Popular Lectures on Zoonomia Part 13

A person who has been daily accustomed to much exercise, whether mental or corporeal, if he omit it, will find little or no inclination to sleep; this state may however be induced by taking some diffusible stimulus, as a little spirits and water, or opium, which seem to act entirely by exhausting the excitability, to that degree which is compatible with sleep, and, when the stimulant effect of these substances are over, the person soon falls into that state.

But though the excitability may have been sufficiently exhausted, and the action of external powers considerably moderated, yet there are some things within ourselves, which often stimulate violently, and prevent sleep, such as pain, thirst, and strong pa.s.sions and emotions of the mind. These all tend to drive away sleep, by their vehement stimulating effect, which still has power to rouse the excitability to action, though it has been considerably exhausted. The best method of inducing sleep, in these cases, is to endeavour to withdraw the mind from these impressions, particularly from uneasy emotions, by employing it on something that makes a less impression, and which does not require much exertion, or produce too much commotion; such as counting to a thousand, or counting drops of water which fall slowly; by listening to the humming of bees, or the murmuring of a rivulet. Virgil describes a situation fitted to induce sleep, most beautifully, in the following words.

"Fortunate senex, hic inter flumina nota, Et fontes sacros, frigus captabis opac.u.m.

Hinc tibi, quae semper vicino ab limite sepes Hyblaeis apibus florem depasta salicti, Seape levi somnum suadebit inire susurro."

In infancy much sleep is required; the excitability, being then extremely abundant, is soon exhausted by external stimulants, and therefore soon requires renewing or acc.u.mulating; on this account, during the first five or six months of their life, children require this mode of renewing their exhausted excitability several times in the day; as they advance in years, and as this excess of excitability is exhausted by the application of stimulants, less sleep is required: in the prime of life least of all is necessary. There is great difference however, in this respect, in different const.i.tutions. Some persons are sufficiently refreshed by three or four hours sleep, while others require eight or ten hours. More however depends, in my opinion, on the mode of living. Those who indulge in the use of spirituous or fermented liquors, which exhaust the excitability to a great degree, require much more sleep than those who are content with the crystal stream. The latter never feel themselves stupid or heavy after dinner, but are immediately fit to engage in study or business. As age advances, more sleep is again required; and the excitability at last becomes so far exhausted, and the system so torpid, that the greatest portion of gradually expiring life is spent in sleep.

Temperance and exercise are the most conducive to sound healthy sleep, hence the peasant is rewarded, for his toil and frugal mode of life, with a blessing, which is seldom enjoyed by those whom wealth renders indolent and luxurious. The poor in the country enjoy sound and sweet sleep: forced by necessity to labour, their excitability becomes exhausted in a proper and natural manner, and they retire to rest early in the evening. Their sleep is generally sound, and early in the morning they find themselves recruited, and in a state fit to resume their daily labour. The blooming complexion, strength, and activity, of these hardy children of labour, who recruit their wearied limbs on pallets of straw, form a striking contrast with the pallid and sickly visage, and debilitated const.i.tution of the luxurious and wealthy, who convert night into day, and court repose in vain on beds of down. Nature undoubtedly intended that we should be awake, and follow our occupations, whether of pleasure or business, during the cheering light of day, and take repose when the sun withdraws his rays. All other animals, and even vegetables, obey the command of nature: man alone is refractory; but nature's laws are never violated with impunity. Dr. Mackenzie very properly observes, that those who sleep long in the morning, and sit up all the night, injure the const.i.tution without gaining time: and those who do this merely in compliance with fas.h.i.+on, ought not to repine at a fas.h.i.+onable state of bad health.

From what has been said, it is evident that, in order to enjoy sound sleep, our chambers should be free from noise, dark, and moderately cold; because the stimulant effects of noise, light, and heat, prevent the acc.u.mulation of excitability: and as we shall afterwards see that this acc.u.mulation depends on free respiration, and the introduction of oxygen by that means into the system, our bed rooms ought to be large and airy, and, in general, the beds should not be surrounded by curtains. We may from this likewise see the reason why it is so desirable to sleep in the country, even though we are obliged to spend the day in town.

These observations on sleep have however led me a little from the direct road; but I thought they could not be better introduced than here. I shall now return to the subject of our more immediate inquiry.

