to save the life of the patient. The doctor has tried to stop pain by opiates and other sedatives, tried to check bowels with astringents, used tonics and stimulants, but all have failed, the patient is dead.
But the question for the Osteopath is: At what point would you work to suppress the sensation of the colon and permit veins to open and allow blood to return to heart? Does irritation of a sensory nerve cause vein to contract and refuse blood to complete circuit from and to the heart? Does flux begin with the sensory nerves of bowels? If so, reduce sensation at all points connecting with bowels, stop all overplus, keep veins free and open from cutaneous to deep sensory ganglion of whole spine and abdomen. Remember the fascia is what suffers and dies in all cases of death by bowels and lungs. Thus the nerves of all the fascia of bowels and abdomen must work or you may lose all cases of flux, for in the fascia exists much of the soothing and vital qualities of nature. Guard it well, so it can work to repair all losses or death will begin in fascia and through pass it to the whole system.
"Bloody flux" is a flow of blood with other fluids from the mucous membrane of the bowels. A disease generally of the summer and fall seasons, and is more abundant south than north of latitude 40° of North America. It is so well known in this country by its ravages that to describe it is almost useless, as bloody fluids pass from bowels in all cases.
We reason that the veins have contracted by nerve irritation and fail to convey blood to heart on normal time. By which delay decomposition does its work. Thus a cause is seen for excreting fluids by motor action of bowels, when supplied by the excretory system.
An Osteopath to successfully treat flux orbloody dysentery must reason and address his attention first to the soreness and irritation of bowels, which he finds suffering with œdema of mucous membrane of all the glands and blood vessels belonging to the lower bowels. As quiet is the first thing desired, he will direct his attention to the sensory nerves of the colon and small intestines, in order to reduce the resistance of the veins and diminish the arterial action. When he has diminished sensation of the veins of the bowels, the arterial force completes its circuit through the veins back to the heart, with much less arterial action, because venous resistance has ceased and the circuit is normal, and healthy action is the result.
The medicine man addresses his remedies first to the misery, with the desire to relax the nerves and overcome pain, and obtains this result through some class of opiates. After a short rest he addresses his attention to the motor action of the heart, with the view of giving arteries greater power to force arterial blood through all obstructions, and tries to stop all excretory wastings by the use of astringents combined with sedatives and soothing fluids.
The Osteopath will govern sensory and motornerves by digital suspension of the abnormal irritability of the sensory nerves on the various parts of the spine as indicated by the disease.
He uses no injections for the bowels for the reason that the necessary fluids naturally flow into the bowels to lubricate and quiet, and proceed at once to repair all irritated surfaces, which is abundantly supplied by nature from the mouth of the sphincter ani, without which forethought and preparation, nature's God will prove his incompetency for the great battle of life.
You administer medicines from the chemistry of the arts by mouth, injection and otherwise. We adjust the machinery and depend upon nature's chemical laboratory for all elements necessary to repair, give ease and comfort, while nature's corpuscles do all the work necessary.
Uses for Fluids—Blood an Unknown Fluid—Harvey Only Reached the Banks of the River of Life—Blood Is Systematically Furnished—Fatality of Ignorance—To Find the Cause Must Be Honest—Following Arteries and Nerves—Feeding the Nerves—The Blood on Its Journey—Powers Necessary to Move Blood—Venous Blood Suspended.
Uses for Fluids—Blood an Unknown Fluid—Harvey Only Reached the Banks of the River of Life—Blood Is Systematically Furnished—Fatality of Ignorance—To Find the Cause Must Be Honest—Following Arteries and Nerves—Feeding the Nerves—The Blood on Its Journey—Powers Necessary to Move Blood—Venous Blood Suspended.
