Chapter 32

CHAP. VII.Of Respiration.

Of Respiration.

Of all the Acts of Animal Life, this is one of the chief, and most necessary. For whatsoever hath Animal Life, hath also the Faculty of Respiration, or somewhat equivalent thereto[a]. Indeedso congenial is this with Life, thatBreathandLifeare in Scripture Phrase and CommonSpeech taken as synonymous Things, or at least necessary Concomitants of one another.Moses[b]expresseth animal Life, by [The Breath of Life]. Saith he,Gen.vii. 21, 22.All Flesh that moved on the Earth, Fowl, Cattle, Beast, creeping Things, and Man; all in whose Nostrils was the Breath of Life in the dry Land died.So the Psalmist,Psal.civ. 29.Thou takest away their Breath, they die.So grand an Act therefore in common to all Animals, may justly deserve a Place in this Survey of the Works of God in the animal Kingdom.

And here I might launch out into an ample Description of all the Parts ministering to this necessary Act, and shew the curious Contrivance and artificial Structure of them; but a transient View shall suffice. I might begin with the outward Guards, the Nose and Mouth; but these have been already touched upon. But the exquisite Mechanism of theLarynx, its Variety of Muscles, its Cartilages, all so exquisitely made for the Purpose of Respiration, and forming the Voice[c], are veryadmirable: And no less so is the Tongue[d], which ministers to that, and many other Uses too.

Next, the Fabrick of the[e]Tracheadeserves especial Remark. Its Valve, theEpiglottison theTop, to fence against all Annoyances; its cartilaginous Rings[f]nearly environing it, with its membranous Part next the Gullet, to give the freer Passage to the Descent of the Food. And Lastly, Its inner Tegument of exquisite Sense to be readily affected with, and to make Efforts against every Thing that is hurtful or offensive; these, I say, do all justly deserve our Admiration.

And no less prodigious are the Parts farther within; theBronchi, theVesiculæ[g], with their muscularFibres[h], as some assert they have, together with the Arteries and Veins, which every where accompany the airy Passages, for the Blood to receive there its Impregnations from the Air.

From hence I might proceed to the commodious Form of the Ribs[i], the curious Mechanism of the Intercostal-Muscles[k], the Diaphragm, and all the other Muscles[l]ministring both to the ordinary, and extraordinary Offices of Respiration.But passing them by, I shall stop at one prodigious Work of Nature, and manifest Contrivance of the Almighty Creator, which although taken notice of by others[m], yet cannot be easily passed by in the Subject I am upon; and that is the Circulation of the Blood in theFœtus in the Womb, so different from the Method thereof after it is Born. In the Womb, whilst it is as one Body with the Mother, and there is no Occasion, nor Place for Respiration, there are two Passages[n]on purpose for the Transmission of the Blood without passing it through theLungs. But as soon as theFœtusis Born, and become thereby a perfectly distinct Being, and breathes for it self, then these two Passages are shut up: one nearly obliterated, the other becomes only a Ligament, except in some Creatures that are Amphibious, or are forced to lie long under Water, in whom these Passages probably remain open[o].

And now what Action of any rational Creature, what is there in a Man’s Life, that doth moreplainly shew Design, Reason, and Contrivance, than this very Act of Nature doth the Contrivanceand Design of the great GOD of Nature? What is Thought and Contrivance, if this be not? Namely, That there should be a temporary Part in the Body, made just for the present Exigence; to continue whilst there is occasion for it, and to cease when there is none; in some Creatures to remain always, by Reason of their amphibious Way of Living, and in Land-animals (purely such) to cease?

Another excellent Contrivance, a-kin to the last, is, for the Preservation of such Creatures whose occasionsfrequently necessitate them to live without, or with but little Respiration: Fishes might be named here, whose Habitation is always in the Waters; but these belong to an Element which I cannot at present engage in. But there are many Animals of our own Element, or partly so, whose Organs of Respiration, whose Blood, whose Heart, and other Instruments of Life, are admirably accommodated to their Method of Living: Thus many amphibious Creatures[p], who live in Water as well as Air; many quadrupeds, Birds, Insects, and other Animals, who can live some Hours, Days, yea, whole Winters, with little or no Respiration, in a Torpitude, or sort of Sleep, or middle State between Life and Death: The Provision made for these peculiar Occasions of Life, in the Fabrick of the Lungs, the Heart, and other Parts of suchCreatures[q], is manifestly the Work of him, who as St.Paulsaith[r],giveth to all Breath, and Life, and all Things.