By induction we have discovered two of the princ.i.p.al laws by which living bodies are governed: the first is, that when the ordinary powers which support life have been suspended, or their action has been lessened for a time, the excitability, or vital principle, acc.u.mulates, or becomes more fit to receive their actions; and secondly, when these powers have acted violently, or for a considerable time, the excitability is exhausted, or becomes less fit to receive their actions. There are therefore three states in which living bodies exist. First, a state of acc.u.mulated excitability.

Secondly, a state of exhausted excitability. Thirdly, when the excitability is in such a state as to produce the strongest and most healthy actions, when acted upon by the external powers.

From what has been said, it must be evident that life depends continually on the action of external powers on the excitability, and that by their continued action, if they be properly regulated, the excitability will be gradually, and insensibly exhausted, and life will be resigned into the hands of him who gave it, without a struggle, and without a groan.

We see then that nature operates in supporting the living part of the creation, by laws as simple and beautiful as those by which the animated world is governed. In the latter we see the order and harmony which is observed by the planets, and their satellites, in their revolution round the great source of heat and light;

"---------- all combin'd And ruled unerring, by that Single Power, Which draws the stone projected, to the ground.

In the animated part of the creation, we observe those beautiful phenomena which are exhibited by an almost infinite variety of individuals; all depending upon, and produced by one simple law; the acting of external powers upon their excitability.

I cannot express my admiration of the wisdom of the Creator better than in the words of Thomson.

"O unprofuse magnificence divine!

O wisdom truly perfect! thus to call From a few causes such a scheme of life; Effects so various, beautiful, and great."

Life then, or those functions which we call living, are the effects of certain exciting powers acting on the excitability, or property distinguis.h.i.+ng living from dead matter. When these effects, viz. the functions, flow easily, pleasantly, and completely, from the action of these powers, they indicate that state which we call health.

We may therefore, as we before hinted, distinguish three states of the irritable fibre, or three different degrees of excitability, of which the living body is susceptible.

1. The state of health which is peculiar to each individual, and which has been called by Haller, and other physiologists, the tone of the fibre. This is produced by a middle degree of stimulus acting upon a middle degree of excitability: and the effect produced by this action, we call excitement.

2. The state of acc.u.mulation, produced by the absence or diminished action of the accustomed stimuli.

3. The state of exhaustion, produced by the too powerful action of stimuli; and this may be produced either by the too powerful, or long continued action of the common stimulants which support life, such as food, air, heat, and exercise; or it may be caused by an application of stimulants, which act more powerfully on the excitability, and which exhaust it more quickly, such as wine, spirits, and opium, musk, camphor, and various other articles used in medicines.

The state of health, or tone, if we use that term, consists therefore in a certain quant.i.ty or energy of excitability necessary to its preservation. To maintain this state, the action of the stimuli should be strong enough to carry off from the body the surplus of this irritable principle. To obtain this end, a certain equilibrium is necessary between the excitability and the stimuli applied, or the sum of all the stimuli acting upon it must be always nearly equal, and sufficient to prevent an excess of excitability, but not so strong as to carry off more than this excess. It is in this equilibrium between the acting stimuli and the excitability, that the health, or tone of the living body consists.

When the sum of the stimuli, acting on the body, is so small, as not to carry off the excess of excitability, it acc.u.mulates, and diseases of irritability are produced. Of this nature are those diseases to which the poor are often subject, and which will be particularly considered hereafter.

When the sum of the stimuli acting on the body, is too great, it is deprived not only of the excess of excitability, but also of some portion of the irritable principle necessary for the tone of the body: or, to speak more distinctly, the body loses more excitability than it receives, and of course must, in a short time, be in a state of exhaustion. This gives rise to diseases which afflict drinkers, or those who indulge in any kind of intemperance, or persons born in climates where the temperature is moderate, but who emigrate to those which are much warmer.

Thus we have endeavoured, after the example of Dr. Brown, to ascertain the cause of the healthy state, before the causes of diseases were investigated; and though this is contrary to the general practice, yet it must be evident to every one, that unless we are acquainted with the causes of good health, it will be impossible for us to form any estimate of those variations from that state, called diseases: hence it is that a number of diseases, which have been brought on merely by the undue action of the exciting powers, such as gout, rheumatism, and the numerous trains of nervous complaints, which were by no means understood, may be easily and satisfactorily explained, and as easily cured, by restoring the proper action of these powers, and bringing the excitability to its proper state. As this theory, therefore, is so important, not only in respect to the preservation of health, which nearly concerns every individual, but to the cure of diseases, which is the province of the physician, I have endeavoured to explain it as fully and minutely as possible; to make it still plainer we may perhaps make use of the following ill.u.s.tration.

