THE PURIFICATION OF THE BLOOD, ETC. 49 



cold. And all this change, this adaptation to 

 circumstances, this strain upon its vital ener- 

 gies, the animal system is ever bearing from 

 month to month, and from year to year. Thus, 

 too, in a cold bath, after the immersion of the 

 body for a few minutes, the temperature of the 

 water is decidedly elevated, and might be 

 raised, by way of experiment, to that of the 

 body itself. But how is this evolution of heat 

 generated, as an antagonist against the effects 

 of cold? It may be said, that the blood 

 becoming more venous, that is, more car- 

 bonized, imparts its carbon, both in the lungs 

 and in the capillary arteries of the system, to 

 the atmospheric oxygen, and that the combus- 

 tion thence ensuing produces a degree of heat 

 sufficient for the preservation of the body. 

 This theory, however, will not suffice. The 

 ears of rabbits have been frozen, and have 

 regained their natural condition — fishes have 

 been frozen into ice-bound mummies, and their 

 restoration has been effected — man has been 

 frozen, his limbs being as insensible as the 

 snow or the ice of the mountain, and yet, the 

 heart being not quite dead, reanimation has 

 been accomplished. 



That the nerves have greatly to do with the 

 struggle of the system against cold, is proved by 

 the fact that the paralytic limbs of a sufferer 

 (through which the circulation of blood is 

 maintained) are colder than the rest of the 

 body, and require the adjunct of artificial heat. 

 Moreover, in certain experiments conducted by 