If a thousand kinds of fluids exist in our bodies a thousand uses require their help, or they would not appear. Thus to know how and why they help in the economy of life is the study of he who acts only when he knows at what places each must appear, and fill the part and use for which it is designed. If the demand for a substance is absolute its chance to act and answer that call and obey such command must not be hindered while in preparation, nor on its journey to local destination, for by its power all action may depend. Thus blood, albumen, gall, acids, alkalies, oils, brain fluid and other substances formed by associations while in physiological processes of formation must be on time in place and measured abundantly, that the biogenic laws of nature can have full power withtime to act, and material in abundance and of kinds to suit. Thus all things else may be in place in ample quantities and fail because the power is withheld and no action for want of brain fluids with its power to vivify all animated nature which have followed any fluid found in the body, and followed it from formation to use and exhaustion step by step until he knows what form a union with one or many kinds. Thus we can do no more than feed and trust the laws of life as nature gives them to man. We must arrange our bodies in such true lines that ample nature can select and associate by its definite measures, weights and choices of kinds, that which can make all fluids needed for our bodily uses, from the crude blood to the active flames of life, as seen when marshalled for the duties of that stands and obey the edicts of the mind of the infinite.
Blood is an unknown red or black fluid, found inside of the human body, in tubes, channels or tunnels. What it is, how it is made, and what it does after it leaves the heart in the arteries, before it returns to the heart through the veins, is one of the mysteries of animal life. It has been tried to be analyzed to know of what it is composed, and when done, we know but little more of what it reallyis, than we know what sulphur is made of. We know it is a colored fluid, and it is in all parts of the flesh and bone. We know it builds up heaps of flesh, but how, is the question that leads us to honor the unknowable law of life, by which it does the work of its mysterious construction of all forms found in the parts of man. In all our efforts to learn what it is, what it is made of, and what enters it as life and gives it the building powers with that intelligence it displays in building, that we see in daily observation, is to us such an incomprehensible wonder, that with the "sacred writers" we are constrained to say, Great is the mystery of "Godliness." I dislike to say we know but very little about the blood, "in fact, nothing at all," but such is the truth under oath. We cannot make one drop of blood because of our ignorance of the laws of its production. If we knew what its components were, we would soon build large machinery, make and have blood for sale in quantities to suit the purchaser. But alas! we cannot with all the combined intelligence of man, make one drop of blood, because we do not know what it is. Then, as its production is by the skill of a foreigner whose education has grown to suit the work, we must silently sit by and willingly receive the work when handed out for use by the producer. At this point I will say that an intelligent Osteopath is willing to begoverned by the immutable laws of nature, and feel that he is justified to pass the fluid on from place to place and trust results.
When Harvey solved by his powers of reason a knowledge of the circulation of the blood, he only reached the banks of the river of life. He saw that the heads and mouths of the rivers of blood begin and end in the heart, to do the mysterious works of constructing man. Then he went into camp and left this compound for other minds to speculate on, of the how it was made, of what composed, and how it became a medium of life which sustains all beings. He saw the genius of nature had written its wisdom and will of life, by the red ink of all truth.
Blood is systematically furnished from the heart to all divisions of our bodies. When we go any course from the heart we will find one or more arteries leaving heart. If we go toward the head, we find caroted, cervical and vertebral arteries in pairs, large enough to supply blood abundantly for bone, brain, and muscle. That blood builds all the brain, all the bone, nerves, muscles, glands, membranes, fascia and skin. Then we see wisdom just as much in the venous system, as in the arterial. Thus thearteries supply all demands, and the veins carry away all waste material, with returning blood of veins. We find building and healthy renovation are united in a perpetual effort to construct and sustain purity. In these two are the facts and truths of life and health. If we go to any other part or organ of the body, we find just the same law of supply, arteries first, then renovation, beginning with the veins. The rule of artery and vein is universal in all living beings, and the Osteopath must know that, and abide by its rulings, or he will not succeed as a healer. Place him in open combat with fevers of winter or summer and he saves, or loses, his patients, just in proportion to his ability to sustain the artery to feed, and the veins to purify by taking away the dead substances before they ferment, in the lymphatics and cellular system. He shows just the same stupidity and ignorance of support from arteries and purity by the veins when he fails to cure erysipelas, flux, pneumonia, croup, scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rheumatism, and on to all diseases of climate and seasons.
