ANATOMY. 639 
fimbrhe or fringes hanging from their edges. 6. In the 
knee we may obferve the upper part of fucli a mafs of fat, 
forming what has been called the mucilaginous gland of the 
joint-, and the under part of it projecting into the burfa, 
behind the ligament which ties the patella to the tibia. 
7. The liquor which lubricates the burke has the lame co¬ 
lour, confidence, and properties, as that of the joints; 
and both are aifebted in the fame manner by heat, mine¬ 
ral acids, and ardent fpirits. 8. In fome places the bur- 
fae conftantly communicate with the cavities of the joints; 
in others they generally do fo : from which we may infer 
a lamenefs of ftrudture. 
Mr. Goo'ch, in his Treatife, takes notice of a wound 
into one of thefe bags on the fide of the knee, which from 
the difcharge he concluded to have been in the burial li¬ 
gament, but it healed kindly, and gave him to fufpedt 
that thefe bags may be the feat of diforders not yet advert¬ 
ed to. He hath alfo given the following lid of as many 
of them as had fallen under his obfervation: 1. Deltoides: 
a large one fituated under this mufcle, upon the acromion 
fcapuke. 2. Biceps brachii: a fmall one inverting the tu¬ 
bercle of the radius, both on the fide where the tendon is 
fixed, and alfo on the other fide, where there is no ten¬ 
don. It adheres drongly to the whole tubercle, and 
loofely to part of the fupinator brevis, under which it 
lies, as well as under the tendon of the biceps. I/iacus 
internus & pfoas: a large thin and pliable one is found up¬ 
on the ifchium, beneath the tendons of the ili'acus inter¬ 
nus and pfoas, as they pafs down to their infertions in the 
os femoris. It is attached to thefe tendons, and to the an¬ 
terior furface of the capfular ligament; and this facculus 
fometimes communicates with the joint. 4. LatiJJimus dor- 
fi & teres major: one is fituated between the extremities of 
the tendons of thefe mufcles, adhering drongly to them. 
5. Glutceus maximus : a large thin one, firmly connected by 
a fmall part of it to the back of the trochanter, immedi¬ 
ately under the termination of the glut reus medius, and is 
loofelv attached to the red of the trochanter, and the ten¬ 
don of the glutaeus maximus. 6. Glutceus medius: a fmall 
one fituated between the termination of its tendon and that 
of the pyriforniis, adhering to both. 7. Glutceus minimus: 
a fmall thin one, attached to its tendon and the trochan¬ 
ter major. 8. Gemini: a fmall one between them and the 
termination of the obturator internus, connected to both, 
and to that part of the capfula of the joint which lies un¬ 
der the getnini. 9. Biceps cruris: one is fituated between 
the end of its tendon exteriorly, and the capfular liga¬ 
ment of the knee, adhering to both. 10. Semimembrano- 
fus: a fmall one lies between its tendon, which runs be¬ 
tween the inner condyle of the tibia, and the capfular 
ligament of the joint. 1 r. Cruralis £3 vajli: behind the 
tendons of the cruralis and vafti there is a thin but large 
one, connefted to thofe tendons before they join, and af¬ 
ter their junction it is fixed to the patella ; it alfo adheres 
to the capfula of the joint that expands itfelf over the 
bone. 12. Gracilis, Jartorius, (3 femitendinofus : under the 
extremities of the tendons of thefe mufcles is a large one, 
adhering to them on one fide, and on the other to the cap¬ 
fular ligament of jthe knee, and on the fide where thefe 
tendons play. 13. Gemellus : a large one lies under its in¬ 
ner head, firmly attached to its tendinous origin, alfo to 
the extremity of the femitendinofus, and the capfula of 
the knee near the anterior condyle. 14. Soleus : the ten¬ 
don of the foleus pafles over the upper part of the os cal- 
cis, between w hich and the bone lies a large facculus, and 
near that is found a glandular body, which furnifhes a 
mucous fluid for the more effectual lubrication of thefe 
parts, that are in fuch conftant motion in walking. 15. Ti¬ 
bialis anticus : a fmall one is fixed to the tendon a little be¬ 
fore its termination, where it plays on the top of the foot. 