FOOTNOTES:[a]The Uses assign’d toRespirationby all the Anatomists beforeMalpighi’s Discoveries of the Structure of the Lungs, are so various, and many of them so improbable, that it would be frivolous to recount them. But the more eminent modern Anatomists assign these Uses.Willisthus sums up his Opinion,Præcipua Pulmonum functio, & usus sunt, sanguinem & aerem per totas partium compages, intimosque recessus, atq; ductus quosque minutissimos traducere, & ubique invicem committere; in cum nempe finem, ut sanguis venosus à circuitu redux, & chymo recenti dilutus,——tum perfectiùs misceatur & velut subigatur, tum potissimùm ut secundùm omnes suas partes ab aëre nitroso de novo accendatur.Pharmaceut. p. 2. S. 1. c. 2. §. 2.Mayowsaith rightly, that one grand Use ofExpirationis,Ut cum aëre expulso, etiam vapores è sanguine exhalantes, simul exsufflentur.And as forInspiration, that it coveyeth a nitro-aerial ferment to the Blood, to which the Animal-Spirits are owing, and all Muscular-Motion.Mayow de Respir.p. 22.&c.meâ Edit.Somewhat of the Opinion of these two last cited, if I mistake not (it being long since I read their Tracts, and have them not now at hand,) wereEnt,Sylvius,Swammerdam,Diemerbroek, and my Friend Mr.Rayin an unpublished Tract of his, and in his Letters now in my Hands.But our Dr.Thurston, for good Reasons, rejects these from being principal Uses of Respiration, and thinks, with great Reason, the principal Uses to be to move, or pass the Blood from the right to the left Ventricle of the Heart. Upon which account Persons hanged, drowned, or strangled by Catarrhs, so suddenly die, namely, because the Circulation of their Blood is stopped. For the same Reason also it is, that Animals die so soon in the Air-Pump. Among other Proofs he instanceth in an Experiment of Dr.Croon,Profess. Gresh.which he made before ourR. S.by strangling a Pullet, so that not the least Sign of Life appear’d; but by blowing Wind into the Lungs through theTrachea, and so setting the Lungs a playing, he brought the Bird to Life again. Another Experiment was once tried by Dr.Walter Needham, before Mr.Boyl, and others atOxford, by hanging a Dog, so that the Heart ceased moving. But hastily opening the Dog, and blowing Wind into theDuctus Pecquetianus, he put the Blood in Motion, and by that means the Heart, and so recovered the Dog to Life again.V.Thurston de Respir. Us.p. 60, and 63.meâ Edit.Such an Experiment as Dr.Croon’s my Friend, the late justly renowned Dr.Hookshewed also ourR. S.He cut away theRibs,Diaphragm, andPericardium, of a Dog; also the top of the Wind-Pipe, that he might tie it on to the Nose of a Pair of Bellows; and by blowing into the Lungs, he restored the Dog to Life; and then ceasing blowing, the Dog would soon fall into dying Fits; but by blowing again, he recovered; and so alternately would die, and recover, for a considerable Time, as long, and often as they pleased.Philos. Trans.Nᵒ. 28.For the farther Confirmation of Dr.Thurston’s Opinion, the ingenious Dr.Musgravecut off, and close stopped up the Wind-Pipe of a Dog with a Cork, and then threw open theThorax; where he found the Blood stagnating in theLungs, theArteria Pulmonaristheright VentricleandAuricleof theHeart, and the two great Trunks of theCava, distended with Blood to an immense Degree; but at the same Time, theVena Pulmonaris, theleft VentricleandAuricleof theHeartin a manner empty, hardly a spoonful of Blood therein.Philos. Trans.Nᵒ. 240. Or both the Experiments may be together met with inLowth. Abridg. Vol. 3. p. 66, 67.This Opinion of our learnedThurston, the late learnedEtmullerusespoused, who being particular in reckoning up the Uses of Respiration, I shall therefore the more largely cite him. Respiration, saith he, serves,1. Ad Olfactum. 2. Ad Screatum & Sputationem. 3. Ad Oscitationem, Tussim, Sternutationem, Emunctionemque. 4. Ad liquidorum Sorbitionem, Suctionemve. 5. Ad Loquelam, Cantum, Clamorem, Risum, Fletum, Flatum,&c.6. Ad facum Alvi, Urinæ, Fœtûs Molæve, necnon Secundinarum expulsionem. 7. Ad promovendi Ventriculi, Intestinorum, Lacteorumque vasorum,&c.contenta. 8. Ad halitus aqueos Sanguinis è pulmonibus, aëris ope, exportandos. 9. Ad Diapnoën. 10. Ad exactiorem Chyli, Lymphaque, necnon Sanguinis——miscelam. 11. Ad conciliandum sanguini——coccineam rubedinem,&c.12. Nec merosè negabimus, aërem——pulmones, & sanguinem illos transcurrentem, minùs calida reddere,&c.13. Quod denique aër sanguini singulis Respirationibus aliquantillâ sui parte, admixtus, paucissimas quasdam in spiritum animalium elaboratione particulas simul contribuat.All these Uses, although of great Consequence, yet he thinks rather conduce to theWell-Being, than the Being of the Animal; because without any of them, the Animal would not so speedily die, as it doth by Strangling, or in the Air-Pump. He therefore assigns a 14ᵗʰ, and the principal Use of Respiration to be,For the passing of the Blood through the Lungs, that is thrown into them by the Heart.Etmull. Dissert. 2. c. 10. §. 1. & 16.But the late Dr.Drake, with great Ingenuity and Address, (like a Person so considerable for his Years, as he was in his Time,) not only establish’d this Notion of Respiration, but also carries it farther, making it the true Cause of theDiastoleof the Heart; which neitherBorelli,Lower, orCowper, much less any before those great Men, have well accounted for. That the Heart is a Muscle, is made evident beyond all doubt by Dr.Lower. And that the Motion of all Muscles consists in Constriction, is not to be doubted also. By which means theSystoleis easily accounted for. But forasmuch as the Heart hath noAntagonist-Muscle, theDiastolehath puzzled the greatest Wits. But Dr.Drakewith great Judgment, and much Probability of Reason, maketh the Weight of the Incumbent Atmosphere to be the trueAntagonistto all the Muscles which serve both for ordinary Inspiration and the Constriction of the Heart. The Particulars of his Opinion may be seen in hisAnatomy, l. 2. c. 7. And inPhilos. Trans. 281.And I remember when I was at the University, my most ingenious and learned Tutor Dr.Wills, when he read Anatomy to us, was of Opinion, that the Lungs were blown up by the Weight of the incumbent Air, and represented the manner of Respiration in this manner,viz.He put a Bladder into a Pair of Bellows, turning back the Neck of the Bladder, and tying it fast, so that no Air might enter in between the Bladder and Bellows. This being done, when the Bellows were opened, the Bladder would be blown up by the Weight of the incumbent Air; and when shut, the Air would be thereby pressed forcibly out of the Bladder, so as to blow the Fire. This Experiment I take Notice of here; because (besides the Illustration it gives to Respiration) that greatGeniusseems to have had a truer Notion of thisPhænomenon, than was very common then,viz.about the Year 1677 or 78; as also, because I have in some Authors met with the same Experiment, without mention of Dr.Wills, whose I take it to have been.Another Use of great Consideration, the already commended Dr.Cheyneassigns; namely, to form the elastick Globules of which the Blood principally consists, without which there would be a general Obstruction in all the capillary Arteries.Cheyne’sPhil. Prin. of Nat. Rel.orHarris’sLex. Tech. in Lungs.[b]Gen.ii. 7. vi. 17.andvii. 15.[c]Because it would be endless to specify the curious Mechanism of all the Parts, concurring to the Formation of the Voice; I shall therefore for a Sample note only two Things, 1. There are thirteen Muscles provided for the Motion of the five Cartilages of theLarynx,Gibs. Anat. l. 2. c. 14, a Sign of the careful and elaborate Provision that is made for the Voice. 2. It is a prodigious Faculty of theGlottis, in contracting and dilating itself with such Exquisiteness, as to form all Notes. For (as the ingenious Dr.Keilsaith)supposing the greatest Distance of the two Sides of theGlottis, to be one tenth Part of an Inch in sounding 12 Notes, (to which the Voice easily reaches;) this Line must be divided into 12 Parts, each of which gives the Aperture requisite for such a Note, with a certain Strength. But if we consider the Sub-division of Notes, into which the Voice can run, the Motion of the Sides of theGlottisis still vastly nicer. For if two Chords sounding exactly Unisons, one be shortened, ⅟₂₀₀₀ Part of its Length, a just Ear will perceive the Disagreement, and a good Voice will sound the Difference, which is ⅟₁₉₆ Part of a Note. But suppose the Voice can divide a Note into 100 Parts, it follows that the different Apertures of theGlottisactually divide the tenth Part of an Inch into 1200 Parts, the Effect of each of which produces a sensible Alteration upon a good Ear. But because each Side of theGlottismoves just equally, therefore the Divisions are just double, or the Sides of theGlottis, by their Motion do actually divide one tenth Part of an Inch into 2400 Parts.Keil’s Anat. c. 3. Sect. 7.[d]Among the Instruments of Speech, the Tongue is a necessary one; and so necessary, that it is generally thought no Speech can be without it. But in the third Tome of theEphem. Germ.is published,Jac. Rolandi Aglossostomographia, sive Descriptio Oris sine Linguâ, quod perfecte loquitur, & reliquas suas functiones naturalitèr exercet.The Person described is onePet. Durand, aFrenchBoy of eight or nine Years old, who at five or six lost his Tongue by aGangrene, occasioned the Small-Pox. Notwithstanding which, he could (as the Title saith) speak perfectly, as also taste, spit, swallow, and chew his Food; but this latter he could do only on that Side he put it into, not being able to turn it to the other Side his Mouth.In the same Tract,Chap. 6.is this Observation ofventriloquousPersons,Memini me à quodam sat celebri Anatomico audivisse, dum de duplicaturâ Mediastini ageret, si Membrana ista duplex naturalitèr unita in duas partes dividatur, loquelam quasi ex pectore procedere, ut circumstantes credant Dæmoniacum hunc, aut Sternomythum.[e]The Variation of the Wind-pipe is observable in every Creature, according as it is necessary for that of the Voice. In anUrchin, which hath a very small Voice, ’tis hardly more than membranous. And in aPigeon, which hath a low and soft Note, ’tis partly cartilaginous, and partly membranous. In anOwl, which hath a good audible Note, ’tis more cartilaginous; but that of aJay, hath hard Bones instead of Cartilages; and so of aLinnet: Whereby they have both of them a louder and stronger Note,&c.The Rings of the Wind-pipe are fitted for the Modulation of the Voice: For inDogsandCats, which in the Expression of divers Passions use a great many Notes, (as Men do,) they are open and flexible, as in Man. Whereby all, or any of them are dilated, or contracted, more or less, as is convenient for a higher or deeper Note,&c.whereas in some other Animals, as in theJapan-Peacock, which useth hardly more than one single Note, they are entire,&c.Grew’s Cosmolog. Sacr.Book I. Chap. 5. §. 9, 10.[f]It is a farther manifest Indication of singular Design in the cartilaginous Rings of theaspera Arteria, that all the Way where they are contiguous to theOesophagus, they are membranous, to afford an easie Passage to the Food; but after that, in theBronchi; they are, some compleatly annular, some triangular,&c.And another observable is, the lower Parts of the superior Cartilages, receive the upper Parts of the inferior, in theBronchi; whereas in theaspera Arteria, the Cartilages run and remain parallel to one another; which is a noble Difference or Mechanism in this (in a Manner) one and the same Part, enabling the Lungs andBronchito contract themselves in Expiration, and to extend and dilate themselves in Inspiration.[g]I shall not here intrench so much upon the Anatomist’s Province, to give a Description of theLungs, although it be a curious Piece of God’s Workmanship; but refer to SeigniorMalpighi, the first Discoverer of theirVesiculæin 1660, in his two Letters toBorelli de Pulmon. Also to Dr.Willis’sPharm. Rat.p. 2. S. 1. c. 1.de Respir. Orig. & Us.who as he wrote afterMalpighi, so hath more accurately described those parts; and to Mr.Cowper’sAnat.Tab. 24, 25. And if the Reader hath a Mind to see what Opposition SeigniorMalpighi’s Discoveries met with at Home and Abroad, and what Controversies he had on that Account, as also his Censures of Dr.Willis’s Descriptions and Figures, he may consultMalpighi’s Life written by himself,pag. 4 to 21.That theLungsconsist ofVesiculæ, orLobuliofVesiculæadmitting of Air from theBronchi, is visible, because they may be blown up, cleansed of Blood, and so dried. But Mr.Cowpersaith, he could never part theLobuli, (so as to make Dr.Willis’sFig. 1. Tab. 3. & 4.) so that probably theVesiculæare contiguous to one another throughout each Lobe of the Lungs. And not only Air; butDiemerbroeckproves, that theVesiculæadmit of Dust also, from two asthmatick Persons he opened; one a Stonecutter’s Man, theVesiculæof whose Lungs were so stuffed with Dust, that in cutting, his Knife went as if through an Heap of Sand; the other was a Feather-driver, who had these Bladders filled with the fine Dust or Down of Feathers.