THE GENERAL SENSES. 275 



hunger, thirst, nausea, fatigue, depression, melancholy, 

 restlessness, such as many experience preceding a thun- 

 derstorm, the feeling of general discomfort known as 

 malaise, and its opposite, the feeling of general well being. 

 The body seems to have a set of nerves to give information 

 as to the state of nutrition of the body, and as to its condi- 

 tion generally. These nerves, when the system is dis- 

 ordered in any part, may bring messages that cause intense 

 pain. Of course, they are warnings (they are more than 

 mere warnings ; probably if the earlier indications of simple 

 discomfort had been heeded the later more emphatic mes- 

 sages of pain would not have been necessary). These mes- 

 sages of pain demand attention. 



The Extent of Pain. In reference to pain in the skin, 

 it is held that the skin, too, has its nerves of general sensi- 

 bility, and that these are distinct from those of touch and 

 temperature sense. That when they are unduly stimulated 

 they give rise to painful sensations. It is to be noted that 

 the internal organs are ordinarily devoid of feeling, and 

 that the skin is especially sensitive. The skin senses stand 

 guard at the outposts, so to speak, of the body's camp, and 

 give warning of approaching danger. No enemy may 

 enter without being discovered by these keen sentinels, 

 and the alarm is given. If it is not heeded, great harm 

 may follow. And it is a comfort to know that the more 

 severe wounds do not cause pain in proportion to their 

 extent. When a person says his " lungs are sore " the 

 pain is usually in the muscles of the chest from coughing. 

 While there may be acute pain from the lungs, as in pleu- 

 risy, there is often deep-seated lung disease without pain 

 from the lungs themselves. The muscles of the chest and 

 back may be strained by lifting, and the soreness is erro- 



