The Philosophy of Health; Volume 2 (of 2): or, an exposition of the physical and mental constitution of manSmith, Southwood
Science
The Philosophy of Health; Volume 2 (of 2): or, an exposition of the physical and mental constitution of man
Smith, Southwood
Hygiene; Physiology
495. In a third series of experiments the temperature of the chamber
was raised to the 260th degree. At this time, continues Dr. Blagden,
I went into the room, with the addition to my common clothes of a
pair of thick worsted stockings drawn over my shoes, and reaching
some way above my knees. I also put on a pair of gloves, and held a
cloth constantly between my face and the stove (necessary precautions
against the scorching of the red-hot iron). I remained eight minutes in
this situation, frequently walking about to all the different parts of
the room, but standing still most of the time in the coolest spot near
the lowest thermometer. The air felt very hot, but by no means so as to
give pain. I had no doubt of being able to bear a much greater heat;
and all who went into the room were of the same opinion. I sweated, but
not very profusely. For seven minutes my breathing remained perfectly
good; but after that time, I began to feel an oppression in my lungs,
attended with a sense of anxiety; which gradually increasing for the
space of a minute, I thought it most prudent to end the experiment.
My pulse, counted as soon as I came into the cool air, for the uneasy
feeling rendered me incapable of examining it in the room, beat at
the rate of 144 pulsations in a minute, which is more than double its
ordinary quickness. In the course of this experiment, and others of
the same kind by several of the gentlemen present, some circumstances
occurred to us which had not been remarked before. The heat, as might
have been expected, felt most intense when we were in motion; and on
the same principle, a blast of the heated air from a pair of bellows
was scarcely to be borne: the sensation in both these cases exactly
resembled that felt in our nostrils on inspiration. It was observed
that our breath did not feel cool to our fingers unless held very
near the mouth; at a distance the cooling power of the breath did
not sufficiently compensate the effect of putting the air in motion,
especially when we breathed with force.
496. On going undressed into the room, the impression of the air was
much more disagreeable than before; but in five or six minutes, a
profuse sweat broke out, which instantly relieved me. During all the
experiments of this day, whenever I tried the heat of my body, the
thermometer always came very nearly to the same point (the ordinary
standard), not even one degree of difference, as in our former
experiments.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account