SOME LESSONS ON THE HUMAN BODY 3 



marvelous delicacy of touch. The blind learn to read 

 through their finger tips, and players of the violin and other 

 musical instruments seem almost to think with their fingers, 

 so intimate is the relation of muscle and mind through the 

 nerves. 



The hair, finger nails, and outer layers of the skin are 

 all destitute of blood vessels. Growth in them occurs only 

 at their under surfaces and inner ends. The tendons and 

 ligaments, too, get a scant supply of blood, and their repair 

 is slow after accidents where a sprain has occurred, or when 

 they have been torn from the bone. Either condition may 

 be more serious than a broken bone, or the dislocation of 

 bones at a joint. 



The finger nails serve to support and protect the ends of 

 the fingers, and to enable a person to pick up small objects 

 more readily. At all times they should be kept neatly 

 trimmed, and scrupulously clean. The fold of skin at the 

 base of the nail should be kept pushed back instead of being 

 cut off. Food should never be handled with unwashed 

 hands, nor the finger tips touched to the tongue. 



The hand is man's chief instrument for labor. He uses 

 it for feeding and dressing himself. It is a weapon for self- 

 defense, and is a means for fashioning tools, implements, 

 clothing, and for preparing his food. It is in almost constant 

 use during man's waking hours, ministering to his needs and 

 executing his desires. 



SUMMARY 



In shapeliness, structure, and adaptability the hand is a wonderful 

 tool fashioned for man's use. In its varied movements is illustrated 

 the fact that the muscles are the organs of motion in the body. These 

 muscles move in obedience to impulses sent outward to them from 

 nerve centers, the chief of which is the brain. 



The ability of man to labor and to care for himself is seriously im- 

 paired when he is deprived of his hands. His mind, too, is robbed of 



