Chapter VII: Section TWO (1)

_Composition of the Digestive Organs and of their Secretions—Chemical Phenomena of Digestion_.

_Mucus._—The living membrane of the alimentary canal is moistened with a liquid possessing many of the characteristics of vegetable mucus, but containing nitrogen. It is a thick, tenacious substance, which contains, dissolved in the water through which it is diffused, the ordinary salts of the serum of the blood; it swells up with water to a considerable mass, but without dissolving; it dissolves in alkaline liquors, and is precipitated therefrom on the addition of an acid and the tincture of galls; the mucus from different parts of the mucus membrane is, however, by no means identical in properties.

The liquid secreted by the internal surface of the stomach—the gastric juice—which exercises an important influence on digestion, differs essentially in its character from mucus. When the stomach is empty and contracted, it contains ordinary mucus; but if even indigestible substances are introduced, and still more, after taking proper food, a liquid is abundantly poured out, which is colorless or pale yellow, and contains a very small quantity of solid matter (two per cent.), which consists principally of inorganic salts (common salts and sal ammoniac, with a trace of a salt of iron); it is specially characterized by the presence of a notable quantity of free muriatic acid, the proportions of which vary with the activity of the digestive powers at the time. This gastric juice possesses the remarkable property of softening down and dissolving fibrine and albumen, and thus converts the masses of food into the uniform pulp (chyme), from which the absorbing vessels of the small intestines take up the nutritious elements.

If we form an artificial gastric juice by mixing together the muriatic acid and salts in the right proportions, it is found to be totally incapable of dissolving the materials of the food, and, indeed to be quite inactive towards digestion. The organic material of the gastric juice, although its quantity be so minute, is, therefore, essential to its powers, and these may be perfectly conferred upon the previously inactive, artificial juice, by the addition of a little of the mucus of the stomach or by steeping in the acid liquor, for a short time, a small portion of a mucous membrane, and filtering the liquor; for this purpose it is not even necessary to use the mucous membrane of the stomach, for that of the bladder has been found to answer equally well. The substance which is dissolved out of the membrane in these cases has been termed pepsine. It has not been obtained in a truly isolated or pure form, but its properties are very remarkable. For its full activity it requires the presence of a free acid, as the artificial gastric juice becomes much less active in dissolving food when neutralized by an alkali, though it retains other properties, as that of coagulating milk-like rennet. If the artificial juice be precipitated by nitrate of lead, the precipitate washed, and then decomposed by sulphuret of hydrogen; the solution thus obtained possesses all the digestive powers of the juice. Hence, the pepsine and muriatic acid act together, by combining with oxide of lead.

Pepsine appears to be completely decomposed by contact with alcohol or boiling water; its powers are also destroyed by deodorizing substances; the solution of albumen and fibrine in gastric juice differs essentially from their solution in muriatic acid, as in the former case the quantity of acid is very minute, in relation to the quantity of material dissolved, and after solution the acid remains quite uncombined.

The action of the stomach in digestion, appears, therefore, so far as our actual knowledge extends, a purely catalytic fermentative action; one in which the active excitant is an organic substance (pepsine), secreted by the mucous surface, and whose properties are developed by the presence of muriatic acid, which is secreted at the same time. The new products into which the food, fibrine, albumen, gluten, starch, oils, sugar, etc., are converted, and which collectively constitute the white uniform pulp, termed by physiologists chyme, have not been made the subject of accurate chemical researches.

In the mouth the mass of nutritive material is acted on by a liquid which is secreted by the salivary glands, the saliva. It is alkaline, and holds in solution not one per cent. of solid matter, which contains some carbonate of soda and common salt, admixed mucous, and a peculiar organic body, termed salivary matter.

This last substance is soluble in water; its solution is not coagulated by heat, nor precipitated by tincture of galls, corrosive sublimate, acetate of lead, nor by acids. The pancreas, so similar in structure to the salivary glands, has a different secretion; it contains no salivary matter, but albumen and some salts; it is generally slightly acid.

_Composition of the Bile._—The precise part which this remarkable secretion performs in the animal economy is not yet fully known; it has been the subject of repeated and accurate chemical examination, although, from the facility with which its elements are transferred into other bodies, by the action of the reagents employed, every succeeding analysis has led to different results.

_The Coloring matter of the Bile._—is present during health but in small quantity, but in disease it sometimes accumulates so as to form solid masses. When pure, it is a reddish-yellow powder, which is scarcely soluble in water or in alcohol, but dissolves easily in a solution of caustic potash. This solution is of a clear yellow color, but when exposed to the air it becomes deep green, absorbing oxygen. This change is remarkably produced by nitric acid, and it is indeed the reaction by which the presence of the bile in the serum of the blood, in the skin, in the urine, and eyes, etc., may be shown in cases of jaundice.

_Chyle and Lymph._—The nutritive materials extracted from the food by the absorbing vessels of the intestines, is thrown into the thoracic duct, where it meets with another fluid, which is transmitted to the same vessel from all parts of the body by the colorless veins or lymphatics. The fluid from the intestines is termed chyle; that from the body is generally termed lymph. It is the mixture of these that has alone been examined, for the vessels which carry either separately are too minute to allow of the extraction of their contents in a pure form.

