Physiology and Hygiene for Secondary SchoolsWalters, Francis M. (Francis Marion)
Science
Physiology and Hygiene for Secondary Schools
Walters, Francis M. (Francis Marion)
Physiology
*Removal of Foreign Bodies from the Eyes.*—Foreign bodies embedded in the
eyeball should be removed by the oculist or physician. Small particles of
dust or cinder may be removed without the aid of the physician, by
exercising proper care. First let the tears, if possible, wash the
offending substance to the corner of the eye, or edge of the lid, where it
can be removed with a soft cloth. If it sticks to the ball or the under
surface of the lid, it will be necessary to find where it is located, and
then dislodge it from its position. Begin by examining the lower lid. Pull
it down sufficiently to expose the inner surface, and, if the foreign
substance be there, wipe it off with the hem of a clean handkerchief. If
it is not under the lower lid, it will be necessary to fold back the upper
lid. "The patient is told to look down, the edge of the lid and the lashes
are seized with the forefinger and thumb of the right hand (Fig. 165), and
the lid is drawn at first downward and forward away from the globe; then
upward and backward over the point of the thumb or forefinger of the left
hand, which is held stationary on the lid, and acts as a fulcrum."(128)
The foreign body is now removed in the same manner as from the lower lid.
A large lens may be used to good advantage in finding the irritating
substance.
*Strong Chemicals in the Eyes.*—Students in the laboratory frequently,
through accident, get strong chemicals, as acids and bases, in the eyes.
The first thing to do in such cases is quickly and thoroughly to _flood
the eyes with water_. Any of the chemical which remains may then be
counteracted by the proper reagent, care being taken to use a very dilute
solution. To counteract an acid, use sodium bicarbonate (cooking soda),
and for bases use a very dilute solution of acetic acid (vinegar). To
guard against getting the counteractive agent too strong for the inflamed
eye, it should first be tried on an eye that has not been injured.
*Summary.*—The nervous impulses that cause the sensation of sight are
started by light waves falling upon a sensitized nervous surface, called
the retina. By means of refractive agents, forming a part of the eyeball
in front of the retina, light from different objects is focused and made
to form images of the objects upon the surface. In this way the light is
made to stimulate a portion of the retina corresponding to the form of the
object. This, _the image method of stimulation_, enables the mind to
recognize objects and to locate them in their various positions. While the
greater portion of the eyeball is concerned in the focusing of light, the
crystalline lens, operated by the ciliary muscle, serves as the special
instrument of accommodation. Muscles attached to the eyeballs turn them in
different directions, and so adjust them with reference to each other that
double vision is avoided.
*Exercises.*—1. Under what conditions are light waves reflected,
refracted, and absorbed?
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