When muscles are undergoing contraction impulses are conveyed to the splanchnic nerves, which are the regulators of the vasomotor system. Through the irritation of these nerves, the blood-vessels of the internal organs supplied by the splanchnics contract, and more blood is despatched to the periphery of the body. The capillaries of the skin will be dilated, and more blood will also be brought to the sudorific glands; these also excrete more water, which takes the form of sweat. Thus, by exercise that causes some exertion, abundant perspiration follows, by which means we can obtain the advantages we have mentioned in the chapter on the hygiene of the skin and kidneys; and it is for this reason also that we place this chapter on exercise immediately after the above-named one. The essential point in these exercises is that a great part of the circulating blood will be brought to the periphery of the body, and thus the congestion of the internal organs will be prevented or relieved. Among these organs the kidneys will be benefited, but only in a preventive sense, for in inflammatory conditions of the kidneys, especially in the parenchymatous forms, all kinds of exercise should be avoided. Besides the kidneys and other organs, the heart also may benefit by exercise if such be taken in moderation. The greatest benefit, especially for those with a diseased heart, will follow exercises carried out in the form of Swedish gymnastics. The originator of the Swedish gymnastic movements was Peter Ling, who gained great credit for himself and his country by the invention of this system, which has prolonged the life of many persons suffering from chronic ailments. In the Royal Central Institute for Gymnastics in Stockholm, and also in private schools in that city, many experts have been trained in these methods, and from thence they have spread all over the world, many coming to the United States, where Dr. S. Weir Mitchell introduced these salutary systems, and also massage. Massage was known thousands of years before Ling’s time, notably in India, Java, and other countries of the Malayan race. Even the great Harvey knew the effects of massage, for he quotes the case of a man who, in consequence of an insult which he could not avenge, became so overcome with passion and rage that he fell into a strange disorder—suffering from extreme compression and pain in the heart and chest, from which he only eventually received some relief when his chest was pummeled by a powerful man—just as a baker kneads dough.[240] Footnote 240: Quoted after Sir Lauder Brunton, Harveyan Oration.