PHYSIOLOGY FOR NURSES 



CHAPTER I 



CIRCULATION 



Just as anatomy is a study of form, physiology is a 

 study of function. Anatomy studies the appearances of 

 the bones, ligaments, muscles, vessels, nerves and vis- 

 cera, by dissecting the dead body. Physiology explains 

 that bones are supports and levers; ligaments, binding 

 tissue ; muscles, moving agents ; vessels, channels for cir- 

 culating fluids; nerves, conducting agents; viscera, 

 agents of secretion or excretion necessary for life and 

 growth. Physiology can not be learned from the dead 

 body, though some of it can be guessed at, but must be 

 discovered by observation of the living animal or plant. 

 Examination and analysis of the cells of which bodies 

 are composed may reveal their physical and chemical 

 character, but the more thorough the analysis, the more 

 complete the destruction of the cells and the more impos- 

 sible it is to investigate their vital activities. Hence many 

 vital phenomena are still unexplained, though the num- 

 ber is daily decreasing. 



The most widely distributed of all the tissues of the 

 body is the blood. It is the universal solvent for all ma- 

 terial used in building other tissues, in keeping them iii 

 a state of health by carrying food to them and by remov- 

 ing worn out or injurious material from them. The func- 

 tions of the blood and the forces of the circulation make, 



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