The laws and mechanics of circulation, with the principle involved in animal movement . in thelungs, the ribs remaining in an undeveloped and rudi-mentary condition (Fig. 18) ; and the lungs being containedin the common visceral cavity, offer exceptional advantagesfor studying respiration, which is thus, so to speak, ex- G2 THE PRINCIPLE APPLIED TO RESPIRATION. posed and laid bare. It is the common impression amongphysiologists and naturalists that the frog respires by pump-ing the air in and out of the lungs by means of the throat-ap-paratus, but which is only partially true, the arrangement
The laws and mechanics of circulation, with the principle involved in animal movement . in thelungs, the ribs remaining in an undeveloped and rudi-mentary condition (Fig. 18) ; and the lungs being containedin the common visceral cavity, offer exceptional advantagesfor studying respiration, which is thus, so to speak, ex- G2 THE PRINCIPLE APPLIED TO RESPIRATION. posed and laid bare. It is the common impression amongphysiologists and naturalists that the frog respires by pump-ing the air in and out of the lungs by means of the throat-ap-paratus, but which is only partially true, the arrangement inthe throat serving to assist it simply ; and that it is not thefundamental circumstance in batrachian respiration, 1 havefully proven by excising a portion of the floor of the mouth, soas to lay the cavity open and effectually destroy it as apumping apparatus for pumpirig air into the lungs : notwith-standing this, however, the animal continued to respire, ulti-mately recovering from the wound, which closed by cicatriza-tion in the course of two weeks. The immediate effect of the. Fig. 18.—Skeleton of the Frog.—Owen. operation was very characteristic, the body suddenly col-lapsiug like a pricked balloon over the whole lung-region(Fig. 19), the spine and the stumps of the undeveloped ribsstanding out in great prominence, produced by the soft tissuesupon the sides being forcibly compressed under them, impart-ing an excavated appearance to the lateral regions ; while theabdominal portions (2) appeared round, full and pendulousfrom compression of the envelope around them, makingthem also stand out prominent. The collapse was so sud-den and unexpected as to startle me. Fully expectinghim to die outright, which I thought a matter of course,and saying to myself, I am not going to prove anythingby you, I dropped him into a waste-bucket containing a thin THE PRINCIPLE APPLIED TO RESPIRATION. 63 stratum of water and some loose, wet paper; and the nightbeing far advanced, I at once
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookde, booksubjectblood, booksubjectrespiration