[h]There is a considerable Difference between Dr.Willis, andEtmuller,viz.Whether theVesiculæof the Lungs have any muscular Fibres or not?Etmullerexpressly saith,Nullas Fibras musculosas, multo minùs rubicundam Musculorum compagem (sunt enim Vesiculæ albidæ & fere diaphanæ) in ipsis reperiri.ubi supr. c. 6. §. 2. And afterwards, §. 3.Pulmones esse molles flexilesque musculosis fibris ceu propriæ explicationis organis destitutos.But Dr.Willisas expressly alerts they have musculous Fibres, and assigns an excellent Use of them;Cellulæ istæ vesiculares, ut nixus pro expiratione contractivos edant, etiam fibras, utì per Microscopium planè conspicere est, musculares obtinent, ubi supr. §. 16. And in the next §,Ut pro datâ occasione majorem aëris copiam exsufflent, aut materiam extussiendam ejiciant, fibris muscularibus donatæ, sese arctiùs contrahunt, contentaque sua penitùs exterminant. Et enim ordinariæ pectoris Systolæ, quas musculorum relaxationes ex parte efficiunt, aërem forsan totum à Tracheâ & Bronchiis, haud tamen à Vesiculis, quâque vice ejiciunt: propter has (quoties opus erit) inaniendas, & totius Pectoris cavitas plurimùm angustatur, & cellulæ ipsæ vesiculures à propriis fibris constrictis coarctantur.[i]Circa hos motus [Scil. Pectoris dilatationem, &c.] divini Conditoris mechanicen, ad regulas Mathematicas planè adaptaram, satis admirari non possumus; siquidem nullâ aliâ in re manifestùs Ὁ Θεὸς γεωμετρεῖν videtur. Quippe cùm pectoris, tum ampliato, tum coarctatio à quibusdam Musculis (quorum munus unicum est contrahere) perfici debeat; res ita instituitur, ut Costæ quæ thoracis, volut parallelogrammi oblongi versus cylindrum incurvati, latera efformant, in figuram modò quadratam, cum angulis rectis, pro pectoris ampliatione; modò in rhomboeidem, cum angulis acutis pro ejusdem contractione, ducantur,&c.Willis,ubi supr.§. 28.Galenhaving spoken of the Parts ministring to Respiration, concludeth,Nihil usquam à Naturâ ullo pacto per incuriam, fuisse præteritum, qua cùm omnia præsentiret & provideret, quæ sunt necessaria illa, quæ causa alicujus extiterunt, confecutura, omnibus instaurationes parare occupavit, cujus apparatus copiosa facultas admirabilem Sapientiam testantur.De us. part. l. 5. c. 15. See alsol. 6. c. 1.[k]For the Structure of theIntercostals,Midriff, &c. I shall refer to Dr.Willis, and other Anatomists. Bur Dr.Draketaxeth Dr.Williswith an Error in fancying there is an Opposition in the Office of theIntercostals, by reason that the Fibres of theexternalandinternal Intercostalsdecussate; that therefore theexternalserve to raise the Ribs, theinternalto draw them down. But Dr.Drakeis ofSteno’s, and Dr.Mayow’s Opinion, that notwithstanding the Decussation of their Fibres, the Power they exert upon, and the Motion they effect in the Ribs, is one and the same.Drake’sAnat.l. 2. c. 7. and l. 4. c. 5.Mayow de Respir.c. 7.[l]Although Dr.Drakeand some others deny theIntercostalsbeing Antagonist-Muscles, as inthe preceding Note, yet they, and most other Anatomists that I have met with, attribute a considerable Power to them in the act of Respiration, as they do also to theSubclavianandTriangular Muscles: but the learnedEtmullerdenies it for these three Reasons,1. Quia respirando nullam in illis contractionem sentio. 2. Quia——sibi invicem non adducuntur,&c.3. Quia Costæ omnes ab aliis modò enarratis musculis moventur, idque simul,&c.Intercostales itaque, necnon Subclavios Musculos Costis, parietum instar, ad complenda interstitia intercostalia, pectusque integrandum, ac Costas connectendas, intertectos esse, probabiliter concludo; quo munere triangulares etiam——fungi, rationi consentaneum est.Etmul. Dissert. 2. cap. 4. §. 6.But as to the Use of theTriangular Musclein Respiration, we may judge of it, from its remarkable Size, and Use in a Dog; of which Dr.Willisgives this Account fromFallopius:In Homine parvus adeò & subtilis iste[Musculus]est, ut vix pro Musculo accipi queat: in Cane per totum os pectoris protenditur, & cartilagines omnes, etiam verarum Costarum sterno inosculatas, occupat: Cujus discriminis ratio divinam circa Animalium fabricas Providentiam planè indigitat. Quippe cùm hoc animal, ad cursus velocissimos & diu continuandos natum, quo sanguis, dum intensiùs agitatur, ritè accendatur eventileturque, aërem celerrimè & fortiter uti inspirare, ita etiam exspirare debet——idcirco propter hunc actum firmiùs obeundum (cujus in Homine haud magnus est usus) musculus caninas molem ingentem & tanto operi parem fortitur.Willisubi supr.§. 32.[m]Ray’s Wisdom of God in the Creation, p. 343.[n]Mr.Cheselden, an ingenious and most accurate Anatomist, having somewhat particular in his Observations about the Circulation of the Blood through the Heart of theFœtus, I shall present the Reader with some of his Observations, which he favoured me with the Sight of.The Blood(saith he)which is brought to the Heart by the ascending Cava, passes out of the right Auricle into the left, through a Passage calledForamen Ovale, in theSeptum[common to them both]without passing through the right Ventricle (as after the Birth) while the Blood from the descending Cava passeth through the right Auricle and Ventricle into the pulmonary Artery, and thence into theAortathrough the Duct, betwixt that and the pulmonary Artery, calledDuctus Arteriosus, whilst a small Portion of the Blood, thrown into the pulmonary Artery passeth through the Lungs, no more than is sufficient to keep open the pulmonary Vessels. Thus both Ventricles are employed in driving the Blood through theAortato all Parts of theFœtus, and to the Mother too. But after the Birth, the Blood being to be driven from theAortathrough theFœtusalone, and not the Mother too, one Ventricle becomes sufficient, whilst the other is employed in driving the Blood through the Lungs, theDuctus Arteriosusbeing shut up by means of the Alteration of its Position, which happens to it from the raising theAortaby the Lungs when they become inflated. After that the Blood is thus driven into the Lungs, in its return it shuts theValveof theForamen Ovaleagainst theForamenit self, to whose Sides it soon adheres, and so stops up the Passage. TheDuctus Arteriosus, orDuctus Arteriosus in Ligamentum versus, is seldom to be discerned in adult Bodies, but the Figure of the ForamenOvaleis never obliterated.[o]It hath been generally thought to be not improbable, but that on some Occasions theForamen Ovalemay remain open in Man. In a Girl of four or five Years of Age, Dr.Connorfound it but half closed, and in the Form of a Crescent. And he thinks somewhat of this kind might be in the Person whose Skeleton was found to have no Joynts in the Back-Bone, Ribs,&c.Of which a Description, with Cuts, may be found inPhil. Trans.Nᵒ. 215. and more largely in hisDissert. Med. Phys. de stupendo Ossium coalitu, where he adds to the Girl, in whom theFor. Ov.was not shut, a like Observation of another Girl he opened atOxfordof three Years Old,In quâ Foramen Ovals ferè erat occlusum, in medio tamen, exili foramine, per quod Turundam facilè transmisi, erat pervium, pag. 30. So Mr.Cowper(than whom none more accurate and a better Judge) saith,I have often found theForamen Ovaleopen in the Adult.Anat. Append. Fig. 3. But Mr.Cheseldenis of a different Opinion. Of which inthe following Note.From somewhat of this Cause I am apt to think it was that theTronningholm Gardinerescaped drowning, and some others mentioned byPechlin. His Stories are,Hortulanus Tronningholmensis etiamnum vivens, annos natos 65, pro illâ ætate satis adhuc valens & vegetus, cùm ante 18 annos, alii in aquas delapso opem ferre vellet, forte fortunâ & ipse per glaciem incautiùs procedens, aquas incidet 18 ulnas profundas: ubi ille, corpore erecto quasi ad perpendiculum, pedibus fundo adhæsit. Constitit sic per 16 horas, antequàm produceretur in auras. Dixit autem, simul ac infra aquarum superficiem fuit demersus, statim obriguisse totum, &, si quem tum habuit motum & sensum, amisisse, nisi quod sonantes Stockolmii campanas etiam sub aquis obscuriùs percipere sibi sit visus. Sensit etiam, statim sese velut vesiculam ori applicâsse, adeò ut aqua nulla os penetraverit, in aures verò transitum, etiam sentiente illo, habuerit; atque inde auditum suum debilitatum aliquandiu esse. Hoc statu dum 16 horas permansit frustrà quæsitus, tandem repertum, conto in caput infixo, cujus etiam sensum se habuisse dixit, fundo extraxerunt, sperantes ex more aut persuasione gentis revicturum esse. Itaque pannis linteisque productum obvolvunt, ne aër admitti possit perniciosus futurus subito illapsu: custoditum sic satis ab aëre sensim sensimque tepidiori loco admovent mox calidis adoriuntur fasciis, fricant, radunt, & sufflaminatum tot horis sanguinis corporisque motum negotiosâ illâ operâ reducunt: denique antapoplecticis & genialibus liquoribus vitæ reddunt & pristinæ mobilitati. Retulit is atque ostendit se etiamnum in capite circumferre vestigia violentiæ à conto illatæ, & cephalalgiis vexari gravissimis. Et propter hunc ipsum casum, religiosè à popularibus, & hujusce rei testibus probatum, Serenissimæ Reginæ matris munificentiâ & annuo stipendio est donatus——& Serenis. Principi——oblatus, vivus sui testis——Consignatam manu habes Historiam D. Tilasii, Biblioth. Reg. Præfecti, qui testatus est se prænovisse mulierem, quæ tres ipsos dies sub aquis hæsit, & similem in modum, quo Hortulanus ille, resuscitata, adhuc dum lucis plenâ fruitur usurâ. Accedit Nob. Burmanni——fides. qui confessus est,——se in pagoBonessparochiæPithoviæconcionem frequentâsse funebrem, in quâ, dum acta recenseret Præco Senis cujusdam septuagenarii Laur. Jonæ——audiverit ex ore Concionatoris, vivum eum, adolescentum 17 annorum, aquis submersum, 7 demum hebdomadâ (rem prodigiosam!) extractum ad se rediisse vivum & incolumem.Pechlin. de Aer. & Alim. def. c. 10.Shall we to this Cause, or to the Ossification, or more than ordinary Strength of the Wind-Pipe, attribute the Recovery to Life of Persons hanged? Of whichPechlingives an Instance that fell under his own Knowledge, of a Woman hanged, and in all Appearance dead, but recovered by a Physician accidentally coming in, with a plentiful Administration ofSpir. Sal. Armon. Pechl. ib.c. 7. And the Story ofAnne Green, executed atOxford,Dec. 14. 1650.is still well remembered among the Seniors there.She was hanged by the Neck near half an Hour, some of her Friends in the mean Time thumping her on the Breast, others hanging with all their Weight upon her Legs, sometimes lifting her up, and then pulling her down again with a sudden Jirk, thereby the sooner to dispatch her out of her Pain: as her printed Account wordeth it. After she was in her Coffin, being observed to breath, a lusty Fellow stamped with all his Force on her Breast and Stomach, to put her out of her Pain. But by the assistance of DrPeity, Dr.Willis, Dr.Bathurst, and Dr.Clark, she was again brought to Life. I my self saw her many Years after, after that she had (I heard) born divers Children. The Particulars of her Crime, Execution and Restauration, see in a little Pamphlet, calledNews from the Dead, written, as I have been informed, by Dr.Bathurst, (afterwards the most vigilant and learned President ofTrinity-College, Oxon,) and published in 1651. with Verses upon the Occasion.[p]The Sea-Calf hath theForamen Ovale, by which means it is enabled to stay long under the Water, as theParis. Anatomists. Of which see inBook VI. Chap. 5. Note (c).But the fore-commended Mr.Cheseldenthinks theForamen Ovaleis neither open in amphibious Creatures, nor any adult Land-Animals.When I first(saith he)applied my self to the Dissection of Human Bodies, I had no distrust of the frequent Accounts of theForamen Ovalebeing open in Adults: but I find since, that I mistook theOstium Venarum Coronariarumfor theForamen. The like I suppose Authors have done, who assert that it is always open in amphibious Animals: for we have made diligent Enquiry into those Animals, and never found it open. Neither would that (as they imagine) serve these Creatures to live under Water, as theFœtusdoth inUtero, unless theDuctus Arteriosuswas open also.This Opinion of Mr.Cheseldenhath this to render it probable, that theOstium Venarum Coronariarumis so near theForamen Ovale, that without due regard, it may be easily mistaken for it. Such therefore as have Opportunity of examining this Part in amphibious Animals, or any other Subject, ought to seek for theOstium, whenever they suspect they have met with theForamen.[q]Of the singular Conformation of the Heart and Lungs of theTortoise, which is an amphibious Animal. SeeBook VI. Chap. 5. Note (b).[r]Actsxvii. 25.

