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Philosophy of Osteopathy
CHAPTER VIII LIVER, BOWELS AND KIDNEYS
Let us abruptly assume that the liver is the abiding
placenta of all animated beings. If this position be true we are
warranted and justified in the conclusion that the germs necessary to form
blood vessels and other parts of the body must look to the liver for the
fluids in which they would expect to construct inform and size. It
seems to be nature's chemical laboratory, in which are prepared by receiving
chemical qualities and quantities to suit the formation of hard and soft
substances, which are to become the parts and the whole of any organ, gland,
muscle, nerve, cell, veins and arteries. In evidence of the probability
of the truth of this position, we will draw your attention, first to its
central location between the sacral and cerebral nerve centers. There
it lies between the "stomach" the vessel which receives all material previous
to being manipulated for all nutrient purposes, and the heart, the great
receiving and distributing quarter-master of all animal life. It
supplies squads, sections, companies, regiments, battalions. brigades and
divisions to the whole army, and all parts that are dependent upon the
nutrient system.
The liver seems to be able to qualify by calling
to itself all substances necessary to produce gall. Its communications
with all parts of the body is direct, circuitous, universal and absolute.
If pure it produces healthy gall and other substances, and in fact when
healthy itself all other fluids are considered to be pure, at which time
we are supposed to enjoy good health and universal bodily comfort.
With a diseased liver we have perverted action which possibly accounts
for impure and unhealthy deposits in the nasal passage and other parts
of the body in their own peculiar form. Polypus of the nose, tumefaction
of lungs, lympatics, liver, kidneys, uterus, and even the brain itself.
Suppose such deposits, composed of albumen and fibrin, prepared in the
liver should be deposited in the lining membranes of veins leading to the
heart, and by some other chemical action this accumulated mass should come
loose from the veins, would we not expect what is commonly called clots
enter the heart, and shut off the arteries, supplying the lungs, stop the
farther circulation of blood and cause instantaneous death called heart
failure, apoplexy and so on? Is it not reasonable to suppose that
under those deposits that softening of arteries has its beginning, which
results in aneurisms and death by rupture of such abnormally formed arteries?
Are the lungs not liable to receive such deposits and form tubercles to
such proportions as to become living zoophytes capable of covering all
of the mucous membrane of the lungs, air passages and cells, and establish
a perpetual dwelling of zoophytes and absorb to themselves for their own
maintenance and existence, blood and nourishment of the whole body unto
death? This being the result of one chemical action of the body and
all by and from nature, is it not reasonable to suppose that the provision
by nature is ready to produce of itself the chemicals of kind, quality
and quantity equal to the destruction of this enemy of life?
I think before all diseases pass the zenith, after
which the decline is beyond the vital rally, they are curable by the genius
of nature's own remedies, and believe the truths of this conclusion have
been supported abundantly by daily demonstrations. I believe there
is hope for the consumptive equal to one-half if not greater when taken
in proper time, which is at any period of the disease, previous to breaking
down by ulceration or otherwise, lung tissue, and even after this period,
hope is not altogether lost.
Nature and good sense are terms that mean much to
persons who are used to set aside all else for facts. A fact may
and often does stay before our eyes for all time powerful in truth, but
we heed not its lessons. Instances, at least a few, would not be
amiss at this time. Electricity, the most powerful force known, was
never able with all its works to get the attention of man's thoughts, more
than to call it thunder and lightning, and let it pass from his mind from
time to time, till brighter ages woke up a Franklin, Edison, Morse and
others who heeded its useful lessons enough to make application of its
powers for its force and speed. By the results obtained, they and
others have used its powers and gotten truths as rewards, that they did
not know even existed in or out of electricity or in any of the store-houses
of all nature. But as the winds of time have blown open a few leaves
of nature's book, and their brilliant pages and useful lessons have found
a lodging place in such persons as were endowed with wisdom to see, and
patience to persevere, by their energy and wisdom today we have many pages
to add to our books of useful knowledge. We can now talk around and
all over the earth by the power of the dreaded thunder and lightning.
By it we travel, by it we see at night, by it we search on land and sea
for friend or foe; in fact, it is dreaded no more but sought, used and
loved by all who know of its uses in civil life. Thus our enemy has
become our footstool. By the speed of man's ability we know and use
the comforts that nature holds in store for us until we call for and use
them. Other and just as useful questions as electricity await our
attention. Parts and uses of the human body, today are to us as little
understood as electricity was at anytime. The lung today is an unknown
mystery, as to what its power and uses are; we only know that air goes
in and out of the lungs; farther than that we are at sea. We have
just as little knowledge of the heart as the lungs, we find a hollow fibrinous
tank receiving and discharging blood; we are not prepared to say whether
the corpuscle is formed in the heart or not; all else is conjectural and
speculative on the subject the corpuscle. We see channels leading
to and from it, to and from all parts of the body, muscles and glands.
We know it moves when we are alive, we know it is silent in death.
We pass from there to the liver loaded down with
ignorance, from what we know, cannot tell whether it is male or female,
we simply know its size, location and something of its form and action,
but nothing beyond conjecture. It stands today one of the wonders
to him that tries to reason.
LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE KIDNEY. We will leave this organ of many pounds with an open
confession of our ignorance and take up the kidney. At what time
was the man and woman born that knew and left on record a true and reliable
knowledge of the renal capsule. We do not know whether that is the
organ that makes our teeth, our hair or generates a powerful acid by which
lime is kept in solution, so as not to form stones and such deposits.
Nature's method is simple and easily comprehended
in delivering purgative medicines, with their softening powers to dry constipated
fecal matter. For instance: We would give a purgative in the shape
of salts, rhubarb, calomel and other substances of choice. The first
question of the physician is how is this to pass through so densely packed
substance or fecal matter which is in the bowels? At this time we
will be short in the statement. The purgative poisons are taken up
by the secretions conveyed to the lymphatics. To soften and wash
out is the object of nature. The lymphatics begin the work of washing
out by starting action of the excretories and furnishes the water to soften,
which is injected into the bowels from the mouth to the extremities by
a system of salivation.
Flux is common in all temperate climates. It
generally shows its true nature as dysentery after a few hours of tiresome
feeling, aching in head, back and bowels. At first nothing is felt
or thought of more than a few movements of the bowels than is common for
each day. Some pain and griping are felt with increase at each stool,
until a chilly feeling is felt all over the body, with violent pains in
lower bowels, with pressing desire to go to stool, and during and after
passage of stool a feeling that there is still something in the bowels
that must pass. Soon that down pressure partially subsides, and on
examination of passage a quantity of blood is seen which shows the case
is bloody flux, as the disease is called and known in the southern states
of North America, or bloody dysentery in the more northern states.
It generally subsides by the use of family remedies, such as sedatives,
astringents, and palliative diets. But the severity in other cases
increases and the discharges have more blood, greater pain, mixed with
gelatinous substance even to mucous membrane of bowels, high fever all
over except abdomen, which is quite cold to the hand. Back, head
and limbs suffer much with heat and pain, and much nausea is felt at all
motions of bowels. Bowels change from cold to hot, even to 104, at
which time all symptoms point to inflammation of the bowels. The
colon in particular, at which time discharge grows black, frothy and very
offensive from decomposition of blood. Soon collapse and death close
out the case, notwithstanding the very best skill has been employed to
save the life of the patient. The doctor has tried to stop pain by
opiates and other sedatives, tried to check bowels with astringents, used
tonics and stimulants, but all have failed, the patient is dead.
But the question for the Osteopath is: At what point
would you work to suppress the sensation of the colon and permit veins
to open and allow blood to return to heart? Does irritation of a
sensory nerve cause vein to contract and refuse blood to complete circuit
from and to the heart? Does flux begin with the sensory nerves of
bowels? If so, reduce sensation at all points connecting with bowels,
stop all overplus, keep veins free and open from cutaneous to deep sensory
ganglion of whole spine and abdomen. Remember the fascia is what
suffers and dies in all cases of death by bowels and lungs. Thus
the nerves of all the fascia of bowels and abdomen must work or you may
lose all cases of flux, for in the fascia exists much of the soothing and
vital qualities of nature. Guard it well, so it can work to repair
all losses or death will begin in fascia and through pass it to the whole
system.
"Bloody flux" is a flow of blood with other fluids from the mucous membrane of the bowels. A disease generally of the summer and fall seasons, and is more abundant south than north of latitude 40 0 of North America. It is so well known in this country by its ravages that to describe it is almost useless, as bloody fluids pass from bowels in all cases. We reason that the veins have contracted by nerve
irritation and fail to convey blood to heart on normal time. By which
delay decomposition does its work. Thus a cause is seen for excreting
fluids by motor action of bowels, when supplied by the excretory system.
An Osteopath to successfully treat flux or bloody
dysentery must reason and address his attention first to the soreness and
irritation of bowels, which he finds suffering with oedema of mucous membrane
of all the glands and blood vessels belonging to the lower bowels.
As quiet is the first thing desired, he will direct his attention to the
sensory nerves of the colon and small intestines, in order to reduce the
resistance of the veins and diminish the arterial action. When he
has diminished sensation of the veins of the bowels, the arterial force
completes its circuit through the veins back to the heart, with much less
arterial action, because venous resistance has ceased and the circuit is
normal, and healthy action is the result.
The medicine man addresses
his remedies first to the misery, with the desire to relax the nerves and
overcome pain, and obtains this result through some class of opiates.
After a short rest he addresses his attention to the motor action of the
heart, with the view of giving arteries greater power to force arterial
blood through all obstructions, and tries to stop all excretory wastings
by the use of astringents combined with sedatives and soothing fluids.
MORE OF THE OSTEOPATHIC REMEDY. The Osteopath will govern sensory and motor nerves by digital suspension of the abnormal irritability of the sensory nerves on the various parts of the spine as indicated by the disease. He uses no injections for the bowels for the reason that the necessary fluids naturally flow into the bowels to lubricate and quiet, and proceed at once to repair all irritated surfaces, which is abundantly supplied by nature from the mouth of the sphincter ani, without which forethought and preparation, nature's God will prove his incompetency for the great battle of life. You administer medicines from the chemistry of the arts by mouth, injection and otherwise. We adjust the machinery and depend upon nature's chemical laboratory for all elements necessary to repair, give ease and comfort, while nature's corpuscles do all the work necessary. |