surgeons' reports ILLINOIS SEVENTH DISTRICT. 441 



Average age. 



Average age of tlie 39 men exainincd, tlie oldest II, and the youngest 18 



years of age, years .30. C 



Table Mo. 5. 



Measurement of chest. 



Average ujeiisiireiiieut of eliest at inspiration, ineiies 34. 75 



Average measurement of chest at expiration, indies .Jii. .5 



Average extent of mobility of chest, inches 2. 25 



Number examined. 

 Number of chests measured, 3G inches aud under 34 



Average height. 



Average height of 34 men, the shortest being G feet, and the tallest G feet 



2^ inches, inches 72. 5 



Average age. 



Average age of all the 34 men, the oldest being 44, and the youngest IS 



years of age, years 24. 25 



lu Table No. 4, the medium measurement of the chest, between average inspiration and aver- 

 age expiration', is found to be 36.85 inches. In Table No. 5, the medium measurement of the chest 

 is 33.75 inches, a difference of 3.10 inches. Tlie extent of mobility of the chest of the 39 men in 

 Table No. 4 is 2.5 inches, while that of the 34 men in Table No. 5 is only 2.25 inches, showing but a 

 slight difference in the two tables, but sufficient, as 1 think, to reverse rather than confirm the rule 

 laid down by Surgeon Trii)ler. 1 am therefore unable to contirin the rules laid down by either Mr. 

 Hutchiuson or Surgeon Triplei'. It will be seeu by reference to the foregoing tables that the aver 

 age age of the men ranges from about 20 to 30 years. In fact, with th(^ exception of Table No. 3, 

 the aveiage age in these tables is from near 24 to a fraction over 30 years. I cannot think that 

 this little diflerence in the age could be reasonably considered to affect the result with regard to 

 the vital capacity, or extent of mobility of the chest, to a sutticient degree to be taken into the 

 account. » * « 



It may not be amiss here to state one fact that I observed in my examinations with regard to 

 the muscular movements of the chest in respiration. That these movements are generally under the 

 control of the will to a considerable extent is an admitted fact, though the movements in ordinary 

 res])iration are admitted by physiologists to be es.sentially automatic. I examined (]uite a number 

 of men who, I am certain, were almost entirely destitute of the power of volition in these move- 

 ments, as they were almost entirely unable to extend the inspiratory and expiratory movements by 

 the will beyond the ordinary movements of respiration ; and the only way by which I was enabled 

 to obtain anything approachiug the' true extent of mobility of the clie.st was to excite laughter or 

 a cough, and in that way get them to exhaust their kings of air. The movements excited by 

 laughter or coughing are undoubtedly automatic, aud not dependent on the will. If, in this way, 

 I failed, I obtained almost no mobility. l"'or instance, I selected from the surgeon's book eleveu 

 cases of men of good health and physique, the extent of the mobility of whose chests was as fol- 

 lows: three gave ^ inch each ; three gave ^ in(;h each ; three gave 1 inch each ; one gave IJ inches; 

 and one 1^ inches ; total 8^ inches, an average of only ^ of an inch. This fact may suggest to the 

 practicing physician that he might meet with cases of diseased, or supposed diseased lungs, in 

 which the small extent of mobility of the chest would not do to rely on as a diagnostic symptom. 



I selected ten other cases, in which the extent of mobility was as follows : in four cases it was 

 4^ inches; in one it was 5 inches; in four it was 5^ inches; in one it was 5| inches; total in the 

 ten cases, 51^ inches. The average lieiglit was nearly G2 inc-hes. I state these last cases merely to 

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