[a]The Uses assign’d toRespirationby all the Anatomists beforeMalpighi’s Discoveries of the Structure of the Lungs, are so various, and many of them so improbable, that it would be frivolous to recount them. But the more eminent modern Anatomists assign these Uses.Willisthus sums up his Opinion,Præcipua Pulmonum functio, & usus sunt, sanguinem & aerem per totas partium compages, intimosque recessus, atq; ductus quosque minutissimos traducere, & ubique invicem committere; in cum nempe finem, ut sanguis venosus à circuitu redux, & chymo recenti dilutus,——tum perfectiùs misceatur & velut subigatur, tum potissimùm ut secundùm omnes suas partes ab aëre nitroso de novo accendatur.Pharmaceut. p. 2. S. 1. c. 2. §. 2.Mayowsaith rightly, that one grand Use ofExpirationis,Ut cum aëre expulso, etiam vapores è sanguine exhalantes, simul exsufflentur.And as forInspiration, that it coveyeth a nitro-aerial ferment to the Blood, to which the Animal-Spirits are owing, and all Muscular-Motion.Mayow de Respir.p. 22.&c.meâ Edit.Somewhat of the Opinion of these two last cited, if I mistake not (it being long since I read their Tracts, and have them not now at hand,) wereEnt,Sylvius,Swammerdam,Diemerbroek, and my Friend Mr.Rayin an unpublished Tract of his, and in his Letters now in my Hands.But our Dr.Thurston, for good Reasons, rejects these from being principal Uses of Respiration, and thinks, with great Reason, the principal Uses to be to move, or pass the Blood from the right to the left Ventricle of the Heart. Upon which account Persons hanged, drowned, or strangled by Catarrhs, so suddenly die, namely, because the Circulation of their Blood is stopped. For the same Reason also it is, that Animals die so soon in the Air-Pump. Among other Proofs he instanceth in an Experiment of Dr.Croon,Profess. Gresh.which he made before ourR. S.by strangling a Pullet, so that not the least Sign of Life appear’d; but by blowing Wind into the Lungs through theTrachea, and so setting the Lungs a playing, he brought the Bird to Life again. Another Experiment was once tried by Dr.Walter Needham, before Mr.Boyl, and others atOxford, by hanging a Dog, so that the Heart ceased moving. But hastily opening the Dog, and blowing Wind into theDuctus Pecquetianus, he put the Blood in Motion, and by that means the Heart, and so recovered the Dog to Life again.V.Thurston de Respir. Us.p. 60, and 63.meâ Edit.Such an Experiment as Dr.Croon’s my Friend, the late justly renowned Dr.Hookshewed also ourR. S.He cut away theRibs,Diaphragm, andPericardium, of a Dog; also the top of the Wind-Pipe, that he might tie it on to the Nose of a Pair of Bellows; and by blowing into the Lungs, he restored the Dog to Life; and then ceasing blowing, the Dog would soon fall into dying Fits; but by blowing again, he recovered; and so alternately would die, and recover, for a considerable Time, as long, and often as they pleased.Philos. Trans.Nᵒ. 28.For the farther Confirmation of Dr.Thurston’s Opinion, the ingenious Dr.Musgravecut off, and close stopped up the Wind-Pipe of a Dog with a Cork, and then threw open theThorax; where he found the Blood stagnating in theLungs, theArteria Pulmonaristheright VentricleandAuricleof theHeart, and the two great Trunks of theCava, distended with Blood to an immense Degree; but at the same Time, theVena Pulmonaris, theleft VentricleandAuricleof theHeartin a manner empty, hardly a spoonful of Blood therein.Philos. Trans.Nᵒ. 240. Or both the Experiments may be together met with inLowth. Abridg. Vol. 3. p. 66, 67.This Opinion of our learnedThurston, the late learnedEtmullerusespoused, who being particular in reckoning up the Uses of Respiration, I shall therefore the more largely cite him. Respiration, saith he, serves,1. Ad Olfactum. 2. Ad Screatum & Sputationem. 3. Ad Oscitationem, Tussim, Sternutationem, Emunctionemque. 4. Ad liquidorum Sorbitionem, Suctionemve. 5. Ad Loquelam, Cantum, Clamorem, Risum, Fletum, Flatum,&c.6. Ad facum Alvi, Urinæ, Fœtûs Molæve, necnon Secundinarum expulsionem. 7. Ad promovendi Ventriculi, Intestinorum, Lacteorumque vasorum,&c.contenta. 8. Ad halitus aqueos Sanguinis è pulmonibus, aëris ope, exportandos. 9. Ad Diapnoën. 10. Ad exactiorem Chyli, Lymphaque, necnon Sanguinis——miscelam. 11. Ad conciliandum sanguini——coccineam rubedinem,&c.12. Nec merosè negabimus, aërem——pulmones, & sanguinem illos transcurrentem, minùs calida reddere,&c.13. Quod denique aër sanguini singulis Respirationibus aliquantillâ sui parte, admixtus, paucissimas quasdam in spiritum animalium elaboratione particulas simul contribuat.All these Uses, although of great Consequence, yet he thinks rather conduce to theWell-Being, than the Being of the Animal; because without any of them, the Animal would not so speedily die, as it doth by Strangling, or in the Air-Pump. He therefore assigns a 14ᵗʰ, and the principal Use of Respiration to be,For the passing of the Blood through the Lungs, that is thrown into them by the Heart.Etmull. Dissert. 2. c. 10. §. 1. & 16.But the late Dr.Drake, with great Ingenuity and Address, (like a Person so considerable for his Years, as he was in his Time,) not only establish’d this Notion of Respiration, but also carries it farther, making it the true Cause of theDiastoleof the Heart; which neitherBorelli,Lower, orCowper, much less any before those great Men, have well accounted for. That the Heart is a Muscle, is made evident beyond all doubt by Dr.Lower. And that the Motion of all Muscles consists in Constriction, is not to be doubted also. By which means theSystoleis easily accounted for. But forasmuch as the Heart hath noAntagonist-Muscle, theDiastolehath puzzled the greatest Wits. But Dr.Drakewith great Judgment, and much Probability of Reason, maketh the Weight of the Incumbent Atmosphere to be the trueAntagonistto all the Muscles which serve both for ordinary Inspiration and the Constriction of the Heart. The Particulars of his Opinion may be seen in hisAnatomy, l. 2. c. 7. And inPhilos. Trans. 281.And I remember when I was at the University, my most ingenious and learned Tutor Dr.Wills, when he read Anatomy to us, was of Opinion, that the Lungs were blown up by the Weight of the incumbent Air, and represented the manner of Respiration in this manner,viz.He put a Bladder into a Pair of Bellows, turning back the Neck of the Bladder, and tying it fast, so that no Air might enter in between the Bladder and Bellows. This being done, when the Bellows were opened, the Bladder would be blown up by the Weight of the incumbent Air; and when shut, the Air would be thereby pressed forcibly out of the Bladder, so as to blow the Fire. This Experiment I take Notice of here; because (besides the Illustration it gives to Respiration) that greatGeniusseems to have had a truer Notion of thisPhænomenon, than was very common then,viz.about the Year 1677 or 78; as also, because I have in some Authors met with the same Experiment, without mention of Dr.Wills, whose I take it to have been.Another Use of great Consideration, the already commended Dr.Cheyneassigns; namely, to form the elastick Globules of which the Blood principally consists, without which there would be a general Obstruction in all the capillary Arteries.Cheyne’sPhil. Prin. of Nat. Rel.orHarris’sLex. Tech. in Lungs.

