Page:Caplin - Health and Beauty1864 - 156.png

156 The vision of distant objects, however, is still preserved, and the convex glasses supply the imperfection of the organ.

The arteries are not exempt from the general decay; the larger trunks are dilated, their coats are more or less converted into a substance of cartilagi­nous or bony hardness, and assume a brittle texture. The process of ossification in the smaller tubes reduces their calibre. The capillaries are greatly diminished in number. This change affects the organs of every description. The same parts which exhibit innumerable blood-vessels in the growing body, possess now but few and scattered ramifica­tions. The veins are enlarged and varicose.

The muscles also are changed—fat is deposited amongst their fibres, and the tendinous parts increase in their proportion. They feel, however, at this time soft and relaxed.

The bones receive an undue deposition of earthy matter, lose their cohesion, break very easily, and unite after fracture very slowly and imperfectly. The cartilages become brittle, and in many instances are ossified; the ligaments are rendered harder, but are less capable of resisting extension.

The organs of motion lose their vitality in an equal degree with those of sensation and volition.