When taken from the thoracic duct, a few hours after a meal, when, probably, the chylous element prevails, it is whitish, opaque, liquid, like milk, with generally a reddish shade; a short time after separation from the body, it coagulates; the clot is at first pale, but it soon becomes light crimson red; the milkiness of the serum is due to the presence of oil; it contains albumen, and coagulates by heat; except that it is more dilute, and that the hematosine is for the most part absent, the chyle and lymph have the same composition as the blood. It appears to vary, however, with the nature of the food, as Dr. Prout found the chyle of persons fed on vegetables to contain a much smaller quantity of albumen than when they had had animal food.

Dr. Prout also indicates in chyle the presence of a substance which he terms incipient albumen, which is not coagulated by heat, except after the addition of acetic acid; the properties of this form of albumen, however, are not fully known.

_Constitution of the Urine in Health and Disease._—The nature of this secretion has at all times been an object of considerable interest to the chemist, from the indications which changes in its composition give of diseases of important organs and from the number and interest of the different organic substances it contains. As in almost all other branches of animal chemistry, Burzelius first determined its composition, and lately Lecaner has ascertained with great care the limits to which the proportions of its ingredients may vary in health, and this established a correct basis of comparison for urine in the various conditions of diseases.

_Of the Urine in Disease and after Death—Urinary Calculi._—To the chemist, the indications of disease of the urinary and digestive organs, formed by changes in the composition of urine, are most valuable. The majority of the substances which are taken into the circulation, but are incapable of assimilation to our organs, are thrown off by this secretion, and hence a variety of medicinal substances may be traced to it after having been ingested, sometimes quite unaltered, at others modified in their natures. Thus if alkaline salts of organic acids be taken into the stomach, the organic material is oxidized, probably during the action of respiration, while the alkali passes into the urine in the state of carbonate. If, however, the organic acid be taken uncombined, it escapes decomposition, and, passing into the urine, produces an abundant precipitate of salts of lime. In the case of the tartaric acid and oxalic acids, some organic bodies, as aspharagine and the oil of turpentine, are decomposed, and the products which they form are execreted, giving to the urine peculiar odors; in the latter case like that of violets.

The majority of coloring matters are thrown out of the system by this secretion, while others are not so given off.

The mineral acids—alcohol, camphor and most metallic salts—do not pass into the urine to any sensible degree.

_Urine in Diabetes._—The most remarkable change in the nature of urine occurs in Diabetes Mellitus, it is voided in great quantity; it is found to contain a great quantity of grape, sugar, and very little urea.

It was supposed that in this disease urea ceased to be formed by the system, and was replaced by sugar; but it has been shown that, although the quantity of urea is very small in any one specimen of urine, yet the total quantity is so much increased that in twenty-four hours the natural quantity of urea is secreted; the secretion of sugar being an act of faulty digestion, and totally unconnected with the urea. These results have been fully confirmed by experience.

The diabetic urine sometimes contains albumen, which arises from complications of other forms of disease.

All that has been said in the former chapter about the solid and fluid constituents of the human body may, at first sight, and to a great many, seem to be superfluous and out of place in a work of this kind. It is true that the different modes of preserving bodies, as explained in this book, do not require this long dissertation on animal chemistry in order to be understood; still, when we consider that the chemicals used in these different processes have an object to accomplish, it must be granted that a thorough knowledge of the constituents of the body, their composition and chemical proportion, will, to a great extent, explain the reason why these same chemicals are used in preference to others.

The secondary object, which is not less important, consists in the fact that a thorough knowledge of the animal chemistry of the human organism is most necessary to understand the different changes which take place in the formation of the different juices and tissues of the body, when they enter into combination with the chemicals, the object of which is to render them imputrescible.

However, the study of these combinations affords a simple and clear explanation of the means resorted to in order to preserve bodies.

GANNAL’S PROCESS OF EMBALMING.

WITH MODIFICATIONS.

This process, which has been successfully employed in Europe for a long time, for the purpose of embalming bodies and for the preservation of anatomical preparations, is still practised extensively, owing to the cheapness of the materials used and to the simplicity of the modus operandi.

The embalming fluid in this instance is composed as follows, viz.:

Sulphate of alumina, 4 pounds.
Arsenious acid, 4 ounces.
Creasote, 4 ounces.
Water, 1 gallon.

To prepare this fluid, an explanation of its constituents is required.

There are two different kinds of arsenious acid, the opaque and the transparent. This latter variety (the transparent) should be selected in preference to the other, on account of its greater solubility; the acid must also be procured in crystals, and not in powder, as it will, in the first place, dissolve quicker, and will not be liable to be adulterated. The water must then be heated to 55°, and the acid dissolved in it. The sulphate of alumina is then to be added, and, after being completely dissolved, let the solution cool off to the usual temperature; then add the creasote, and, after stirring gently, the solution is ready for use.

