218 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



dry way of classification will be again most helpful here, as it shows 

 us that these cases are mostly of " functional disorders " — when the 

 organs of the body fail to perform their proper work. It is clearly 

 impossible that any cell in the body should work at high pressure all 

 the time, for adequate rest is essential to all living matter; further, it 

 would be wasteful for secretions to be made when they were not 

 needed, and nature abhors waste, while useless secretions would tend 

 to produce sickness. It is one of the duties of the sympathetic nervous 

 system to stimulate the activities of each organ at the proper time, and 

 also to stop the process when no longer needed. It consists of a double 

 chain of masses of nervous tissue, called ganglia, lying inside and on 

 both sides of the spinal column, connected with each other by nerves, 

 and also with great networks of nerves called plexuses, which govern 

 the heart, blood vessels, intestines, liver, lungs and other organs. The 

 spinal ganglia receive branches from the spinal nerves, which bring 

 them into relation with the cerebellum and brain. The mechanism 

 works reflexly, without the interference of the will. If, for instance, we 

 ascend a mountain where the air is rarer, the lungs work more rapidly, 

 as the result of more frequent stimuli from the sympathetic, thus 

 taking enough more air to counterbalance the deficiency of oxygen. 

 The presence of waste in the circulation stimulates the kidneys, a high 

 temperature excites the perspiration, and the proper conditions cause 

 the other organs to act. The exciting cause in the organ, whatever 

 it may happen to be, sends an impulse up to the reflex centers, which 

 in turn send an order down to the organs to get to work until 

 commanded to stop. If by any means we can send a similar impulse 

 up to the reflex centers without the presence of the usual exciting 

 cause — a false alarm, so to speak — we shall get the regular result. It 

 is also probable that the reflex centers can be made to give the regular 

 orders to start work, not in the customary way by a message sent up 

 to it from the organ, but by direct command of the lower parts of the 

 brain, though not immediately by the cerebrum, or thinking portion. 

 The functions of the sympathetic system are modified by the two 

 pneumogastric nerves which start in the head and extend to the 

 digestive organs, lungs, heart, liver, stomach and other organs. 



It will, perhaps, be clearer to select one organ as a type of func- 

 tional disorder, and follow the process closely, bearing in mind that 

 these remarks do not apply at all to cases where there has been an 

 alteration in structure, as these are not susceptible to mental healing. 

 We will choose the stomach, the most abused organ, as it is defense- 

 less against the acts of the will in putting into it all kinds of injurious 

 substances. It takes its revenge, however, for ill-treatment, not only 

 by causing pain in its own vicinity, but by instigating pain in the 

 chest, dizziness, sleeplessness, headache, black specks and other dis- 