Somewhat of the Opinion of these two last cited, if I mistake not (it being long since I read their Tracts, and have them not now at hand,) wereEnt,Sylvius,Swammerdam,Diemerbroek, and my Friend Mr.Rayin an unpublished Tract of his, and in his Letters now in my Hands.

But our Dr.Thurston, for good Reasons, rejects these from being principal Uses of Respiration, and thinks, with great Reason, the principal Uses to be to move, or pass the Blood from the right to the left Ventricle of the Heart. Upon which account Persons hanged, drowned, or strangled by Catarrhs, so suddenly die, namely, because the Circulation of their Blood is stopped. For the same Reason also it is, that Animals die so soon in the Air-Pump. Among other Proofs he instanceth in an Experiment of Dr.Croon,Profess. Gresh.which he made before ourR. S.by strangling a Pullet, so that not the least Sign of Life appear’d; but by blowing Wind into the Lungs through theTrachea, and so setting the Lungs a playing, he brought the Bird to Life again. Another Experiment was once tried by Dr.Walter Needham, before Mr.Boyl, and others atOxford, by hanging a Dog, so that the Heart ceased moving. But hastily opening the Dog, and blowing Wind into theDuctus Pecquetianus, he put the Blood in Motion, and by that means the Heart, and so recovered the Dog to Life again.V.Thurston de Respir. Us.p. 60, and 63.meâ Edit.

Such an Experiment as Dr.Croon’s my Friend, the late justly renowned Dr.Hookshewed also ourR. S.He cut away theRibs,Diaphragm, andPericardium, of a Dog; also the top of the Wind-Pipe, that he might tie it on to the Nose of a Pair of Bellows; and by blowing into the Lungs, he restored the Dog to Life; and then ceasing blowing, the Dog would soon fall into dying Fits; but by blowing again, he recovered; and so alternately would die, and recover, for a considerable Time, as long, and often as they pleased.Philos. Trans.Nᵒ. 28.

For the farther Confirmation of Dr.Thurston’s Opinion, the ingenious Dr.Musgravecut off, and close stopped up the Wind-Pipe of a Dog with a Cork, and then threw open theThorax; where he found the Blood stagnating in theLungs, theArteria Pulmonaristheright VentricleandAuricleof theHeart, and the two great Trunks of theCava, distended with Blood to an immense Degree; but at the same Time, theVena Pulmonaris, theleft VentricleandAuricleof theHeartin a manner empty, hardly a spoonful of Blood therein.Philos. Trans.Nᵒ. 240. Or both the Experiments may be together met with inLowth. Abridg. Vol. 3. p. 66, 67.

This Opinion of our learnedThurston, the late learnedEtmullerusespoused, who being particular in reckoning up the Uses of Respiration, I shall therefore the more largely cite him. Respiration, saith he, serves,1. Ad Olfactum. 2. Ad Screatum & Sputationem. 3. Ad Oscitationem, Tussim, Sternutationem, Emunctionemque. 4. Ad liquidorum Sorbitionem, Suctionemve. 5. Ad Loquelam, Cantum, Clamorem, Risum, Fletum, Flatum,&c.6. Ad facum Alvi, Urinæ, Fœtûs Molæve, necnon Secundinarum expulsionem. 7. Ad promovendi Ventriculi, Intestinorum, Lacteorumque vasorum,&c.contenta. 8. Ad halitus aqueos Sanguinis è pulmonibus, aëris ope, exportandos. 9. Ad Diapnoën. 10. Ad exactiorem Chyli, Lymphaque, necnon Sanguinis——miscelam. 11. Ad conciliandum sanguini——coccineam rubedinem,&c.12. Nec merosè negabimus, aërem——pulmones, & sanguinem illos transcurrentem, minùs calida reddere,&c.13. Quod denique aër sanguini singulis Respirationibus aliquantillâ sui parte, admixtus, paucissimas quasdam in spiritum animalium elaboratione particulas simul contribuat.All these Uses, although of great Consequence, yet he thinks rather conduce to theWell-Being, than the Being of the Animal; because without any of them, the Animal would not so speedily die, as it doth by Strangling, or in the Air-Pump. He therefore assigns a 14ᵗʰ, and the principal Use of Respiration to be,For the passing of the Blood through the Lungs, that is thrown into them by the Heart.Etmull. Dissert. 2. c. 10. §. 1. & 16.

But the late Dr.Drake, with great Ingenuity and Address, (like a Person so considerable for his Years, as he was in his Time,) not only establish’d this Notion of Respiration, but also carries it farther, making it the true Cause of theDiastoleof the Heart; which neitherBorelli,Lower, orCowper, much less any before those great Men, have well accounted for. That the Heart is a Muscle, is made evident beyond all doubt by Dr.Lower. And that the Motion of all Muscles consists in Constriction, is not to be doubted also. By which means theSystoleis easily accounted for. But forasmuch as the Heart hath noAntagonist-Muscle, theDiastolehath puzzled the greatest Wits. But Dr.Drakewith great Judgment, and much Probability of Reason, maketh the Weight of the Incumbent Atmosphere to be the trueAntagonistto all the Muscles which serve both for ordinary Inspiration and the Constriction of the Heart. The Particulars of his Opinion may be seen in hisAnatomy, l. 2. c. 7. And inPhilos. Trans. 281.

And I remember when I was at the University, my most ingenious and learned Tutor Dr.Wills, when he read Anatomy to us, was of Opinion, that the Lungs were blown up by the Weight of the incumbent Air, and represented the manner of Respiration in this manner,viz.He put a Bladder into a Pair of Bellows, turning back the Neck of the Bladder, and tying it fast, so that no Air might enter in between the Bladder and Bellows. This being done, when the Bellows were opened, the Bladder would be blown up by the Weight of the incumbent Air; and when shut, the Air would be thereby pressed forcibly out of the Bladder, so as to blow the Fire. This Experiment I take Notice of here; because (besides the Illustration it gives to Respiration) that greatGeniusseems to have had a truer Notion of thisPhænomenon, than was very common then,viz.about the Year 1677 or 78; as also, because I have in some Authors met with the same Experiment, without mention of Dr.Wills, whose I take it to have been.

Another Use of great Consideration, the already commended Dr.Cheyneassigns; namely, to form the elastick Globules of which the Blood principally consists, without which there would be a general Obstruction in all the capillary Arteries.Cheyne’sPhil. Prin. of Nat. Rel.orHarris’sLex. Tech. in Lungs.

[b]Gen.ii. 7. vi. 17.andvii. 15.