It is ignorance and inattention to the arteries to supply and the veins to carry away all deposits before they form tumors in lungs, abdomen or any part of the system. Thus man's ignorance of howand why the blood renovates and why tumors are formed, has allowed the knife to be found in the belts of so many doctors to-day. On this law Osteopathy has successfully stood and cured more than any school of cures, and has sustained all its diplomates financially and otherwise. I write this article on blood for the student of Osteopathy. I want him to put nature to a test of its merit, and know if it is a law equal to all demands. If not, he is very much and seriously limited when he goes into war with diseases. What is to be understood by "Disease?"[5]
When we use the word "disease," we mean anything that makes an unnatural showing in the body by pain, overgrowth of muscle; gland; organ; physical pain; numbness; heat; cold; or anything that we find not necessary to life and comfort. I have no wish to rob surgery of its useful claims, and its scientific merits to suffering man and beast. Such is not my object, but to place the Osteopath's eye of reason on the hunt of the great whys that the knife is useful at all, I am sure it comes often to remove growths and diseased flesh and bone that havegotten so by man's ignorance of a few great truths. 1st, If blood is allowed to be taken to a gland or organ, and not taken away in due time the accumulation will become bulky enough to stop the excretory nerves and cause local paralysis; then the nutrient nerves proceed to construct tumors, and on and on until there is no relief but the knife or death. Had this blood not been conveyed there, it would not be there at all, either in bulk or less quantities. Had it simply done its work and passed on we could have no material to grow such abnormal beings. If a tumefaction appears in one side, and not in the other, why so? and why is there no growth in one side the same as the other? It takes no great effort of mind to see that the veins did not receive and carry off the blood, and a growth was natural, as the condition could not do otherwise and be true to nature. Thus man's ignorance has made a condition for the knife. Had he taken the hint and let the blood pass on when its work was done, he would not have to witness the guillotine of death to his patients, whose early pains told him a renal vein or some vessel below the diaphragm was ligated by an impacted colon, or a few ribs pulling and bringing diaphragm down across vena cava and thoracic duct and causing excitement or paralysis of solar plexus, or any other nerves that passthrough diaphragm with blood to and from heart and lungs.
How to find causes of diseases or where a hindrance is located that stops blood is a great mental worry to the Osteopath when he is called to treat a patient. The patient tells him "where he hurts," how much "he hurts," how long "he has hurt," how hot or cold he is. The doctor puts this symptom and that symptom in a column, adds them up according to the latest books on symptomatology, finally he is able to guess at some name to call the disease. Then he proceeds and treats as his pap's father heard his granny say their old family doctor treated "them sort of diseases in North Carolina." An Osteopath feels bad to have to hunt cause for diseases, and not know how to start out to find the mechanical cause. He feels that the people expect more than guessing of an Osteopath. He feels that he must put his hand on the cause and prove what he says by what he does, that he will not get off by the feeble minded trash of stale habits that go with doctors of medicine, and by his knowledge he must show his ability to go beyond the musty bread of symptomatology and water his patients made, from the cider of the ripe apples from the tree of knowledge.
An Osteopath should be a clear-headed, conscientious, truth loving man, and never speak until he knows he has found and can demonstrate the truth he claims to know.
I understand anatomy and physiology after fifty years casual and close attention, the last twenty years being very continued and close attention to what has been said, by all the best writers whom I have perused, many of whom are considered standard guides for the student and practitioner to be governed by. I have dissected and witnessed the very best anatomists that the world affords dissect. I have followed the knife after arteries through the whole distribution of blood of arterial systems, to the great and small vessels, until the lenses of the most powerful microscopes seemed to exhaust their ability to perceive the termination of the artery; with the same care following the knife and microscope from nerve center to terminals of the large to the infinitely small fibers around which those fine nerve vines entwine. First like a bean entwining by way of the right around and up continuing to the right, and then turn my microscope to the entwining of another set of nerves which is to the left universally as the hop. Those nerves aresolid, cylindrical and stratified in form, with many leading from the lymphatics to the artery, and to the red and white muscles, fascia, cellular-membrane, striated and unstriated organs, all connecting to and traveling with the artery, and continuing with it through its whole circuit from start to terminals.