Lay the body on an inclined board, as described in a former chapter, and, after thoroughly cleansing with water and soap, saturate well with a concentrated solution of alum; the body should be kept well moistened with the solution, as prescribed in the processes of embalming already given, until the operation is completed.

Through an opening made in the skin of the abdomen, and immediately over the transverse part of the colon, the bowels and the stomach will then be revealed, which must be emptied of their contents and properly cleaned, and injected with the above preparation.

After the contents of the abdomen have thus been treated, the whole abdominal viscera is to be heavily sprinkled over with tannic acid, until the acid forms a layer about one-half inch in thickness between the bowels and the skin of the abdomen; the flaps of the skin are then brought together and neatly sewed up.

The femoral vein is then opened. The femoral vein ascends the thigh in the sheath of the femoral artery, and, entering the pelvis beneath Poupart’s ligament, becomes the external iliac vein. In the lower part of its course, it is situated on the outer side of the artery; it then becomes placed behind that vessel, and at Poupart’s ligament lies to the inner side. It receives the muscular veins and propenda, and, through the saphenous opening, the internal saphenous vein.

The blood, in some cases, will issue very freely, and the flow of it must continue until the embalming fluid makes its appearance.

To inject the circulatory system, extend the left arm at a right angle with the body, and open the axilliary artery about three inches from the arm-pit. The axilliary artery is a continuation of the sub-clavian artery; it passes through the axilla or arm-pit into the arm, and is called the axilliary artery; that part of its continuation into the upper arm is called the brachial artery, and in the fore arm it divides into the radial and ulnar arteries, which are distributed to the hand and fingers.

Through the opening thus made in the axilliary artery two gallons of embalming fluid may be injected, or such quantity as may be found necessary to completely fill the arterial and venous systems.

After the blood has ceased to flow from the opening in the femoral vein, the wounds must be sewed up, and the body, anointed with the solution, left to dry in a cool, well ventilated place.

The surface of the body and also the face may be mottled in some places with white spots, but the skin will soon assume a uniform color, and the blotches will disappear.

After the solution on the body has become sufficiently dry and has penetrated the pores of the skin, the excess of moisture must be wiped off with a clean towel.

The nostrils should be hermetically sealed, by introducing into them some cotton, well saturated with gum shellac dissolved in alcohol.

The eyes must be well closed, and, if no other means at hand, the lids must be sewn together with a small circular needle, and some silk, saturated in spirits of turpentine.

The body is then saturated with a thin coating of turpentine; and after the turpentine is dry, the clothing can be put on, and the body is then ready for interment.

As shown by the preceding, this process is very simple, and has given satisfactory results in all cases, although the amount of embalming liquid and the composition thereof vary in all cases, and according to the temperature of the season and country.

For instance, if the body to be embalmed is that of a very fleshy person, and it be in the summer season, when animal substances are more prone to putrefy than at other seasons, the embalming fluid must be altered as follows, in its quantitative composition:

Sulphate of alumina, 6 pounds.
Arsenious acid, transparent, 4 ounces.
Creasote, 6 ounces.
Water, 1 gallon.

For the minor parts of this process, as, for instance, the closing of the eyes, mouth, etc., the reader is referred to previous processes already given in former chapters.

The most reliable composition yet found for embalming purposes, and the one which has given the most satisfactory results, is the following:

Alcohol, one gallon; dissolve into it eight ounces of corrosive sublimate, and, after complete solution, add two pounds of creasote. This solution, for injecting purposes, has never failed to accomplish the purpose, and has given the most astonishing results. The only objection to its use, but one which does not in reality carry any weight with it, is the fact that the solution will produce a white scar on the skin of the body wherever it may be dropped; but a very moderate amount of care in the use of it will preclude the possibility of such an accident.

The embalming of bodies by injection has so far occupied our attention. We will hereafter pass briefly in review the process of maceration employed in the preservation of bodies.

EMBALMING BY MACERATION.

The process of embalming bodies, as at first practised, was founded on the principle of complete immersion of the body into some bath composed of antiseptics, which, by being absorbed by the system, rendered the tissues imputrescible, much in the same way as we now preserve anatomical preparations by immersing in alcohol.

At the commencement of this century a process of embalming was brought out in Europe, and succeeded very well for some time; but after a certain period, Mr. Gannal and others inaugurated a new system of preserving the dead, and the process of maceration was abandoned, and has not since been revived to any extent. The following is the manner of treatment to which a body was subjected in the above process:

The body was washed thoroughly with soap and water; then the abdomen was opened and the sternum raised; the thoracic as well as the abdominal viscera was then removed altogether, as also the brain.

The body was then immersed for one week in a strong solution of alum and nitrate of potash; the body was then taken out and the cavities filled with tow and powdered arsenic; the bowels, lungs, liver, etc., in fact all the viscera, were buried separately.

The body was then completely buried in dry sand for the space of ten days, to absorb all the moisture contained in the tissues, and was then dressed in the funeral habiliments and placed in a leaden coffin, hermetically sealed; a small, thick glass, immediately over the face, allowed the friends to obtain a view of the features.