[c]Because it would be endless to specify the curious Mechanism of all the Parts, concurring to the Formation of the Voice; I shall therefore for a Sample note only two Things, 1. There are thirteen Muscles provided for the Motion of the five Cartilages of theLarynx,Gibs. Anat. l. 2. c. 14, a Sign of the careful and elaborate Provision that is made for the Voice. 2. It is a prodigious Faculty of theGlottis, in contracting and dilating itself with such Exquisiteness, as to form all Notes. For (as the ingenious Dr.Keilsaith)supposing the greatest Distance of the two Sides of theGlottis, to be one tenth Part of an Inch in sounding 12 Notes, (to which the Voice easily reaches;) this Line must be divided into 12 Parts, each of which gives the Aperture requisite for such a Note, with a certain Strength. But if we consider the Sub-division of Notes, into which the Voice can run, the Motion of the Sides of theGlottisis still vastly nicer. For if two Chords sounding exactly Unisons, one be shortened, ⅟₂₀₀₀ Part of its Length, a just Ear will perceive the Disagreement, and a good Voice will sound the Difference, which is ⅟₁₉₆ Part of a Note. But suppose the Voice can divide a Note into 100 Parts, it follows that the different Apertures of theGlottisactually divide the tenth Part of an Inch into 1200 Parts, the Effect of each of which produces a sensible Alteration upon a good Ear. But because each Side of theGlottismoves just equally, therefore the Divisions are just double, or the Sides of theGlottis, by their Motion do actually divide one tenth Part of an Inch into 2400 Parts.Keil’s Anat. c. 3. Sect. 7.

[d]Among the Instruments of Speech, the Tongue is a necessary one; and so necessary, that it is generally thought no Speech can be without it. But in the third Tome of theEphem. Germ.is published,Jac. Rolandi Aglossostomographia, sive Descriptio Oris sine Linguâ, quod perfecte loquitur, & reliquas suas functiones naturalitèr exercet.The Person described is onePet. Durand, aFrenchBoy of eight or nine Years old, who at five or six lost his Tongue by aGangrene, occasioned the Small-Pox. Notwithstanding which, he could (as the Title saith) speak perfectly, as also taste, spit, swallow, and chew his Food; but this latter he could do only on that Side he put it into, not being able to turn it to the other Side his Mouth.In the same Tract,Chap. 6.is this Observation ofventriloquousPersons,Memini me à quodam sat celebri Anatomico audivisse, dum de duplicaturâ Mediastini ageret, si Membrana ista duplex naturalitèr unita in duas partes dividatur, loquelam quasi ex pectore procedere, ut circumstantes credant Dæmoniacum hunc, aut Sternomythum.

In the same Tract,Chap. 6.is this Observation ofventriloquousPersons,Memini me à quodam sat celebri Anatomico audivisse, dum de duplicaturâ Mediastini ageret, si Membrana ista duplex naturalitèr unita in duas partes dividatur, loquelam quasi ex pectore procedere, ut circumstantes credant Dæmoniacum hunc, aut Sternomythum.

[e]The Variation of the Wind-pipe is observable in every Creature, according as it is necessary for that of the Voice. In anUrchin, which hath a very small Voice, ’tis hardly more than membranous. And in aPigeon, which hath a low and soft Note, ’tis partly cartilaginous, and partly membranous. In anOwl, which hath a good audible Note, ’tis more cartilaginous; but that of aJay, hath hard Bones instead of Cartilages; and so of aLinnet: Whereby they have both of them a louder and stronger Note,&c.The Rings of the Wind-pipe are fitted for the Modulation of the Voice: For inDogsandCats, which in the Expression of divers Passions use a great many Notes, (as Men do,) they are open and flexible, as in Man. Whereby all, or any of them are dilated, or contracted, more or less, as is convenient for a higher or deeper Note,&c.whereas in some other Animals, as in theJapan-Peacock, which useth hardly more than one single Note, they are entire,&c.Grew’s Cosmolog. Sacr.Book I. Chap. 5. §. 9, 10.

The Rings of the Wind-pipe are fitted for the Modulation of the Voice: For inDogsandCats, which in the Expression of divers Passions use a great many Notes, (as Men do,) they are open and flexible, as in Man. Whereby all, or any of them are dilated, or contracted, more or less, as is convenient for a higher or deeper Note,&c.whereas in some other Animals, as in theJapan-Peacock, which useth hardly more than one single Note, they are entire,&c.Grew’s Cosmolog. Sacr.Book I. Chap. 5. §. 9, 10.

[f]It is a farther manifest Indication of singular Design in the cartilaginous Rings of theaspera Arteria, that all the Way where they are contiguous to theOesophagus, they are membranous, to afford an easie Passage to the Food; but after that, in theBronchi; they are, some compleatly annular, some triangular,&c.And another observable is, the lower Parts of the superior Cartilages, receive the upper Parts of the inferior, in theBronchi; whereas in theaspera Arteria, the Cartilages run and remain parallel to one another; which is a noble Difference or Mechanism in this (in a Manner) one and the same Part, enabling the Lungs andBronchito contract themselves in Expiration, and to extend and dilate themselves in Inspiration.

[g]I shall not here intrench so much upon the Anatomist’s Province, to give a Description of theLungs, although it be a curious Piece of God’s Workmanship; but refer to SeigniorMalpighi, the first Discoverer of theirVesiculæin 1660, in his two Letters toBorelli de Pulmon. Also to Dr.Willis’sPharm. Rat.p. 2. S. 1. c. 1.de Respir. Orig. & Us.who as he wrote afterMalpighi, so hath more accurately described those parts; and to Mr.Cowper’sAnat.Tab. 24, 25. And if the Reader hath a Mind to see what Opposition SeigniorMalpighi’s Discoveries met with at Home and Abroad, and what Controversies he had on that Account, as also his Censures of Dr.Willis’s Descriptions and Figures, he may consultMalpighi’s Life written by himself,pag. 4 to 21.That theLungsconsist ofVesiculæ, orLobuliofVesiculæadmitting of Air from theBronchi, is visible, because they may be blown up, cleansed of Blood, and so dried. But Mr.Cowpersaith, he could never part theLobuli, (so as to make Dr.Willis’sFig. 1. Tab. 3. & 4.) so that probably theVesiculæare contiguous to one another throughout each Lobe of the Lungs. And not only Air; butDiemerbroeckproves, that theVesiculæadmit of Dust also, from two asthmatick Persons he opened; one a Stonecutter’s Man, theVesiculæof whose Lungs were so stuffed with Dust, that in cutting, his Knife went as if through an Heap of Sand; the other was a Feather-driver, who had these Bladders filled with the fine Dust or Down of Feathers.

That theLungsconsist ofVesiculæ, orLobuliofVesiculæadmitting of Air from theBronchi, is visible, because they may be blown up, cleansed of Blood, and so dried. But Mr.Cowpersaith, he could never part theLobuli, (so as to make Dr.Willis’sFig. 1. Tab. 3. & 4.) so that probably theVesiculæare contiguous to one another throughout each Lobe of the Lungs. And not only Air; butDiemerbroeckproves, that theVesiculæadmit of Dust also, from two asthmatick Persons he opened; one a Stonecutter’s Man, theVesiculæof whose Lungs were so stuffed with Dust, that in cutting, his Knife went as if through an Heap of Sand; the other was a Feather-driver, who had these Bladders filled with the fine Dust or Down of Feathers.

[h]There is a considerable Difference between Dr.Willis, andEtmuller,viz.Whether theVesiculæof the Lungs have any muscular Fibres or not?Etmullerexpressly saith,Nullas Fibras musculosas, multo minùs rubicundam Musculorum compagem (sunt enim Vesiculæ albidæ & fere diaphanæ) in ipsis reperiri.ubi supr. c. 6. §. 2. And afterwards, §. 3.Pulmones esse molles flexilesque musculosis fibris ceu propriæ explicationis organis destitutos.But Dr.Willisas expressly alerts they have musculous Fibres, and assigns an excellent Use of them;Cellulæ istæ vesiculares, ut nixus pro expiratione contractivos edant, etiam fibras, utì per Microscopium planè conspicere est, musculares obtinent, ubi supr. §. 16. And in the next §,Ut pro datâ occasione majorem aëris copiam exsufflent, aut materiam extussiendam ejiciant, fibris muscularibus donatæ, sese arctiùs contrahunt, contentaque sua penitùs exterminant. Et enim ordinariæ pectoris Systolæ, quas musculorum relaxationes ex parte efficiunt, aërem forsan totum à Tracheâ & Bronchiis, haud tamen à Vesiculis, quâque vice ejiciunt: propter has (quoties opus erit) inaniendas, & totius Pectoris cavitas plurimùm angustatur, & cellulæ ipsæ vesiculures à propriis fibris constrictis coarctantur.

[i]Circa hos motus [Scil. Pectoris dilatationem, &c.] divini Conditoris mechanicen, ad regulas Mathematicas planè adaptaram, satis admirari non possumus; siquidem nullâ aliâ in re manifestùs Ὁ Θεὸς γεωμετρεῖν videtur. Quippe cùm pectoris, tum ampliato, tum coarctatio à quibusdam Musculis (quorum munus unicum est contrahere) perfici debeat; res ita instituitur, ut Costæ quæ thoracis, volut parallelogrammi oblongi versus cylindrum incurvati, latera efformant, in figuram modò quadratam, cum angulis rectis, pro pectoris ampliatione; modò in rhomboeidem, cum angulis acutis pro ejusdem contractione, ducantur,&c.Willis,ubi supr.§. 28.Galenhaving spoken of the Parts ministring to Respiration, concludeth,Nihil usquam à Naturâ ullo pacto per incuriam, fuisse præteritum, qua cùm omnia præsentiret & provideret, quæ sunt necessaria illa, quæ causa alicujus extiterunt, confecutura, omnibus instaurationes parare occupavit, cujus apparatus copiosa facultas admirabilem Sapientiam testantur.De us. part. l. 5. c. 15. See alsol. 6. c. 1.