16. Peroneus longus: one lies under the tendon of this 
mufcle, where it plays over the os cuneiforme, on the 
outfide of the foot. 
The admifiion of air into thefe cavities is productive of 
the work conferences j this hath led Dr. Monro into ma¬ 
ny arguments,’ which prove the abfolnfe necefTity, where 
any operation requires an opening of thefe cavities, of 
preventing, as much as poITible, any admiflron of air; 
and the directions which he gives for conducting the ope¬ 
ration fo as to avoid this inconvenience, are admirable. 
Among other operations on which he enlarges, is that for 
the reduction of the incarcerated hernia. He ftiews that 
the cutting of the peritonaeum, or tendons of the abdo¬ 
minal mufcles, contributes little to the fatal confequences 
which frequently attend the operation; but that all, at 
leaft the mod dangerous, of the bad fymptoms, arife from 
the opening of the hernial fac, and the confequent admif- 
fion of air. He therefore juftly condemns the common 
mode, univerfaliy recommended, of opening the hernial 
fac before cutting the tendons of the abdominal mufcles. 
After the integuments are cut through, and the fac is ex- 
pofed to view, he advifes to cut the tendon, and to re¬ 
duce the hernia without opening it. His arguments for 
the propriety of this practice, and the anfwers which he 
gives to objections that may be made againft it, are well 
fupported. 
Of NUTRITION, GROWTH, LIFE, and DEATH. 
THERE appear many concurring caufes w'hy growth 
is continually rendered lefs and lefs. Many velfels feem 
to be flopped up, both becaufe they are compreffed by the 
neighbouring torrent of blood flowing through the great 
arterious tube, and becaufe the blood, being now' become 
more vifeid, more eafily coagulates. But the harder kind 
of food that is ufed, throws into the blood more terreftrial 
parts; which, being carried through the whole body along 
with the nutritious juice, renders all the parts harder, as 
the bones, teeth, cartilages, tendons, ligaments, velfels, 
mufcles, membranes, and cellular texture; fo that an in- 
creafe of hardnefs may be perceived in them, even by 
touching them with the finger. Wherefore, fince the 
blood flows from the heart through fewer canals, and fince 
all parts which fliould be lengthened or diftended grow 
harder, it necelfarily follows, that thofe which ought to 
increafe in bulk, will yield lefs and lefs to the impulfe of 
the heart. 
But the heart likewife, which is the part that is firfl: 
confolidated among all the foft ones, increafes lefs than 
any other part of the whole body ; and, while the much 
more tender limbs and fofter vifcera are difiended, the 
proportional bulk of the heart to the reft of the body 
grows continually lefs and lefs, till at laft its proportion 
to the body of the adult becomes eight times lefs than 
what it was in a new-born infant. At the fame time, from 
that very denfity which it has fo quickly acquired, it be¬ 
comes lefs irritable, and is contracted lefs frequently with¬ 
in a given time. Thus, while the refilling forces are 
augmented, the diftending ones are at the fame time di- 
minifhed. 
There will therefore, fooner or later, be an end of the 
increafe of bulk; and that will happen fo much the foon¬ 
er as the heart has had the more frequent and vivid con¬ 
tractions : but this ceflation of growth will take place 
when the cartilaginous crufts of all the bones are become 
fo thin, that they cannot yield to the increafe of the bony 
part. In women, the menfes feem to put an earlier than 
ufual flop to the growth. In cartilaginous fifties, the 
growth is perpetual. There is no ftate in which nature by 
a perennial progrefs induces a continual decreafe from the 
firfl conception. It is faid however to take place, when 
there is neither any increafe of bulk, nor yet does any vi- 
fible decreafe take place. For we are all perpetually confir¬ 
ming. Nor do we only lofe the fluid parts of our bodies, 
but in fhort even thofe which are reckoned to be the mod 
folid. For even the bones are changed; and the teeth, 
which are harder than the bones, increafe in bulk when 
the attrition of the oppolite teeih has ceafed to wear them 
away, and therefore their elements are changed: even 
the fibres of ivory in an elephant’s tooth, after having 
been divided by the entrance of a leaden bullet, have 
grown 