This process has been found objectionable for a good many reasons; in the first place, the eviscerating of the body is a repulsive feature of it, and not to be had recourse to when less barbarous means are at hand; secondly, the skin of the body assumes a yellow and wrinkled appearance, which, if it does not entirely destroy the cast of the features, alters the general appearance so much as to render them very different from the natural appearance.

At any rate, the method of preserving bodies by the above means has entirely fallen into disuse, and as, with our perfected improvements in this branch of the undertaking business, we are able to do away with the most repugnant features of it, this system has been superseded by the less objectionable and more effective arterial injections.

LAWS OF HEALTH.

Undertakers, like physicians and all those who may be called at any time of the day or night to make use of their physical and mental faculties, whose duties compel them to breathe the foul effluvia of the sick chamber, or the noxious gases generated by the dead, even to come into direct contact with every variety of contagious or epidemic disease—such professionals find it to their interest and physical welfare to observe certain rules of living in accordance with the requirements of their calling.

It is a matter of great importance that their diet, clothing and habits be regulated by certain laws, which will, to a great extent, reduce the dangers to which they are exposed in the discharge of their duties.

DIET.

Man is less uniform in his diet, and suffers more in consequence of it, than any other animal. All other animals are directed by instinct to select only those substances which are best adapted to their wants. Man is endowed with reason to enable him, by the exercise of thought and reflection, to make his choice of food. He should, therefore, select his daily food with as much forethought and care as he would select the materials for his dwelling. He should consider, not what will gratify his taste, but what will build up and strengthen his bodily structure, and secure most perfectly the highest and most permanent enjoyment of all his faculties.

The kind of food which each individual should select is by no means uniform; the climate, the season of the year, the occupation, the temperament, the age, the habits of life, and various other circumstances which might be mentioned, demand modifications of diet.

MODIFICATIONS OF AGE.

The constituent elements of the body are not found in the same relative proportions at different periods of life, or in different individuals of the same age. In middle life the muscular system predominates, and the body is remarkable for the compactness of its fibres, its strength, and its power of endurance.

In the child there is an excess of fluids, which renders the body more plump and round and the form beautiful, though more frail and delicate than at a later period. In advanced age, the soft tissues become greatly diminished, and the form wrinkled and wasted.

CLIMATE.

The inhabitants of cold climates require those articles of food which produce the largest amount of animal heat, such as oil, tallow and fat meats, which contain from sixty-six to eighty per cent. of carbon. The natives of the arctic regions consume enormous quantities of fat and oil, and seem to relish them as great luxuries; the inhabitants of tropical regions subsist mainly on rice, fruits, vegetables and lean meats. It would be impossible to live in Greenland on the plaintain and rice of the Hindoo, or in Hindostan on the seal fat and whale oil of the Greenlander.

In temperate climates we require different kinds of food at different seasons of the year. In winter we consume larger quantities of fat meat and carbonaceous food, and in summer more fruit and vegetables. Were we to indulge in the summer in the same diet which we might find highly conducive to health in the winter, the system would soon become burdened with an excess of carbonaceous matter, and induce congestion and inflammatory diseases. It is therefore highly important that each person should possess some knowledge of the properties of different articles of diet, and select from time to time those which he may think most suitable to his own organization.

Different substances are nutritious in proportion as they yield, when digested, those elements which are found to exist in the different tissues of the body. Animals do not possess the power of forming new elements, or of converting one element into another, and it necessarily follows that the elements of their growth and nutrition must be derived from the food which they take.

The largest part of nearly all the substances which make up the human body are composed of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon, and different substances are regarded as nutritious in proportion as they furnish these essential elements of our organization. In general, those substances may be regarded as the most important articles of diet which furnish, with the greatest facility of digestion, the largest amount of these elements.

Milk is regarded, perhaps correctly, as the plainest and simplest kind of food. Cow’s milk is composed of:

Casein, 4.48
Butter, 3.13
Sugar of milk, 4.77
Various salts, .60
Water, 87.00

Milk, being furnished by nature as the only food for the young of the mammalia during a certain period of their existence, contains all the elements necessary to the nutrition and the growth of the body. Out of the casein are formed the albumen and fibrin of the blood. The butter serves for the formation of fat, and contributes, with the sugar, to the support of animal heat, by yielding carbon and hydrogen to be burnt in the lungs. The earthy salts (phosphate of lime, etc.) are necessary for the development of the bones, the iron required for the blood, corpuscles and the hair.

In this country, meat constitutes an important part of the diet of almost every family. As a general rule, animal food is more easily digested, contains a greater amount of nutriment, and is more stimulating than any of the varieties of vegetable food.

As minuteness of division and tenderness of fibre facilitate digestion, young meats are more tender than old; thus, roasted pig is more speedily digested than broiled pork; steak and boiled lamb sooner than boiled mutton. Still, there are some exceptions to the digestibility of young meats, veal, and with some persons lamb, are slower of digestion than beef or mutton.

