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HITCHCOCK'S ANATOMY 



liable to break as in older persons. This is the reason why 

 falls and blows so seldom do much injury to children. It is 

 also the reason why distortions and curvatures of some of the 

 bones are so common, since too often children are either urged 

 or permitted to use their limbs excessively before their bones 

 are made solid by the deposition of earthy matter. These 

 distortions are most common in children who are weak and 

 sickly, because in them the recuperative powers are small. 



181. — 2. Danger of Constrained and Unnatural Posi- 

 tions ill Children— Hence we infer that children should 

 not be confined in any unnatural or constrained position, but 

 allowed to move freely in whatever direction nature may de- 

 mand. And all punishments of this sort, inflicted by parents, 

 guardians, and school teachers upon young persons, such as 

 standing on one leg, or holding a book with an extended arm 

 for a long time, are dangerous and ought to be proscribed, 

 since they are too often the cause of bow legs and curvature 

 of the spinal column. 



182. — 3. Cause of the Rickets. — The disease known as 

 Rickets is produced by imperfect nutrition of the bones. This 

 is generally, though not always, the result of poverty or vice, 

 or both combined. The direct cause of the disease is a de- 

 ficiency of earthy matter in the bones. This is either ab- 

 sorbed or never produced, and as a result the bone is softened, 

 and by the tonicity of the muscles the body is drawn into un- 

 sightly deformity. An observance of the laws of health is 

 the best medicine for this disease. 



183. — 4. Need of Cleanliness of the Teeth— Tooth Pow- 

 ders—Tooth Picks— Decayed Teeth— Worthless Teeth 

 should be Extracted . — From the almost inevitable exposure 

 of the teeth to mechanical and chemical agents, we see that 

 they need considerable care and attention. They need to be 



Why do falls and blows seldom injure children as they do adults ? In what children 

 are distortions the most common ? 181. Why should children be unconstrained in their 

 bodily exercise ? What is said about punishments that distort the bones of children ? 

 182. What is the usual cause of Kickets? What is the best medicine for it? 183. Givo 

 the most important hygienic rule for the preservation of the teeth. 



