TUE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 67 
excrete the urine, in which are carried off, dissolved in a large quantity 
of water, several substances which would act as poisons if left in the 
system. 
Other secreting organs are the pancreas, a large oblong gland behind 
the stomach, which secretes the pancreatic juice, described under 
Digestion ; the spleen, situated near the upper left-hand corner of the 
stomach, the function of which seems to be to act as a storehouse of 
nutritive material, which can be taken advantage of by the circulation, 
in certain emergencies of the system ; and the mammary! glands or breasts 
(in women), which secrete milk for the nourishment of infants. 
The Nervous System. 
' The functions of organic life are merely secondary and subservient to 
the higher or animal life. All the arrangements of the organism of the 
body, considered as a complete structure, are adapted to connect the 
Spirit of which it is the tenement with other beings and things around 
it—to receive sensations, to feel, to think, to will, and to act under the 
cuidance of the mind or of instinct. For the purpose of carrying on 
the functions of this higher life of the human being, we find what might 
be called a complete telegraphic system. There is a head-office, to which 
telegraphic messages are sent from all parts of the body, telling what is 
going on, and asking for instructions as to what ought to be done in the 
circumstances; and forthwith messages are sent back with the required 
instructions. When one places the hand on something burning, 
a message immediately goes off to the head-office from the hand, that 
it is being burned, and back comes a message to the muscles of the 
arm to withdraw the hand from the dangerous spot; and it is done. 
Or, again, suppose a man to be crossing a street, and a vehicle to 
come up behind him. First, there goes a message from the ears to the 
head-office that there is a sound of wheels behind. At once a message is 
sent off to the muscles of the neck to turn the head, that the eyes may be 
able to report how matters stand. Probably the eyes send in a message to 
the effect that a cab is close behind. When this is taken into considera- 
tion in the head-office, the conclusion is come to, that it would be advisable 
to have the body removed out of the way as quickly as possible; and 
accordingly, a message is at once sent to the muscles of the legs, telling 
them to be active ; and the visible effect is that the man jumps out of the 
way. This is no fanciful description; but a process similar to that here 
described is what actually takes place in most actions, although these 
may be done in an instant, Now, this telegraphic system is the nervous 
system ; the head-oflice is the brain; the telegraph wires are an immense 
" 1 From Latin mamma, the breast, 
i] 