The vegetable kingdom greatly exceeds the animal in the number and variety of the aliments which it furnishes to man. It is well known that the four essential elements, carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, which form an important part of all animal compounds, are also to be found in great abundance in all vegetable compounds; it is owing to this fact that different animals are nourished equally well on an exclusive diet of either. The lion, tiger and other animals which live exclusively on animal food, give no evidence of being better nourished than the deer, the ox, and animals which subsist wholly on vegetable food; but the apparatus for digestion in each class is constructed with an evident adaptation to the kind of diet on which the different animals subsist.

In man the digestive apparatus is more extensive than in flesh-eating animals, but is less complicated than in those which are confined to vegetable food alone. Man is therefore omnivorous, both in his structure and in his habits.

But the universal tendency of mankind gives preference to a mixed diet. The most perfect development and the greatest individual vigor are to be found among those races in which a mixed diet is the prevalent habit.

During the warm season vegetables and fruits may be made the means of great mischief or of great good. Perfectly ripe fruits or vegetables are highly useful and well adapted to the wants of the system at that season of the year; yet they may become, and often are, a prolific source of disease. So frequently is this kind of food a cause of bowel complaint that city physicians discard it wholly from the diet of children not under their immediate supervision.

Vegetables and early fruits that have been long exposed, in a malarious or filthy market, or in transportation, are unquestionably dangerous articles of food for all persons. But the injurious consequences which follow the use of ripe and wholesome vegetables and fruit are, in almost all cases, the results of imprudence. They are either in an improper condition to be used as food, or the quantity is too great, or they are taken at improper hours.

In either case there is a great change in the usual diet. Instead of a lack of refrigerant food, there is now an excess of it. Active fermentation takes place in the process of digestion, and results in serious derangement in the alimentary canal, which leads to cholera morbus, diarrhœa or dysentery.

During warm weather vegetables and fruit are to be regarded as safe only when used as an accompaniment to other food; they are not adapted to meet all the wants of the system, and therefore should not constitute a full meal at any time. In the country, where this kind of food is enjoyed daily in a proper condition to be eaten, injurious consequences are quite rare, and then they are the result of an excess, or of an indulgence of an appetite at irregular hours.

Much care is also requisite to prevent imperfect mastication of this kind of food. Orange peel and the skins and stones of cherries, plums and grapes are wholly indigestible, and often cause serious mischief when swallowed. Cucumbers, green potatoes, green fruit of all kinds should be wholly discarded from the diet.

DRINKS.

Water in some form is more essential to our existence than any of the solid aliments we have yet considered, and is next in importance, in the performance of the vital process, to the air we breathe. Water enters into the formation of all the various tissues of the body, and constitutes a very large proportion of the human system. The blood contains about eighty per cent., the flesh about seventy-six per cent., of water; and of the entire human body, at least seventy-five per cent., or three-fourths of its weight, is water. The most important purposes in the animal economy are accomplished through this medium.

In the blood, the solid vital elements are transported by the medium of water from one part of the body to another, in a form and condition to promote the vital changes which are constantly taking place.

In exhalation, secretion and absorption, the presence of water is indispensable. It acts as a solvent of various alimentary substances, and thus assists the stomach in the act of digestion; though when taken in large quantities immediately after eating it dilutes the gastric juice and hinders digestion.

Water enters more or less largely into the composition of all alimentary substances, and is taken into the stomach in a pure state, or forms the principal part of the various kinds of drinks in use.

Water is unquestionably the natural drink of adults, and meets the wants of the body more perfectly than any of the artificial liquids which are regarded as improvements on water. Whenever a man is left to the cravings of instinct, unbiased by a vicious appetite, he invariably resorts to water as the natural means to quench his thirst, cool his system, and invigorate his wasting strength.

When we say that water is the only fitting drink for man’s daily and habitual use, we are sustained by the facts of the case. Water is the only liquid which is necessary to the formation, development and support of his frame; it is equal to all the exigencies of thirst, for the relief of present inconvenience, and of dilution, by mixing with his blood and other fluids, to prevent further sufferings and disease.

DIGESTIBILITY OF ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES.

The facility with which alimentary substances are digested, depends on a variety of circumstances. Some kinds of food are naturally more difficult of digestion than others. This is especially the case with oily and fatty substances, which contain a large amount of nutritive matter in a concentrated form. Tenderness of fibre renders the digestive process more easy; and, therefore, all those circumstances which affect the texture of flesh have an influence on its digestibility. Violent muscular exertion previous to the death of the animal renders the flesh more easy of digestion. The flesh of young animals, though more tender than the flesh of adult animals, is frequently not so easily digested. Of adult animals, the youngest will be found more tender and digestible than old animals. Vegetables are generally more slowly digested than meat. Minute division facilitates digestion; hence, if food is properly masticated, the process of digestion will be more rapid than otherwise.

Some variety of food is unquestionably more agreeable and more conducive to health than a diet limited to one or a few simple articles. Accordingly, we find that, whenever the condition of men will admit of it, they universally make use of more or less variety of alimentary substances, and that variety increases very much in proportion to the wealth and ability which exists to gratify the desires of the palate.

Too great a variety of alimentary substances is always injurious when it becomes a temptation to excess. Thus, a much larger amount of food is taken than the wants of the body require, and more than the digestive organs have the capacity to dispose of.