Like a thirsty herd of camels, the whole nerve system, sensory, motor, nutrient, voluntary and involuntary; this herd of sappers or hungry nerves seems to be in sufficient quantities and numbers to consume all blood and cause the philosopher to ask the question: "Is not the labor of the artery complete when it has fed the hungry nerves?" Is he not justified in the conclusion that the nerves do gestate and send forth all substances that are applied by nature in the construction of man? If this philosophy be true, then he who arms himself for the battles of Osteopathy when combating diseases, has a guide and a light whereby he can land safely in port from every voyage.
Turn the eye of reason to the heart and observe the blood start on its journey. It leaves in great haste and never stops even in the smaller arteries. It is all in motion and very quick and powerful at all places. Its motion indicates no evidence of construction even supposable during such time, but we can find in the lymphatics, cells or pockets, motion slow enough to suppose that in such cells, living beings can be formed and carried to their places by the lymphatics for the purposes they must fill, as bone, or muscle. Let us reason that blood has a great and universal duty to perform, if it constructs, nourishes, and keeps the whole nerve system normal in form and function.
As blood and other fluids of life are ponderable bodies of different consistences, and are moved through the system to construct, purify, vitalize and furnish power necessary to keep the machinery in action, we must reason on the different powers necessary to move those bodies through arteries, veins, ducts, over nerves, spongy membranes, fascia, muscles, ligaments, glands and skin; and judge from their unequal density, and adjust force to meet the demand according to kinds, to be sent to and from all parts.
Suppose venous blood to be suspended by cold or other causes in the lungs to the amount of œdema of the fascia, another mental look would see the nerves of the fascia of the lungs in a highstate of excitement, cramping fascia on veins which is bound to stop flow of blood to heart. No blood can pass through a vein that is closed by resistance, nor can it ever do it until resistance is suspended. Thus the cause of nerve irritation must be found and removed before the channels can relax and open sufficiently to admit the passage of the fluids being obstructed. And in order to remove this obstructing cause, we must go to the nerve supply of the lungs, or any other part of the body, and direct our attention to the cause of the nerve excitement, and that only; and prosecute the investigation to a finish. If the breathing be too fast and hurried, address your attention to the motor nerves, then to the sensory, for through them you regulate and reduce the excitement of the motor nerves of the arteries. As soon as sensation is reduced the motor and sensory circuit is completed and the labor of the artery is less, because of venous resistance having been removed. The circuit of electricity is complete as proven by the completed arterial and venous circuit for the reduction of motor irritation. The high temperature disappears because distress gives place to the normal, and recovery is the result.
Where Is Disease Sown?—An Illustration of Conception—The Greatest Problem—A Fountain of Supply—Fascia Omnipresent—Connection with Spinal Cord—Goes With and Covers All Muscles—Proofs in Contagion—Study of Nerves and Fascia—Tumefy—Tumefaction.
Where Is Disease Sown?—An Illustration of Conception—The Greatest Problem—A Fountain of Supply—Fascia Omnipresent—Connection with Spinal Cord—Goes With and Covers All Muscles—Proofs in Contagion—Study of Nerves and Fascia—Tumefy—Tumefaction.
Disease is evidently sown as atoms of gas fluids, or solids. A suitable place is necessary first to deposit the active principle of life, be that what it may. Then a responsive kind of nourishment must be obtained by the being to be developed. Thus we must find in animals that part of the body that can assist by action and by qualified food to develop the being in fœtal life. Reason calls the mind to the rule of man's gestative life first, and as a basis of thought, we look at the quickening atom, the coming being, when only by the aid of a powerful microscope can we see the vital germ. It looks like an atom of white fibrin or detached particle of fascia. It leaves one parent as an atom of fascia, and to live and grow, must dwell among friendly surroundings, and be fed by such food as contains albumen, fibrin and lymph; also the nerve generating power and qualities, as it then and there begins to construct a suitable form in which to live and flourish. And as the fascia is the best suited with nerves, blood, and white corpuscles, it is but reasonable to look for the part that is composed of the greatest per cent of fascia, and expect it, the germ, to dwell there for support and growth.