Suppose a fire to be made in a grate or furnace, filled with a kind of fuel not very combustible, and which could only be kept burning by means of a machine, containing several tubes placed before it, and constantly pouring streams of air into it. Suppose also a pipe to be fixed in the back of the chimney, through which a constant supply of fresh fuel is gradually let down into the grate, to repair the waste occasioned by the combustion kept up by the air machine.

The grate will represent the human body; the fuel in it the life or excitability, and the tube behind, supplying fresh fuel, will denote the power of all living systems, constantly to regenerate or produce excitability; the air machine, consisting of several tubes, may denote the various stimuli applied to the excitability of the body; the flame produced in consequence of that application, represents life; the product of the exciting powers acting upon the excitability.

Here we see, that flame, like life, is drawn forth from fuel by the constant application of streams of air, poured into it from the different tubes of the machine. When the quant.i.ty of air poured in through these different tubes is sufficient to consume the fuel as it is supplied, a constant and regular flame will be produced: but if we suppose that some of them are stopped, or that they do not supply a sufficient quant.i.ty of air, then the fuel will acc.u.mulate, and the flame will be languid and smothered, but liable to break out with violence, when the usual quant.i.ty of air is supplied.

On the contrary, if we suppose a greater quant.i.ty of air to rush through the tubes, then the fuel will be consumed or exhausted faster than it is supplied; and in order therefore to reduce the combustion to the proper degree, the quant.i.ty of air supplied must be diminished, and the quant.i.ty of fuel increased.

If we suppose one of the tubes, instead of common air, to supply oxygen gas, it will represent the action of wine, spirits, ether, opium, and other powerful stimulants upon the body: a bright and vivid flame will be produced, which however will only be of short duration, for the fuel will be consumed faster than it is supplied, and a state of exhaustion will take place.

We may carry this ill.u.s.tration still further, and suppose that the air tubes exhaust the fuel every day faster than it can be supplied, then it will be necessary at night to stop up some of the tubes, so that the expense of fuel may be less than its supply, in order to make up for the deficiency. When this is made up, the tubes may in the morning be opened, and the combustion carried on during the day as usual. This will ill.u.s.trate the nature of sleep. In speaking of this subject, it was observed, that the more violently the exciting powers have acted, the sooner is sleep brought on; because the excitability is sooner exhausted. In the same way the more the air rushes through the tubes, the sooner will the fuel be consumed, and want replenis.h.i.+ng. When the exciting powers have acted feebly, a person feels no inclination to sleep, because the excitability is not exhausted to the proper degree, and therefore does not want acc.u.mulating. But any diffusible stimulus, as spirits, or opium, will soon exhaust it to the proper degree.

In the same way, if the air have not pa.s.sed rapidly through the tubes, the fuel will not be exhausted: but it may be brought to a proper degree of exhaustion by the application of oxygen gas.

When the air which nourishes the flame is so regulated, that it consumes the fuel as it is supplied, but no faster, a clear and steady flame will be kept up, which will go on as long as the fuel lasts, or the grate resists the action of the fire: but at last when the fuel, which we do not suppose inexhaustible, is burnt out, the fire must cease.

In the same manner, if the different exciting powers which support life were properly regulated, all the functions of the body would be properly performed, and we should pa.s.s our life in a state of health, seldom known to any but savages, and brute animals not under the dominion of man, who regulate these powers merely by the necessities of nature.

When air is applied in too great quant.i.ty, and especially if some of the tubes convey oxygen gas, then a violent combustion and flame is excited, which will, in all probability, consume or burn out the furnace or grate, or if it do not, it will burn out the fuel, and thus exhaust itself.

In like manner, if the stimulants which support life be made to act too powerfully, and particularly if any powerful stimulus, not natural to the body, such as wine or spirits, be taken in too great quant.i.ty, a violent inflammatory action will be the consequence, which may destroy the human machine: but if it do not, it will exhaust the excitability, and thus bring on great debility.