It is impossible to point out to each individual the kind of diet which will suit best. This, to some extent, must be a matter of personal observation and experience. Peculiarities of constitution, habits of life, age, sex, etc., require modifications of diet in accordance with the natural wants of each individual.

Abstinence from all that is found or suspected to be injurious, uniform hours and temperate indulgence should be observed by all who value lasting health more than the mere temporary gratification of the palate.

CLOTHING.

Dress does not make the man, but it is often indicative of his character. Some men dress in such a manner as to indicate that they estimate themselves by the cost per yard of the garments they wear; others dress so as to carry an impression of perfect indifference to the feelings and sentiments of those around them. Both are wrong. Our personal appearance, which depends to a great extent on dress, is a matter of some consequence; and the man who wholly disregards the customs and habits of others in this respect will be very likely to be indifferent to the sentiments and feelings of society in other particulars, and at least may be in danger of passing for less than his true worth. But the fop, whose only accomplishment is the dress he wears, is usually despised as thoughtless and vain.

The style of dress which is most to be commended is that which will not draw attention either for its gaudiness or its plainness. The external appearance of our clothing should always be regarded as less important than its practical uses, inasmuch as bodily health is infinitely more important than personal appearance.

During the warm season we require clothing which will protect the body without retaining too large an amount of heat. For this purpose we prefer, in summer, materials which are good conductors of heat. Cotton and worsted, though not as good conductors as linen, are usually found sufficiently cool for the temperature of the Northern States, where the climate is so changeable that there are but few days in the season when linen can be worn with safety.

Winter clothing should correspond somewhat with the exposure, both in quality and amount. The object to be sought in winter clothing is, not to produce heat, but to retain the heat which the body is constantly evolving.

Woolen is one of our best non-conductors of heat, and all garments formed from this material are regarded as warm clothing. All kinds of furs are good non-conductors, but they are liable to two serious objections: First, furs are too warm for ordinary exposure, and cause too great a change of temperature when they are removed; second, they prevent the escape of perspiration, and confine it within the garments usually worn inside of the fur.

The amount of clothing should depend on the constitutional vigor and the exposure of each individual. Indoors we require less than during an outdoors exposure; less when taking active exercise than when inactive. The amount of clothing, therefore, should be sufficient to insure a constant and uniform protection against sudden changes.

It is especially injurious to bundle up the face and neck with fur collars and shawls, which are so warm that colds will be induced when they are removed.

In a changeable climate, the constant wearing of flannel under garments next to the skin should be recommended. Flannel absorbs the perspiration and preserves a uniform temperature of the surface of the body, and prevents that sense of chilliness which we are liable to experience without flannels.

EMBALMING PROCESS

OF WORTH AND DURAND.

This process, often employed in Europe, has given very satisfactory results, and seems to deserve a good deal of attention. The mode of proceeding differs in some particulars from the methods already given; also the preparations used in this process are very different from the others, although the principles upon which it is founded are the same.

The solution employed as an injecting fluid in this process is as follows:

Arsenious acid, 3 ounces.
Carbonate of soda, 4 ounces
Water, 3 quarts.

Dissolve the arsenious acid and soda in hot water, in a glass or porcelain vessel, and, after solution, let the liquor cool off; then add enough of water to make up a gallon of the mixture. In the making and using of this preparation a great amount of care should be exercised, as it must be borne in mind that arsenious acid is a violent poison.

The stomach is then opened, as described in former chapters, and emptied of its contents; the bowels, also, must be subjected to the same process. The trachea is punctured, and the bronchial tubes completely filled with the solution through the opening thus made. The stomach and intestines should also be injected with the solution, and also the surrounding parts.

The main point of injection is the common carotid artery. Before injecting the stomach and bowels, and before replacing the intestines into the abdominal cavity, the inferior vena cava is punctured a little below the renal vein, and the flow of blood allowed to take place in the cavity, from whence it may be either sponged or pumped out.

The right carotid artery is selected as the point of injection, instead of the left, for the following reasons: The right common carotid artery is shorter than the left; it is also more anterior, and, in consequence of proceeding from a branch instead of from the main trunk, is larger than its fellow.

The common carotid artery in the neck is inclosed in a fibrous sheath, which also contains the internal jugular vein lying to the outer side of the artery, and the pneumogastric nerve, which lies between and behind both; the sheath rests on the vertebral column. To the inner side of the carotid is the trachea and larynx; to its outer side, and inclosed in its sheath, the jugular vein. It may be inferred from the above that the jugular vein in the neck is in close proximity with the carotid artery, and great care must be exercised in puncturing the artery not to injure the vein lying at its side.

After the injection has proceeded upwards, until the arteries of the head and neck are filled, a very small puncture may be cut into the jugular vein, and the blood allowed to escape at that point and for a few minutes, until the flow decreases, when the vein may be tied up.

The nozzle of the injector is then turned in a downward direction, and the injection continued until a sufficient quantity of the liquid has been injected.

The artery is then tied up, and the wound neatly brought together and sewed up. The blood which may have escaped from the vena cava is taken out of the abdominal cavity, and the stomach and bowels injected with the solution. Some of the same solution may also be poured around the bowels before and after their being replaced in their former position, and the opening in the abdomen is then closed.

