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ment Laughter, which is, laying the Hands on each 
Side to the Ribs holding the Sides, and is caufed 
thus: The upper Part of the Diaphragm is attached 
to the End of the Cartilago enjiformis^ and' to the 
Cartilages of the feventh Ribs, and to the Edges of 
the Cartilages of all the lower Ribs, and, in fine, to 
the bony Part of the lad; and the lower Part to the- 
Vertebra of the Loins. From hence it happens, that 
when Laughter is violent, and continued too long, 
the condant Vcllication of all thole Parrs fatigues 
the Perfon, and caufes Pain in the Regions of the 
Parts mention’d ; that is, in the Loins, Bread:, and : 
Sides: And this is the Rcafon why we are fo apt, 
in violent Laughter, to hold our Sides, Bread, or. 
Back. 
Sport , that wrinkled Care derides , 
And Laughter , holding both his Sides . 
Milton, il Allegro. 
Here it will not be unfeafonable to mention a 
Circumftancc, the bad Effefts of which 1 faw more 
than once, which regards Laughing. A Perfon play- 
ing with a Child tickled him in the Sides very much 5 
and feeing him at fird pleas’d with it, continued it 
ignorantly, till the poor Child grew black in the 
Face, was convulfcd all over, and had Rcfpiration 
fo impeded by it, that he was fhort -breath’d as long 
as he liv’d, and had a fix’d Pain under his right 
Bread for feverai Years. It was remarkable,' that 
after a little time, when he grew tir’d with laugh- 
ing in earned, he dill continued a Noife like laugh- 
ing, when his Face grew livid, without a due Con- 
fent 
