Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/74

 MEDICAL 56 HOME NURSIMG What the Amateur Nurse Should Know— the Blood System, and How the Organs, Tissues, and Cells of the Body are Fed— the Action of the Heart— Blood Corpuscles IT is not only desirable but essential that every woman should know something of the theor>' and practice of sick nursing. To this end it is not necessary to study in the hospital ward. Very few girls have the time and oppor- tunity for acquiring such valuable experience. But even a " little know- ledge " in any subject is better than none at all. The " little knowledge." if it has been acquired in the right way, creates a desire for more. The woman who begins to take an interest in the art of sick nursing is rarely content with any- thing short of a useful, living, practical grasp of the subject. At the same time, it is the duty of every woman to learn how to care for the sick. At any time she may be called upon to take charge of a case of illness, and her services are valu- able in proportion to what she really knows of the work. So that in this scries of nursing articles we shall deal with all that a nurse ought to know in detail. ^Ve shall speak of the care of different ailments and the manage- ment of the sick-room. Infectious diseases will be considered in due course, and the disinfec- tion of the patient and the bedroom. The taking of the tem])erature and pulse, the administration of local remedies and medicines, and the study of signs and symptoms of disease will be taken in turn. But before a student of nursing can under- stand the practical care of illness, she must know something of the physio- logy or functions of the body in health. She can only get an intelligent grasp of invalid feeding and invalid cooking if she has learned the ele- mentary facts concerning Occipital Artery Temporal Arteiy Facial Ariery Carotids Artery and .fnguljx Vein Subclavian Artery A»lllary Artery Aiillaiy Vein KriicLial Axtery Aorta (Ml Artery of Kurty; brauhial Artery Ilino Arterv iind Vein Ilailial Artery and Vein maintained, and how the brain and nervous system regulate all the vital processes of the body like a vast telegraphic system controlled by one central authority. In a word, she must know something of ele- mentary physiology. Physiology is the science which deals with the functions of the body. Each organ has its definite duty,' its share in the life of the individual. When the physiological function of any organ is interfered with, the bodily health of the individual suffers. Therefore, to have an intelligent and compre- hensive grasp of sick nursing, certain physio- logical facts have to be studied, and we shall deal with these first before taking up the actual practical work of the nurse with reference to the patient. CouiuieiicHiiienr of Pojilitenl A rtery The Circulation of the Biood 'J'he blood is that material which nourishes or feeds every organ, every tissue, every cell in the body. All through the tissues — the muscles, the skin, the lungs, liver, stomach, intestines, and other organs, even the bones, there are tiny, invisible or microscopic blood-vessels called the capillaries. The Latin word capillus means a hair, and these hair-like vessels form a close network of closed tubes tilled with blood in every ])art of the body. The walls are so thin that the gases and some of the fluids of the blood can pass through them into the tissues which they nourish. The blood receives its ncurishing material from the food we eat, as we shall see later when we study digestion. How does the blood get to the capillaries ? " The blood system."' as Qi . - K-'-»»- •', »viic.i in«, iuii.iiuii3 wi lilt uiuuu cii c, aiiu wiiy pure, ricn ^^ ^^ Called, consists 01 one must know some- blood is necessary 10 health. This diagram shows ihe course of the heart, the arteries, thmg of the heart and the blood from the hean to every pan of the body. ^j^g capillaries, and the circulatioa. of the process of respiration— how veins. The heart pumps the blood with every iresh an is drawn into the lungs and there gives beat into a large artery called the aorta. The up Its oxygen to the blood. She must have some aorta gives ofl branches to all parts of the body. Idea oi how the temperature of the body is whichdivide and subdivide like the branches of a Anterior Tiliial Altery Pouterior Tibial Ajt«ry Chief arierieo darli) and veins iliebt) from the Lenrt Ikiougliuut the Ix'dy The amateur nurse must follow the course of the circulation so the funrtinn of ■liL.^-«tl/^^r." ''^*' ^^^ "^^^ ^*^^ * ""^""^ inielligeni understanding of what the ine lunction Ol digestion. ^^^^ .^ ^^a, the functions of the blood are. and why pure, rich