And this also happens in the case of the uterus; for it is either because it can no longer bear to be stretched that it strives to relieve itself of its annoyance5, or else because it is irritated by the quality of the fluids poured out into it. Now both of these conditions sometimes occur with actual violence, and then miscarriage6 takes place. But for the most part they happen in a normal way, this being then called not miscarriage but delivery or parturition7. Now abortifacient drugs or certain other conditions which destroy the embryo8 or rupture9 certain of its membranes10 are followed by abortion11, and similarly also when the uterus is in pain from being in a bad state of tension; and, as has been well said by Hippocrates, excessive movement on the part of the embryo itself brings on labour. Now pain is common to all these conditions, and of this there are three possible causes — either excessive bulk, or weight, or irritation12; bulk when the uterus can no longer support the stretching, weight when the contents surpass its strength, and irritation when the fluids which had previously13 been pent up in the membranes, flow out, on the rupture of these, into the uterus itself, or else when the whole foetus perishes, putrefies, and is resolved into pernicious ichors, and so irritates and bites the coat of the uterus.
In all organs, then, both their natural effects and their disorders14 and maladies plainly take place on analogous15 lines, some so clearly and manifestly as to need no demonstration16, and others less plainly, although not entirely17 unrecognizable to those who are willing to pay attention.
Thus, to take the case of the stomach: the irritation is evident here because this organ possesses most sensibility, and among its other affections those producing nausea18 and the so-called heartburn clearly demonstrate the eliminative faculty19 which expels foreign matter. So also in the case of the uterus and the urinary bladder; this latter also may be plainly observed to receive and accumulate fluid until it is so stretched by the amount of this as to be incapable20 of enduring the pain; or it may be the quality of the urine which irritates it; for every superfluous substance which lingers in the body must obviously putrefy, some in a shorter, and some in a longer time, and thus it becomes pungent21, acrid22, and burdensome to the organ which contains it. This does not apply, however, in the case of the bladder alongside the liver, whence it is clear that it possesses fewer nerves than do the other organs. Here too, however, at least the physiologist23 must discover an analogy. For since it was shown that the gall-bladder attracts its own special juice, so as to be often found full, and that it discharges it soon after, this desire to discharge must be either due to the fact that it is burdened by the quantity or that the bile has changed in quality to pungent and acrid. For while food does not change its original quality so fast that it is already ordure as soon as it falls into the small intestine24, on the other hand the bile even more readily than the urine becomes altered in quality as soon as ever it leaves the veins25, and rapidly undergoes change and putrefaction26. Now, if there be clear evidence in relation to the uterus, stomach, and intestines27, as well as to the urinary bladder, that there is either some distention, irritation, or burden inciting28 each of these organs to elimination29, there is no difficulty in imagining this in the case of the gall-bladder also, as well as in the other organs — to which obviously the arteries30 and veins also belong.
点击收听单词发音
1 faculties | |
n.能力( faculty的名词复数 );全体教职员;技巧;院 | |
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2 superfluous | |
adj.过多的,过剩的,多余的 | |
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3 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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4 distends | |
v.(使)膨胀,肿胀( distend的第三人称单数 ) | |
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5 annoyance | |
n.恼怒,生气,烦恼 | |
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6 miscarriage | |
n.失败,未达到预期的结果;流产 | |
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7 parturition | |
n.生产,分娩 | |
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8 embryo | |
n.胚胎,萌芽的事物 | |
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9 rupture | |
n.破裂;(关系的)决裂;v.(使)破裂 | |
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10 membranes | |
n.(动物或植物体内的)薄膜( membrane的名词复数 );隔膜;(可起防水、防风等作用的)膜状物 | |
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11 abortion | |
n.流产,堕胎 | |
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12 irritation | |
n.激怒,恼怒,生气 | |
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13 previously | |
adv.以前,先前(地) | |
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14 disorders | |
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 );凌乱;骚乱;(身心、机能)失调 | |
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15 analogous | |
adj.相似的;类似的 | |
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16 demonstration | |
n.表明,示范,论证,示威 | |
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17 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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18 nausea | |
n.作呕,恶心;极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
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19 faculty | |
n.才能;学院,系;(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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20 incapable | |
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的 | |
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21 pungent | |
adj.(气味、味道)刺激性的,辛辣的;尖锐的 | |
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22 acrid | |
adj.辛辣的,尖刻的,刻薄的 | |
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23 physiologist | |
n.生理学家 | |
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24 intestine | |
adj.内部的;国内的;n.肠 | |
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25 veins | |
n.纹理;矿脉( vein的名词复数 );静脉;叶脉;纹理 | |
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26 putrefaction | |
n.腐坏,腐败 | |
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27 intestines | |
n.肠( intestine的名词复数 ) | |
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28 inciting | |
刺激的,煽动的 | |
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29 elimination | |
n.排除,消除,消灭 | |
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30 arteries | |
n.动脉( artery的名词复数 );干线,要道 | |
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