THE BODY TEMPLE 63 



Three Pounds of Brains. — The brain of an aver- 

 age man weighs about three pounds. A woman's 

 brain, like her body, weighs a little less than that of 

 a man. If we examine a speck of brain substance under 

 the microscope, we find it to be largely composed of 

 curious living cells, some of which look very much like 

 a tadpole with a long tail; others, like a spider with 

 legs projecting on all sides. Each of these little cells, 

 half a thousand of which would be required to make 

 a row an inch long, is a living creature, and has its 

 particular work to do. If we examine with sufficient 

 care, we shall find that the tails, or fingers, possessed 

 by the little creature while in its natural position in 

 the brain, before it has been torn from its surround- 

 ings, are immensely long, running to all parts of the 

 body. Some of these fingers are so small that a hun- 

 dred million of them would be required to make a 

 bundle as thick as the thumb. Thousands of these 

 fibers gathered together form the nerves and greater 

 part of the spinal cord, by means of which the brain 

 is connected with all parts of the body. 



When a pin is thrust into the end of the finger, it 

 gives pain because in the brain are little cells which 

 send out long, hair-like fibers that end in the skin cover- 

 ing the part where the pin is applied. The cells in the 

 brain recognize the pain, and refer it to the finger. 

 These curious little organisms are called nerve cells. 



Twelve Hundred Million Nerve Cells are sup- 

 posed to be in the brain and spinal cord. These won- 

 derful cells control the whole body. All the other or- 

 gans of the body may be considered as simply servants 

 of the brain. The little cells send out their long fin- 

 gers to the muscles, glands, lungs, heart, stomach, 

 liver, and all the other organs, and through them send 



