74 



THE HUMAN BODY. 



Thirst is a sensation painful from the first, and can be 

 borne for a shorter time than hunger ; for it necessarily im- 

 plies the privation of all liquid aliment, and exhaustion super- 

 venes much sooner than when a 

 man is deprived of solid food, 

 but is able by the aid of a little 

 water to prolong his life for some 

 days. 



The organs of digestion, of which 

 we will give a summary idea, are, 

 for the most part, contained in 

 the abdomen. 



Abdominal cavity. This ca- 

 vity is the largest in the body; it 

 is situated below the chest, from 

 which it is separated by the dia- 

 phragm, and extends to the lower 

 ' extremity of the trunk. It is 

 divided into several parts or re- 

 gions, which are ist. In the 

 upper portion, the epigastrium, 

 corresponding to what is called 

 the pit of the stomach, and the 

 two hypochonders (hypo, under; 

 chondros, cartilage), which rise up 

 from each side of the epigastrium, 

 under the double arch of the 



Fig. si. Section of the trunk and its diaphragm and under the car- 

 tilages of the ribs. 2d. In the 

 middle, the umbilical region, and 

 the flanks or sides. 3d. In the 

 lower portion, the hypogastrrum 

 or lower belly, and the iliac 

 fossa, inclosed by the bones of the same name. The walls 

 of the abdomen are formed principally by muscles and apon- 

 euroses, combined with the vertebral column and the bones 

 of the pelvis. The lower or false ribs have only an in- 

 direct connection with the abdominal cavity, resulting from 

 its being set into the. bottom of the chest 



cavities in the median line. 



A. Cavity of the chest. 



B. Diaphragm. 



C. Abdominal cavity. 



D. Vertebral column. 



E. Spinal canal. 