Another preparation, which has been employed with some success, was as follows:

Hyposulphite of soda, 12 ounces.
Sulphuric acid, 6 ounces.
Water, 1 gallon.

The sulphuric acid liberates the hyposulphurous acid, which immediately decomposes into sulphur and sulphurous acid. It is to the antiseptic properties of the sulphurous acid that this preparation owes its preserving qualities.

A strong solution of bichromate of potash has also been used several times for an injection, but the result has not always proved satisfactory, as the liquid, when concentrated, is too much of an oxydizing agent.

MISCELLANEOUS.

When the services of the undertaker are required, the party or parties—generally some friend of the deceased—who may have charge of the arrangements will, in a few words, make the undertaker acquainted with the nature of the case and the particular duties he is expected to perform.

Sometimes they will there and then select the style of case or casket, order the carriages, and arrange all the other details of the funeral. At other times, again, these particular points are to be decided upon only after consulting the wishes of the family in this respect.

In either case it is the undertaker’s most imperative duty to hasten to the house of mourning with all the implements necessary for washing, laying out, dressing, and if necessary preserving the body. That is, where the party has died at his own house; for, in many cases, where death has taken place either at a hotel, boarding house, or any other place of a like public character, the proprietor thereof may wish the remains removed, at as short notice as convenient, to the rooms of the undertaker, where the remains may be properly cared for without any annoyance or discomfort to the other inmates.

Before the undertaker brings in any of the appliances necessary to the laying out of the corpse, it will be well for him to make his entrance unincumbered, and be introduced to the persons present. He must also view the remains, and make such arrangements or alteration in the furniture of the room as may be necessary to facilitate the operation of laying out, washing, etc.

The assistant may then be called in, and he shall dispose of the funeral implements according to the directions given by the undertaker. After the preliminaries have thus been disposed of, none but the intimate friends or relatives of the deceased are allowed to remain while the work of dressing the corpse is being performed. This is subservient to the wish and good judgment of the undertaker, who is supposed to be vested with powers of expelling those whose presence is not justifiable, or retaining others who may have claim to the privilege.

It should be here borne in mind that the work must be done as silently and noiselessly as the nature of the case admits of; and that any subject of discourse between the undertaker and his assistant, not immediately connected with the matter in hand, is very much out of place, and will be regarded by the persons present as a lack of good manners, not to say a disrespectful behavior.

Let it be also remembered that a mortuary chamber is not the place fitly chosen to consummate the ulterior arrangements of the funeral, but some other apartment in the house, or even the undertaker’s own office, are the proper places to perfect subsequent proceedings.

The laying out and dressing of the body being completed, the assistant may retire, after having carefully removed whatever articles may have been used in the process; while the undertaker, who may have some directions to give about the proper care of the body until the time of burial, or some instructions to receive from the persons in charge of the funeral, will wait until every point is settled; or some other time and place may be selected for the purpose.

It is not the sphere of the undertaker, especially at such time, to press with questions the parties whom he may chance to serve; but he will abide his time and accept their decisions with becoming respect, unless some imperative object should make it incumbent upon him to hasten the proceedings, as, for instance, the danger of contagion from some infectious disease, or some other equally important reason.

In the matter of dressing the body, especially if it be that of a lady, this duty is usually performed by some lady attached to the establishment, or by some lady friend of the deceased, although the undertaker is often called to perform this office himself. It is at such a time that good taste and refinement will show conspicuous in the professional undertaker.

The same may be said about the floral decorations and the ornamenting of the casket; a certain amount of good sound common sense and discrimination should be used in both cases.

Some parties will consider it a mark of good taste to have but a few elegant and well chosen gold or silver trimmings, while others would consider a superfluity of these as needful to the complete decoration of the casket. This part of the business must be well understood by the undertaker, and it requires a certain amount of tact to pamper successfully to the taste of the different parties he may be called upon to serve.

The remains, after being placed in the coffin a few hours previous to the time of the funeral, do not require much of his attention, but he is expected to be on hand at the specified time. As the hearse and carriages arrive at the house of mourning and take the places allotted to them without confusion or unnecessary noise, the undertaker will see that each carriage driver has his place assigned in the _cortège_ and observes the directions given him.

The assistant stands ready to receive the casket and help the pall bearers in placing it properly in the hearse; he will also see that each carriage approaches in time and receives the occupants, as his employer may direct. Should the religious ceremonies be performed in the house of the deceased, his duties will end there until the cemetery is reached; should, however, the services be performed at some public place of worship, it will be his duty to precede the arrival of the procession, to see that everything is in readiness, to give timely warning to the sexton, and to assist in removing the casket from the hearse; also in preserving order in the loading and unloading of carriages; while the undertaker takes the lead in the carrying of the remains into the church, and will see that the casket is laid up with proper care at the place appointed.

The undertaker is expected to occupy a position not far remote from the officiating clergyman, so as to be within hearing of the latter should it be necessary for him to request some service or make some inquiries.

