Philosophy of OsteopathyStill, A. T. (Andrew Taylor)
Philosophy
Philosophy of Osteopathy
Still, A. T. (Andrew Taylor)
Osteopathic medicine
Begin at the brain, go down the ladder of observation, stop and whet
your knives of mental steel sharp, get your nerves quiet by the opium
of patience. Begin with the atlas, follow with the search-light of
quickened reason, comb back your hair of mental strength, and never
leave that bone till you have learned how many nerves pass through and
around that wisely formed first part of the neck. Remember it was
planned and builded by the mind and hand of the infinite. See what nerve
fibers passes through and on to the base center, and each minute cell,
fascia, gland and blood vessel of the lungs. Do you not know that each
nerve fiber to its place is king and lord of all?
CEREBRAL SPINAL FLUID.
I think consumption begins by closing the channels of cerebro-spinal
fluid in neck, which fluid stands as one of, if not the most highly
refined elements in animal bodies. Its fineness would indicate that it
is a substance that must be delivered in full supply continually to keep
health normal; if so, we will for experimental reasons look at the neck
ligated, as found in measles, croup, colds and eruptive fevers. Supply
is stopped from passing below atlas for three days. During such diseases
fever runs high at this time and dries up the albumen, giving cause for
tubercles to begin, as fever has dried out the water and left the
albumen in small deposits in the lungs, liver, kidneys and bowels. If
this view of the great uses of brain fluid is true as cause of
glandular growths and other dead deposits; have we not a cause for
militis tuberculosis? Have we not encouragement to prosecute with
interest, in the hope of an answer to the question, "What is
tuberculosis?" Our writers are just as much at sea to-day as a thousand
years ago. I will give the reader some of the reasons why I think the
mischief was started while fluid was cut off by congestion of neck. How
can the fluid be cut off at neck is a very natural question. By the
crudest method of reasoning we would conclude that from the form of the
neck, many objects are indicated, and the material of which it is
composed would give reason to turn all its powers of thought, to ask why
it is so formed, as to twist, bend, straighten, stiffen and relax at
will, to suit so many purposes? A very tough skin--a sheathe--surrounds
the neck with blood vessels, nerves, muscles, bones, ligaments, fascia,
glands great and small, throat and trachea. In bones we find a great
canal for spinal cord. It is well and powerfully protected by a strong
wall of bone, so no outer pressure can obstruct the flow of passing
fluids, to keep vitality supplied by brain forces, but with all the
guards given to protect the cord, we find that it can be overcome by
impact fluids to such degree as to stop blood and other fluids from
supplying lungs and all below.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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