A Carrier must move. To enable the blood to carry food and oxygen _to_ the cells and waste materials _from_ the cells, and also to distribute heat, it is necessary to keep it moving, or circulating, in all parts of the body. So closely related to the welfare of the body is the circulation(17) of the blood, that its stoppage for only a brief interval of time results in death. *Discovery of the Circulation.*—The discovery of the circulation of the blood was made about 1616 by an English physician named Harvey. In 1619 he announced it in his public lectures and in 1628 he published a treatise in Latin on the circulation. The chief arguments advanced in support of his views were the presence of valves in the heart and veins, the continuous movement of the blood in the same direction through the blood vessels, and the fact that the blood comes from a cut artery in jets, or spurts, that correspond to the contractions of the heart. No other single discovery with reference to the human body has proved of such great importance. A knowledge of the nature and purpose of the circulation was the necessary first step in understanding the plan of the body and the method of maintaining life, and physiology as a science dates from the time of Harvey’s discovery. *Organs of Circulation.*—The organs of circulation, or blood vessels, are of four kinds, named the heart, the arteries, the capillaries, and the veins. They serve as contrivances both for holding the blood and for keeping it in motion through the body. The heart, which is the chief organ for propelling the blood, acts as a force pump, while the arteries and veins serve as tubes for conveying the blood from place to place. Moreover, the blood vessels are so connected that the blood moves through them in a regular order, performing two well-defined circuits. [Fig. 13] Fig. 13—*Heart* in position in thoracic cavity. Dotted lines show positin of diaphragm and of margins of lungs. *The Heart.*—The human heart, roughly speaking, is about the size of the clenched fist of the individual owner. It is situated very near the center of the thoracic cavity and is almost completely surrounded by the lungs. It is cone-shaped and is so suspended that the small end hangs downward, forward, and a little to the left. When from excitement, or other cause, one becomes conscious of the movements of the heart, these appear to be in the left portion of the chest, a fact which accounts for the erroneous impression that the heart is on the left side. The position of the heart in the cavity of the chest is shown in Fig. 13.