When you follow the germ from father until it has left his system of fascia, we find it flourishing in the womb, which organ is almost a complete being of itself. The center, origin, and mother of all fascias. It there dwells and grows to birth, and appears as a completed being, a product of the life giving powers of the fascia.
With this foundation established we think we prove conception, growth, and cause of all diseases to be in the fascia.
As this philosophy has chosen the fascia as a foundation on which to stand, we hope the reader will chain his patience for a few minutes on the subject of the fascia, and its relation to vitality. It stands before the philosopher as one of, if not the deepest living problems ever brought before the mind of man.
We will ask your attention in the attached effort to describe the fascia at greater length: It being that principle that sheathes, permeates, divides and sub-divides every portion of all animal bodies; surrounding and penetrating every muscle and all its fibers—every artery, and every fiber and principle thereunto belonging, and grows more wonderful as your eye is turned upon the venous system with its great company of lymphatics, which supplies the water of life, used to reduce too heavily thickened blood of the veins, as it approaches the heart on its journey, to be renewed after purification and thrown back into the arteries to patrol, nourish and supply from headquarters to the videts of this great moving army of life, the substance of which we are now speaking.
The fascia is universal in man and equal in self to all other parts, and stands before the world to-day the greatest problem, the most pleasing thought. It carries to the mind of the philosopher the evidence, absolute, that it is the "material man," and the dwelling place his of spiritual being. It is the house of God, the dwelling place of the Infinite so far as man is concerned. It is the fort which the enemy of life takes by conquest through disease and winds up the combat and places thereon the black flag of"no quarters." That enemy is sure to capture all forts known as human beings at some time, although the engagement may last for many years. Procrastination of surrender can only be obtained by giving timely support to the supply of nourishment, with an unobstructed condition, kept up in favor of the nerves interested in the renewal of the human system, that powerful life force that is bequeathed to man and all other beings, and acts through the fascia of man and beast.
The fascia gives one of, if not the greatest problems to solve as to the part it takes in life and death. It belts each muscle, vein, nerve, and all organs of the body. It is almost a network of nerves, cells and tubes, running to and from it; it is crossed and filled with, no doubt, millions of nerve centers and fibers to carry on the work of secreting and excreting fluid vital and destructive. By its action we live, and by its failure we shrink, or swell, and die. Each muscle plays its part in active life. Each fiber of all muscles owes its pliability to that yielding septum-washer, that gives all muscles help to glide over and around all adjacent muscles and ligaments, without friction or jar. It not only lubricates the fibers but givesnourishment to all parts of the body. Its nerves are so abundant that no atom of flesh fails to get nerve and fluid supply therefrom.
This life is surely too short to solve the uses of the fascia in animal forms. It penetrates even its own finest fibers to supply and assist its gliding elasticity. Just a thought of the completeness and universality in all parts, even though you turn the visions of your mind to follow the infinitely fine nerves. There you see the fascia, and in your wonder and surprise, you exclaim, "Omnipresent in man and all other living beings of the land and sea."
Other great questions come to haunt the mind with joy and admiration, and we can see all the beauties of life on exhibition by that great power with which the fascia is endowed. The soul of man with all the streams of pure living water seems to dwell in the fascia of his body.
Does it not throw hot shot and shells of thought into man's famishing chamber of reason; to feel that he has seen by thought the frame work of life the dwelling place on which life sojourns? He feels that he can find all disturbing causes of life, the place that diseases germinate and grow, the seeds of disease and death.
As life finds its general nutrient law in the fascia and its nerves, we must connect them to the great source of supply by a cord running the length of the spine, by which all nerves are supplied by the brain. The cord throws out and supplies millions of nerves by which all organs and parts are supplied with the elements of motion, all go to and terminate in that great system, the fascia.
As we dip our cups deeper and deeper into the ocean of thought we feel that the solution of life and health is close to the field of the telescope of our mental search lights, and soon we will find the road to health so plainly written that the wayfaring man cannot err though he be a fool.
As the student of anatomy explores the subject under his knife and microscope he easily finds this membrane goes with and covers all muscles, tendons and fibers, and separates them even to the least fiber. All organs have a covering of this substance, though they may have names to suit the organs, surfaces or parts spoken of.
