General Anatomy, Applied to Physiology and Medicine, Vol. 3 (of 3) — John Shaqi
General Anatomy, Applied to Physiology and Medicine, Vol. 3 (of 3)Bichat, Xavier
Science
General Anatomy, Applied to Physiology and Medicine, Vol. 3 (of 3)
Bichat, Xavier
Human anatomy; Human physiology
The organization of the involuntary muscles is not as uniform as that
of the preceding. In these all is exactly similar excepting the
differences of the proportion of the fleshy fibres to the tendinous,
of the length of the first, of the prominence of the fasciculi,
of their assemblage into flat, long or short muscles; in whatever
place we examine them, their varieties are in their forms and not in
their texture. Here on the contrary, there is in this texture marked
differences; the heart compared with the stomach, the intestines with
the bladder are sufficient to convince us of this. It is by virtue of
these different textures, that the contractility and sensibility vary
as we shall see in each muscle, that the force of the contraction is
not the same, and that life is different in each, whilst it is uniform
in all those of animal life. We shall now consider in a general manner
the organization of the involuntary muscles.
I. _Texture peculiar to the Organization of the Muscular System of
Organic Life._
The organic muscular fibre is in general much finer and more delicate
than that of the preceding system; it is not brought into as thick
fasciculi. Very red in the heart, it is whitish in the gastric and
urinary organs. Besides, this colour varies remarkably. I have observed
that sometimes maceration renders it of a deep brown in the intestines.
This fibre never has one single direction, like that of the preceding
muscles; it is interlaced always, or found in juxta-position in
different directions; sometimes it is at a right angle that the
fasciculi are cut, as in the longitudinal and circular fibres of
the gastric tubes; sometimes it is with angles more or less obtuse
or acute, as in the stomach, the bladder, &c. In the heart, this
interlacing is such in the ventricles, that it is a true muscular
net-work. From these varieties of direction, results an advantage in
the motions of these sorts of muscles, which, being all hollow can by
contracting diminish according to many diameters the extent of their
cavity.
Every organic muscular fibre is in general short; those which, like
the longitudinal of the œsophagus, the rectum, &c. appear to run a
long course, are not continuous; they arise and terminate at short
distances, and thus arise and terminate successively in the same
direction or line; no one is comparable to those of the sartorius, the
gracilis, &c. as it respects length.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account