Structure and Functions of the Body: A Hand-Book of Anatomy and Physiology for Nurses and Others Desiring a Practical Knowledge of the SubjectFiske, Annette
Science
Structure and Functions of the Body: A Hand-Book of Anatomy and Physiology for Nurses and Others Desiring a Practical Knowledge of the Subject
Fiske, Annette
Human anatomy; Physiology
The nerves of the cerebro-spinal system preside over animal life and
have to do with voluntary acts, while those from the sympathetic
system regulate organic life and are quite independent of the will.
Both sensory and motor nerves extend all over the body, accompanying
the arteries in a general way. The sensory nerves end on the surface
in plexuses, in end bulbs situated in the papillæ of the skin, or
in tactile corpuscles, these last occurring more especially where
there is no hair. The motor nerves end peripherally in plexuses or
by end plates. The central terminations of the motor nerves and the
terminations of sensory nerves in special organs, except where they end
in a cell, are not well understood.
Like muscles, nerves are probably never at rest, for through them the
muscles get their tone. When a nerve acts, no heat is produced and
there is no change in the nerve afterward, as there is in muscle.
Probably nerve impulse is the transmission of physical rather than
chemical changes along the fiber, the atoms of the nerve being set
in vibration and the vibrations being transmitted along its length.
Stimulation is produced by physical injury, by chemical influence, by
electricity, by heat, and the message is always referred to the nerve
termination. Thus, if the nerve at the elbow, over the “crazy bone,” is
touched, a tingling is felt in the fingers rather than at the point of
pressure. A person who has had an arm or leg amputated will frequently
speak of his fingers or toes on that side being cold, or complain of
pain in them, because the scar below the point of amputation tightens
around the nerves and pinches them.
It is through the nerves that people get in touch with the outer world
and that they judge of size, weight, etc. All careful adjustment of the
muscles is under the control of the nervous system.
CHAPTER II.
THE SKIN, ITS APPENDAGES AND ITS FUNCTION.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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