We write much of the universality of the fascia to impress the reader with the idea that this connecting substance must be free at all parts to receive and discharge all fluids, if healthy to appropriate and use in sustaining animal life, and eject all impurities that health may not be impaired by the dead and poisoning fluids. Thus a knowledge of the universal extent of the fascia is almost imperative, and is one of the greatest aids to the person who seeks cause of disease. He of all men should know more of the fascia, and when disease is local or general. That the fascia and its nerves demand his attention first, and on his knowledge of the same, much of his success, and the life of his patients do depend.
Will the student of Osteopathy stop just a moment and see his medical cotemporary plow the skin with the needle of his hypodermic syringe. He drives it into and unloads his morphine and other poisonous drugs under the skin, and into the very center of the nerves of the superficial fascia. He produces paralysis of all nerves by this method, just as certainly as if he had put his poison in the cerebellum, but not so certain to produce instantaneous death as to unload in the brain. But if he is faithfully ignorant, he will kill just as certainly at one place as the other, because the poisonous effects can be easily taken to every fiber of the whole body by the nerves and fibers of the fascia.
When you deal with the fascia you deal and do business with the branch offices of the brain, and under the general corporation law, the same as thebrain itself, and why not treat it with the same degree of respect?
The doctor of medicine does effectual work through the medium of the fascia. Why not you relax, contract, stimulate and clean the whole system of all diseases by that willing and sufficient power to renovate all parts of the system, from deadly compounds that generate through delay and stagnation of fluids while in the fascia.
Our school is young, but the laws that govern life are as old as the hours of all ages. We may find much that has never been written nor practiced before, but all such discoveries are truths born with the birth of eternity, old as God and as true as life.
The difference between a philosopher and a less powerful thinker is one observes alone, and depends on his own powers of mind to arrive at truth. Another lacks self confidence and mental energy.
If disease is so highly attenuated, so etherial, and penetrable in quality, and multiple in atoms; and a breath of air two quarts or more taken into the lungs fully charged with contagion, how many thousand air cells could be impregnated by one single breath? Say we take a case of measles into a schoolroom of sixty pupils, in a warm and poorlyoxygenized atmosphere all day, would not the living gas thrown off from active measles enter and irritate the air cells and close the most irritable cells with the poisonous gas retained for active development in those womb-like departments in the lungs.
Now you have the seeds in thousands of cells, which are as vital and well supplied by nerves and blood as the womb itself. Would not reason see the development of millions more of the vital beings who get their nourishment from the vitality found in the human fascia, which comes nearer to the surface in the lungs than in any part of the system, except it be the womb.
In proof of the certainty of measles being taken up by the lungs at one breath and caught by the secretions and conveyed to the universal system of fascia to develop the contagion, I will give the case of one of my boys who was sick with cold as I supposed; watering of eyes, cough, fever and headache. He was in the country about eight miles from home, and on our return stopped to get his books at a small school house. He ran in, picked up his books that were lying upon the desk, walked the length of the room which was about forty feet, was not there over one-half minute and in just nine days forty-two children broke out with measles. Socertain is contagion to be taken up by the nerves and vitalizing fluids of the fascia.
It seems that all the fascia needs to develop anything is to have the seed planted in its arms for construction, the work will be done, labeled, and handed out for inspection by the inspectors of all works.
We must remember as we reason on the power of life which is located in the fascia, that it occupies the whole body, and should we find a local region that is disordered and wish to, we can relieve that part through that local plexus of nerves which controls that organ and division. Thus your attention should be directed to all nerves of that part. Sensory, to modify sensation, blood must not be let run to the part by wild motion, its flow must be gentle to suit the demands of nutrition, otherwise weakness takes the place of strength, then we lose the benefits of the nerves of nutrition, by which strength of all systems of force are kept in action during life.
Suppose the nerves that supply the lungs with motion should stop, the lungs would stop also; suppose they should half stop, the lungs would surely half stop. Now we must reason, if we succeed in relieving lungs, that all kinds of nerves are found inthem. The lungs move, thus you find motor; they have feeling, thus the sensory; they grow by nutrition, (thus the nutrient nerves;) they move by will, or without it; they have a voluntary and involuntary system; they move in sleep by the involuntary system.