Galenhaving spoken of the Parts ministring to Respiration, concludeth,Nihil usquam à Naturâ ullo pacto per incuriam, fuisse præteritum, qua cùm omnia præsentiret & provideret, quæ sunt necessaria illa, quæ causa alicujus extiterunt, confecutura, omnibus instaurationes parare occupavit, cujus apparatus copiosa facultas admirabilem Sapientiam testantur.De us. part. l. 5. c. 15. See alsol. 6. c. 1.

[k]For the Structure of theIntercostals,Midriff, &c. I shall refer to Dr.Willis, and other Anatomists. Bur Dr.Draketaxeth Dr.Williswith an Error in fancying there is an Opposition in the Office of theIntercostals, by reason that the Fibres of theexternalandinternal Intercostalsdecussate; that therefore theexternalserve to raise the Ribs, theinternalto draw them down. But Dr.Drakeis ofSteno’s, and Dr.Mayow’s Opinion, that notwithstanding the Decussation of their Fibres, the Power they exert upon, and the Motion they effect in the Ribs, is one and the same.Drake’sAnat.l. 2. c. 7. and l. 4. c. 5.Mayow de Respir.c. 7.

[l]Although Dr.Drakeand some others deny theIntercostalsbeing Antagonist-Muscles, as inthe preceding Note, yet they, and most other Anatomists that I have met with, attribute a considerable Power to them in the act of Respiration, as they do also to theSubclavianandTriangular Muscles: but the learnedEtmullerdenies it for these three Reasons,1. Quia respirando nullam in illis contractionem sentio. 2. Quia——sibi invicem non adducuntur,&c.3. Quia Costæ omnes ab aliis modò enarratis musculis moventur, idque simul,&c.Intercostales itaque, necnon Subclavios Musculos Costis, parietum instar, ad complenda interstitia intercostalia, pectusque integrandum, ac Costas connectendas, intertectos esse, probabiliter concludo; quo munere triangulares etiam——fungi, rationi consentaneum est.Etmul. Dissert. 2. cap. 4. §. 6.But as to the Use of theTriangular Musclein Respiration, we may judge of it, from its remarkable Size, and Use in a Dog; of which Dr.Willisgives this Account fromFallopius:In Homine parvus adeò & subtilis iste[Musculus]est, ut vix pro Musculo accipi queat: in Cane per totum os pectoris protenditur, & cartilagines omnes, etiam verarum Costarum sterno inosculatas, occupat: Cujus discriminis ratio divinam circa Animalium fabricas Providentiam planè indigitat. Quippe cùm hoc animal, ad cursus velocissimos & diu continuandos natum, quo sanguis, dum intensiùs agitatur, ritè accendatur eventileturque, aërem celerrimè & fortiter uti inspirare, ita etiam exspirare debet——idcirco propter hunc actum firmiùs obeundum (cujus in Homine haud magnus est usus) musculus caninas molem ingentem & tanto operi parem fortitur.Willisubi supr.§. 32.

But as to the Use of theTriangular Musclein Respiration, we may judge of it, from its remarkable Size, and Use in a Dog; of which Dr.Willisgives this Account fromFallopius:In Homine parvus adeò & subtilis iste[Musculus]est, ut vix pro Musculo accipi queat: in Cane per totum os pectoris protenditur, & cartilagines omnes, etiam verarum Costarum sterno inosculatas, occupat: Cujus discriminis ratio divinam circa Animalium fabricas Providentiam planè indigitat. Quippe cùm hoc animal, ad cursus velocissimos & diu continuandos natum, quo sanguis, dum intensiùs agitatur, ritè accendatur eventileturque, aërem celerrimè & fortiter uti inspirare, ita etiam exspirare debet——idcirco propter hunc actum firmiùs obeundum (cujus in Homine haud magnus est usus) musculus caninas molem ingentem & tanto operi parem fortitur.Willisubi supr.§. 32.

[m]Ray’s Wisdom of God in the Creation, p. 343.

[n]Mr.Cheselden, an ingenious and most accurate Anatomist, having somewhat particular in his Observations about the Circulation of the Blood through the Heart of theFœtus, I shall present the Reader with some of his Observations, which he favoured me with the Sight of.The Blood(saith he)which is brought to the Heart by the ascending Cava, passes out of the right Auricle into the left, through a Passage calledForamen Ovale, in theSeptum[common to them both]without passing through the right Ventricle (as after the Birth) while the Blood from the descending Cava passeth through the right Auricle and Ventricle into the pulmonary Artery, and thence into theAortathrough the Duct, betwixt that and the pulmonary Artery, calledDuctus Arteriosus, whilst a small Portion of the Blood, thrown into the pulmonary Artery passeth through the Lungs, no more than is sufficient to keep open the pulmonary Vessels. Thus both Ventricles are employed in driving the Blood through theAortato all Parts of theFœtus, and to the Mother too. But after the Birth, the Blood being to be driven from theAortathrough theFœtusalone, and not the Mother too, one Ventricle becomes sufficient, whilst the other is employed in driving the Blood through the Lungs, theDuctus Arteriosusbeing shut up by means of the Alteration of its Position, which happens to it from the raising theAortaby the Lungs when they become inflated. After that the Blood is thus driven into the Lungs, in its return it shuts theValveof theForamen Ovaleagainst theForamenit self, to whose Sides it soon adheres, and so stops up the Passage. TheDuctus Arteriosus, orDuctus Arteriosus in Ligamentum versus, is seldom to be discerned in adult Bodies, but the Figure of the ForamenOvaleis never obliterated.

[o]It hath been generally thought to be not improbable, but that on some Occasions theForamen Ovalemay remain open in Man. In a Girl of four or five Years of Age, Dr.Connorfound it but half closed, and in the Form of a Crescent. And he thinks somewhat of this kind might be in the Person whose Skeleton was found to have no Joynts in the Back-Bone, Ribs,&c.Of which a Description, with Cuts, may be found inPhil. Trans.Nᵒ. 215. and more largely in hisDissert. Med. Phys. de stupendo Ossium coalitu, where he adds to the Girl, in whom theFor. Ov.was not shut, a like Observation of another Girl he opened atOxfordof three Years Old,In quâ Foramen Ovals ferè erat occlusum, in medio tamen, exili foramine, per quod Turundam facilè transmisi, erat pervium, pag. 30. So Mr.Cowper(than whom none more accurate and a better Judge) saith,I have often found theForamen Ovaleopen in the Adult.Anat. Append. Fig. 3. But Mr.Cheseldenis of a different Opinion. Of which inthe following Note.From somewhat of this Cause I am apt to think it was that theTronningholm Gardinerescaped drowning, and some others mentioned byPechlin. His Stories are,Hortulanus Tronningholmensis etiamnum vivens, annos natos 65, pro illâ ætate satis adhuc valens & vegetus, cùm ante 18 annos, alii in aquas delapso opem ferre vellet, forte fortunâ & ipse per glaciem incautiùs procedens, aquas incidet 18 ulnas profundas: ubi ille, corpore erecto quasi ad perpendiculum, pedibus fundo adhæsit. Constitit sic per 16 horas, antequàm produceretur in auras. Dixit autem, simul ac infra aquarum superficiem fuit demersus, statim obriguisse totum, &, si quem tum habuit motum & sensum, amisisse, nisi quod sonantes Stockolmii campanas etiam sub aquis obscuriùs percipere sibi sit visus. Sensit etiam, statim sese velut vesiculam ori applicâsse, adeò ut aqua nulla os penetraverit, in aures verò transitum, etiam sentiente illo, habuerit; atque inde auditum suum debilitatum aliquandiu esse. Hoc statu dum 16 horas permansit frustrà quæsitus, tandem repertum, conto in caput infixo, cujus etiam sensum se habuisse dixit, fundo extraxerunt, sperantes ex more aut persuasione gentis revicturum esse. Itaque pannis linteisque productum obvolvunt, ne aër admitti possit perniciosus futurus subito illapsu: custoditum sic satis ab aëre sensim sensimque tepidiori loco admovent mox calidis adoriuntur fasciis, fricant, radunt, & sufflaminatum tot horis sanguinis corporisque motum negotiosâ illâ operâ reducunt: denique antapoplecticis & genialibus liquoribus vitæ reddunt & pristinæ mobilitati. Retulit is atque ostendit se etiamnum in capite circumferre vestigia violentiæ à conto illatæ, & cephalalgiis vexari gravissimis. Et propter hunc ipsum casum, religiosè à popularibus, & hujusce rei testibus probatum, Serenissimæ Reginæ matris munificentiâ & annuo stipendio est donatus——& Serenis. Principi——oblatus, vivus sui testis——Consignatam manu habes Historiam D. Tilasii, Biblioth. Reg. Præfecti, qui testatus est se prænovisse mulierem, quæ tres ipsos dies sub aquis hæsit, & similem in modum, quo Hortulanus ille, resuscitata, adhuc dum lucis plenâ fruitur usurâ. Accedit Nob. Burmanni——fides. qui confessus est,——se in pagoBonessparochiæPithoviæconcionem frequentâsse funebrem, in quâ, dum acta recenseret Præco Senis cujusdam septuagenarii Laur. Jonæ——audiverit ex ore Concionatoris, vivum eum, adolescentum 17 annorum, aquis submersum, 7 demum hebdomadâ (rem prodigiosam!) extractum ad se rediisse vivum & incolumem.Pechlin. de Aer. & Alim. def. c. 10.Shall we to this Cause, or to the Ossification, or more than ordinary Strength of the Wind-Pipe, attribute the Recovery to Life of Persons hanged? Of whichPechlingives an Instance that fell under his own Knowledge, of a Woman hanged, and in all Appearance dead, but recovered by a Physician accidentally coming in, with a plentiful Administration ofSpir. Sal. Armon. Pechl. ib.c. 7. And the Story ofAnne Green, executed atOxford,Dec. 14. 1650.is still well remembered among the Seniors there.She was hanged by the Neck near half an Hour, some of her Friends in the mean Time thumping her on the Breast, others hanging with all their Weight upon her Legs, sometimes lifting her up, and then pulling her down again with a sudden Jirk, thereby the sooner to dispatch her out of her Pain: as her printed Account wordeth it. After she was in her Coffin, being observed to breath, a lusty Fellow stamped with all his Force on her Breast and Stomach, to put her out of her Pain. But by the assistance of DrPeity, Dr.Willis, Dr.Bathurst, and Dr.Clark, she was again brought to Life. I my self saw her many Years after, after that she had (I heard) born divers Children. The Particulars of her Crime, Execution and Restauration, see in a little Pamphlet, calledNews from the Dead, written, as I have been informed, by Dr.Bathurst, (afterwards the most vigilant and learned President ofTrinity-College, Oxon,) and published in 1651. with Verses upon the Occasion.