This a.n.a.logy might be pursued further, but my intention was solely to ill.u.s.trate some of the outlines of our theory, by a comparison which may facilitate the conception of the manner in which external powers act on living bodies. The different powers which support life, and without whose action we are unable to exist, such as heat, food, air, &c. have been very improperly called nonnaturals, a term which is much more applicable to those substances which we are daily in the habit of receiving into the system, which excite it to undue actions, and which nature never intended we should receive; such as spirituous and fermented liquors, and high seasoned foods. In the preceding ill.u.s.tration, I have spoken of a tube, as constantly pouring in fresh fuel, because it was not easy otherwise to convey a familiar idea of the power which all living systems possess of renewing their excitability, when exhausted. The excitability is an unknown somewhat, subject to peculiar laws, some of which we have examined, but whose different states we are obliged to describe, though, perhaps, inaccurately, by terms borrowed from the qualities of material substances.

Though Dr. Brown very properly declined entering into the consideration of the nature of excitability, or the manner in which it is produced, the discoveries which have been made in chemistry since his time, have thrown great light on the subject, and it is now rendered highly probable that the excitability or vital principle, is communicated to the body by the circulation, and is intimately connected with the process of oxidation.

Many circ.u.mstances would tend to show, that a strict connexion exists between the reception of oxygen into the body, and the vital principle.

When an animal has been killed by depriving it of oxygen gas, the heart and other muscles, and indeed the whole system, will be found completely to have lost its excitability. This is not the case when an animal is killed in a different manner. When an animal is shot, or killed in the common manner, by bleeding to death, if the heart be taken out, it will contract for some hours, on the application of stimulants. But this is not the case with an animal that has been drowned, or killed by immersion in carbonic acid, azotic, or hydrogenous gases; in these last instances, the heart either does not contract at all, or very feebly, on the application of the strongest stimulants.

We have already seen that oxygen unites with the blood in the lungs, during respiration: by the circulation of the blood it is distributed to every part of the system, and we shall find, that in proportion to its abundance is the excitability of the body. In proof of this, I shall relate some facts and experiments.

Dr. Girtanner injected a quant.i.ty of very pure oxygen gas into the jugular vein of a dog: the animal raised terrible outcries, breathed very quickly, and with great difficulty: by little and little his limbs became hard and stiff, he fell asleep, and died in the course of a few minutes afterwards. It ought here to be observed, that any of the gases, or almost any fluid, however mild, when thus suddenly introduced into the circulating system, generally, and speedily, occasions death.

On opening the chest, the heart was found more irritable than ordinary, and its external contractions and dilatations continued for more than an hour: the right auricle of the heart, which usually contains black venous blood, contained, as well as the right ventricle, a quant.i.ty of blood of a bright vermilion colour; and all the muscles of the body were found to be more than usually irritable.

This experiment not only proves that the vermilion colour of the blood proceeds from oxygen, but likewise seems to show, that oxygen is the cause of excitability.

A quant.i.ty of azotic gas, which had been exposed for some time to the contact of lime water, in order to separate any carbonic acid gas it might contain, was injected into the jugular vein of a dog. The animal died in twenty seconds. Upon opening the chest, the heart was found filled with black and coagulated blood: this organ, and most of the muscles had nearly lost the whole of their irritability, for they contracted but very weakly, on the application of the strongest stimulants.

A quant.i.ty of carbonic acid gas was injected into the jugular vein of a dog: the animal became sleepy, and died in about a quarter of an hour: the heart was found filled with black and coagulated blood, and had lost the whole of its irritability; neither it, nor any of the muscles producing any contractions, upon the application of stimulants.

Humboldt likewise mentions a curious fact, which tends strongly to confirm this idea. When the excitability of the limb of a frog had been so far exhausted, by the application of zinc and silver, that it would produce no more contractions, on moistening it with oxygenated muriatic acid, the contractions were renewed.

After the excitability of the sensitive plant (mimosa pudica) had been so far exhausted, by irritation, that it ceased to contract, when further irritated, I restored this excitability, and brought it to a very high degree of irritability, by moistening the earth in which it grew with oxygenated muriatic acid. Seeds likewise vegetate more quickly when moistened with this acid, than when they are not.

In short, we shall find, first, that every thing which increases the quant.i.ty of oxygen in organized bodies, increases at the same time their excitability.

Secondly, That whatever diminishes the quant.i.ty of oxygen, diminishes the excitability.

The excitability of animals, made to breathe oxygen gas, or to take the oxygenated muriate of potash, or acid fruits, is very much increased.