The blood supply comes under the motor system of nerves, and delivers at proper places for the convenience of the nerves of nutrition. The sensory nerves limit the supply of arterial blood to the quantity necessary, as the construction is going on by each successive stroke of the heart. They limit the action of the lungs, receive and expel air in quantities sufficient to keep up purity of the blood, etc. With this foundation we observe if too great action of the motor nerves, shows by breathing too often to be normal, we are admonished to reduce breathing by addressing attention to the sensory nerves of lungs, in order that the blood may pass through the veins, whose irritability has refused to receive the blood, farther than arterial terminals. So soon as sensation is reduced relaxation of nerve fibers of veins tolerates the passage of venous blood, which is deposited in the spongy portions of the lungs in such quantities as to overcome the activity of the nerves of renovation that accompanies the fascia in its process of ejection of all fluids that have been detained an abnormal time, first in theregion of the fascia, then in the arterial and venous circulation. Thus you see what must be done. The veins as channels must carry away all blood as soon as it has deposited its nutrient supplies to the places for which it is constructed, otherwise, by delay vitality by asphyxia is lost to the blood which calls a greater force of the arterial pumps to drive the blood through the parts, ruptures its capillaries and deposits the blood in the mucous membrane; until nerves of the fascia becomes powerless by surrounding pressure, which causes through the sensory nerves an irritability at the heart, which puts in force all its powers of motion.
Webster's definition of tumefaction is to swell by any fluids or solids being detained abnormally at any place in the body.
The location may be in, or on any part of the system. No part is exempt; even the brain, heart, lungs, liver, stomach and bowels, bladder, kidneys, uterus, lymphatics, glands, nerves, veins, arteries, skin and all membranes are subject to swellings locally or generally, and with equal certainty they perish and shrink away. If either condition should exist death to the parts or all of the body will occur from want of nutrition. Instance, in lung fever which begins when swelling is established in lymphatics of lungs, trachea, nostrils, throat and face.At once you see the pressure on the nerve fibers compressed to such degree that they cannot operate excretories of lungs or any part of the pulmonary, system. Veins, suspended by irritation of the nerves, arteries are excited to fever heat in action with increase of tumefaction. A tumefying condition undoubtedly marks the beginning of all catarrhal diseases. Its ravages extend to the diseases of the fall and winter seasons. They are so marked on examination that the most skeptical cannot dispute or doubt the truth of this position. In fact he is already committed to a belief that there is something in the fluids that he must purify by the chemical process of drugs.
He looks on, and treats winter diseases with powerful purgatives, sweats, blisters, hot and cold applications with a view to remove congesting fluids. He is not very certain which team of medical power he can depend on. He hitches up many kinds of drugs hoping that a few of them may be able to carry the burden. He bridles his horses with opium, loads them down with purgative powders, and whips them through with castor oil, and for fear they will not travel fast enough he uses as a spur a delicately formed instrument known as the hypodermic syringe. He punches and prods untilhis horses fall exhausted. Disease and death should give him a large pension for the assistance he has rendered in their service. All is guess work whose father and mother are "Tradition and Ignorance." Ignorance of the kind that is wholly inexcusable to anyone but a medical doctor. An Osteopath who does not understand the general law of tumefaction of the whole system is not excusable from the fact that tumefaction, disease and death are so plainly written on the face of all diseases that the blind need not have eyes to see, nor the philosopher any brain to enable him to know this foundation is the highest known truth of all man's intellectual possessions. Thus by the law of tumefaction, death can and does succumb to its indomitable will. Observations without record will show any fair minded person that tumefaction does cause death in the majority of cases. But another power is equally as effective in destruction of life which is just the reverse of tumefaction. It destroys by withholding nutrition and all of the fluids; the effect is starvation, shrinkage and death. Thus you see it is equally certain in results. In the one case death ensues from an overplus of unappropriated fluids of nutrition, in the other there is no appropriation to sustain animal life and the patient dies from starvation. The same law holds good in the parts as well as in the whole body.