From somewhat of this Cause I am apt to think it was that theTronningholm Gardinerescaped drowning, and some others mentioned byPechlin. His Stories are,Hortulanus Tronningholmensis etiamnum vivens, annos natos 65, pro illâ ætate satis adhuc valens & vegetus, cùm ante 18 annos, alii in aquas delapso opem ferre vellet, forte fortunâ & ipse per glaciem incautiùs procedens, aquas incidet 18 ulnas profundas: ubi ille, corpore erecto quasi ad perpendiculum, pedibus fundo adhæsit. Constitit sic per 16 horas, antequàm produceretur in auras. Dixit autem, simul ac infra aquarum superficiem fuit demersus, statim obriguisse totum, &, si quem tum habuit motum & sensum, amisisse, nisi quod sonantes Stockolmii campanas etiam sub aquis obscuriùs percipere sibi sit visus. Sensit etiam, statim sese velut vesiculam ori applicâsse, adeò ut aqua nulla os penetraverit, in aures verò transitum, etiam sentiente illo, habuerit; atque inde auditum suum debilitatum aliquandiu esse. Hoc statu dum 16 horas permansit frustrà quæsitus, tandem repertum, conto in caput infixo, cujus etiam sensum se habuisse dixit, fundo extraxerunt, sperantes ex more aut persuasione gentis revicturum esse. Itaque pannis linteisque productum obvolvunt, ne aër admitti possit perniciosus futurus subito illapsu: custoditum sic satis ab aëre sensim sensimque tepidiori loco admovent mox calidis adoriuntur fasciis, fricant, radunt, & sufflaminatum tot horis sanguinis corporisque motum negotiosâ illâ operâ reducunt: denique antapoplecticis & genialibus liquoribus vitæ reddunt & pristinæ mobilitati. Retulit is atque ostendit se etiamnum in capite circumferre vestigia violentiæ à conto illatæ, & cephalalgiis vexari gravissimis. Et propter hunc ipsum casum, religiosè à popularibus, & hujusce rei testibus probatum, Serenissimæ Reginæ matris munificentiâ & annuo stipendio est donatus——& Serenis. Principi——oblatus, vivus sui testis——Consignatam manu habes Historiam D. Tilasii, Biblioth. Reg. Præfecti, qui testatus est se prænovisse mulierem, quæ tres ipsos dies sub aquis hæsit, & similem in modum, quo Hortulanus ille, resuscitata, adhuc dum lucis plenâ fruitur usurâ. Accedit Nob. Burmanni——fides. qui confessus est,——se in pagoBonessparochiæPithoviæconcionem frequentâsse funebrem, in quâ, dum acta recenseret Præco Senis cujusdam septuagenarii Laur. Jonæ——audiverit ex ore Concionatoris, vivum eum, adolescentum 17 annorum, aquis submersum, 7 demum hebdomadâ (rem prodigiosam!) extractum ad se rediisse vivum & incolumem.Pechlin. de Aer. & Alim. def. c. 10.

Shall we to this Cause, or to the Ossification, or more than ordinary Strength of the Wind-Pipe, attribute the Recovery to Life of Persons hanged? Of whichPechlingives an Instance that fell under his own Knowledge, of a Woman hanged, and in all Appearance dead, but recovered by a Physician accidentally coming in, with a plentiful Administration ofSpir. Sal. Armon. Pechl. ib.c. 7. And the Story ofAnne Green, executed atOxford,Dec. 14. 1650.is still well remembered among the Seniors there.She was hanged by the Neck near half an Hour, some of her Friends in the mean Time thumping her on the Breast, others hanging with all their Weight upon her Legs, sometimes lifting her up, and then pulling her down again with a sudden Jirk, thereby the sooner to dispatch her out of her Pain: as her printed Account wordeth it. After she was in her Coffin, being observed to breath, a lusty Fellow stamped with all his Force on her Breast and Stomach, to put her out of her Pain. But by the assistance of DrPeity, Dr.Willis, Dr.Bathurst, and Dr.Clark, she was again brought to Life. I my self saw her many Years after, after that she had (I heard) born divers Children. The Particulars of her Crime, Execution and Restauration, see in a little Pamphlet, calledNews from the Dead, written, as I have been informed, by Dr.Bathurst, (afterwards the most vigilant and learned President ofTrinity-College, Oxon,) and published in 1651. with Verses upon the Occasion.

[p]The Sea-Calf hath theForamen Ovale, by which means it is enabled to stay long under the Water, as theParis. Anatomists. Of which see inBook VI. Chap. 5. Note (c).But the fore-commended Mr.Cheseldenthinks theForamen Ovaleis neither open in amphibious Creatures, nor any adult Land-Animals.When I first(saith he)applied my self to the Dissection of Human Bodies, I had no distrust of the frequent Accounts of theForamen Ovalebeing open in Adults: but I find since, that I mistook theOstium Venarum Coronariarumfor theForamen. The like I suppose Authors have done, who assert that it is always open in amphibious Animals: for we have made diligent Enquiry into those Animals, and never found it open. Neither would that (as they imagine) serve these Creatures to live under Water, as theFœtusdoth inUtero, unless theDuctus Arteriosuswas open also.This Opinion of Mr.Cheseldenhath this to render it probable, that theOstium Venarum Coronariarumis so near theForamen Ovale, that without due regard, it may be easily mistaken for it. Such therefore as have Opportunity of examining this Part in amphibious Animals, or any other Subject, ought to seek for theOstium, whenever they suspect they have met with theForamen.

[p]The Sea-Calf hath theForamen Ovale, by which means it is enabled to stay long under the Water, as theParis. Anatomists. Of which see inBook VI. Chap. 5. Note (c).

But the fore-commended Mr.Cheseldenthinks theForamen Ovaleis neither open in amphibious Creatures, nor any adult Land-Animals.When I first(saith he)applied my self to the Dissection of Human Bodies, I had no distrust of the frequent Accounts of theForamen Ovalebeing open in Adults: but I find since, that I mistook theOstium Venarum Coronariarumfor theForamen. The like I suppose Authors have done, who assert that it is always open in amphibious Animals: for we have made diligent Enquiry into those Animals, and never found it open. Neither would that (as they imagine) serve these Creatures to live under Water, as theFœtusdoth inUtero, unless theDuctus Arteriosuswas open also.

This Opinion of Mr.Cheseldenhath this to render it probable, that theOstium Venarum Coronariarumis so near theForamen Ovale, that without due regard, it may be easily mistaken for it. Such therefore as have Opportunity of examining this Part in amphibious Animals, or any other Subject, ought to seek for theOstium, whenever they suspect they have met with theForamen.

[q]Of the singular Conformation of the Heart and Lungs of theTortoise, which is an amphibious Animal. SeeBook VI. Chap. 5. Note (b).

[r]Actsxvii. 25.

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