The funeral services over, the undertaker is expected to lead the march out of the church, preceding the casket bearers, but following the minister, who, in many instances, will walk at the head as far as the door.

The assistant will be found ready to assist in placing the casket in the hearse, as before mentioned, and will also have the carriages move up in the right order, open and close the carriage doors, while the undertaker ushers the occupants into the vehicles.

The undertaker may also require the services of an assistant at the grave, but this will depend in great measure upon the nature of the funeral itself, whether it be of a certain magnitude, or if it be one of less importance.

This brief elucidation of the duties of an undertaker in the discharge of his functions is not given as a general rule to be strictly adhered to without any exception, but merely as a ground plan to work upon, and to be subject to different modifications, as circumstances may require.

One undisputable fact is, that in the general management of a funeral pageant, and for the better and more systematic working of the details, especially if the funeral is one on a large scale, the services of a well trained assistant will be found almost indispensable to the undertaker, and will be conducive of the happiest results in securing perfect system, dispatch; and also in preventing delays and mistakes, which might otherwise happen where the responsibility and the smooth working of the whole rests upon one man.

The laying out, washing, dressing, etc., of a corpse, under any and every circumstance, ought to be so systematized and arranged, that either the undertaker or his assistant may be able to perform these duties alone and singly, with ease and promptness, should circumstances so require.

As the undertaker is supposed to understand the wants required by different cases, it will be his duty, so soon as he is acquainted with the nature of the cause of death, to take such steps as his experience will suggest, as regards the safety of those who may trust him with the care of properly disposing of the remains.

Should the disease be of a contagious or infectious character, it will be incumbent upon the undertaker to see that perfect ventilation be established in the chamber where the body lies; that all cloths which are removed from the corpse be disposed of in a cautious manner; that the bed-clothes be either carried immediately out of the room and exposed outside to the light and heat of the sun, or be burned up, if the character of the disease be so dangerous as to require it.

He will see that proper means of disinfecting the house be used, so as to a great extent neutralize, if not completely destroy, the germ of the epidemic.

A good preparation to combat noxious and poisonous miasma, besides the other disinfecting liquids which have been enumerated in previous chapters, consists of the following:

Nitrate of potash (saltpetre), 6 ounces.
Water, 2 quarts.
Sulphuric acid, 4 ounces.

Dissolve the nitrate of potash in the water. If the water be moderately warm it will dissolve quicker. For this purpose use a large _china_ wash bowl (no metallic vessel), which must hold at least twice the amount of the solution, or about one gallon. When the solution is completed, gradually pour into it the sulphuric acid; it will effervesce, and care must be taken not to let any of it fall on the carpet, as it will not only destroy the color but also the texture of the fabric; the effervescence will, however, soon subside, and the foul effluvia of the room will soon lose its offensive odor.

This fumigation has been successfully employed in Southern cities, in times of severe epidemics.

Although it may be questioned by some whether or no these measures come within the sphere of the undertaker’s duties, it is by no means a reason why they should be discarded by our professionals, or why undertakers should not be familiar with all the means that will tend to enhance the success of the profession, as well as to promote the comfort and safety of those whom they may be called upon to serve; besides the credit they will receive from the family for their well directed efforts in securing their approval.

CHLORIDE OF LEAD AS A DEODORIZER AND DISINFECTANT.

Dr. R. H. Goolden calls attention in the _Lancet_ to the value of chloride of lead, which he says is the most powerful deodorizer and disinfectant. To prepare it for use, he directs to take half a drachm of nitrate of lead, dissolve in a pint or more of boiling water; then dissolve two drachms of common salt in a bucket of water, and mix the two solutions together; allow the sediment to subside.

The clear supernatant fluid will be a solution of chloride of lead. A cloth dipped in this solution and hung up in a room will sweeten a fetid atmosphere instantaneously; or if the solution be sprinkled over the bed-clothes or clothing of a fast decomposing body, it will produce a like result.

Even the tarnishing of gold and silver ornaments may be prevented, by a rag dipped in the solution being hung up in the room or window where they are exposed.

He relates some striking instances of the instantaneous and efficient action of this preparation.

DANGERS OF ABSORPTION OF CARBOLIC ACID.

Undertakers and others using carbolic acid to some extent should always use extreme caution in the handling of it.

The carelessness with which certain papers take up some popular recipe is not always without its dangers. For instance, there appeared lately in some public print an article upon the poison of vipers, which is very similar to that of the virus from a putrefying corpse; the article recommended that carbolic acid should be immediately introduced into the wound, the acid to be mixed with alcohol in the proportion of two to one. Observe the off-hand manner with which a toxic agent is spoken of, as if it were the most inoffensive thing in the world.

In order to try the experiment, a cat was selected, upon whose skin, denuded of hair alone, a saturated solution of carbolic acid in alcohol, with an equal quantity of water, was rubbed; this produced no effect; but when the same solution was rubbed into a scratch upon the end of the nose two or three times, the animal fell immediately into convulsions and very shortly succumbed. Prussic acid could not have acted more promptly. The moral of this experiment is obvious.

DISINFECTANTS.