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Analogy between Vegetables and Animals,. 405 



Art. ll. ^w Essay on the Analogy bettveen the Structure and 

 Functions of Vegetables and Animals. By William Gordon, 

 Esq., Surgeon, Welton, near Hull. Read before the Hull Lite- 

 rary and Philosophical Society, Nov. 19. 1830. Communicated 

 by Mr. Gordon. 



' '■ ^' (^Continued from p. 128.) 



Hay|]^g now given a very brief outline of the ans^iy that 

 exists b^^een the organisation of vegetables and tliai^of ani- 

 mals, I shMl proceed to point out to what extent tHe .functions 

 of these two classes of beings resemble each other : and, first 

 with regard to absorption. It is well ascertained that, after 

 the food has been duly elaborated in the stomach, it is con- 

 veyed into the bl6od, to se^ve for the growth and support 

 of the body. It is likewise ascertained that the particles of 

 which the animal fabric is composed are constantly under- 

 going a state of renewal. The decayed molecules are removed, 

 and new ones are deposited in their places. Moreover, it i|| 

 known that, if mercury be rubbed upon the skin, it is cafq 

 ried into the system, and exercises upon it the same influ- 

 ence as when it is introduced into the stomach ; and, if the 

 body be immersed in water or damp air, that the surface will 

 imbibe a great quantity of the watery particles that come m 

 contact with it, and will convey them into the blood. Th© 

 process by which all these effects are accomplished is called; 

 absorption; and it is performed by d, peculiar set of organs, 

 termed the absorbent system. These organs, which are situ- 

 ated in almost every part of the body, consist of delicate trans- 



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