The Olfactory Mechanism consists in the contact of chemical particles of the odoriferous substance, usually but not necessarily in gaseous forms, with the upper roof of the nasal chamber where they stimulate the outspread filaments of the olfactory nerve. This contact may be effected either by way of the anterior or the posterior nares. In the latter case it enters largely into what is commonly regarded as taste. The olfactory faculty is probably the most acute and delicate of the senses, no adequate measurement of the threshold stimulus having yet been found. Anosmia (loss of smell) is, of course, seen in all disorders which (a) impair or destroy the mucous membrane in which the filaments are spread, as in rhinitis, especially the chronic hypertrophic and atrophic forms, catarrh, etc., or (b) obstruct the nares, as in adenoids, polypi, hypertrophy of the turbinate, new growths and allied troubles. Hyperosmia (increase sensitiveness to smell) and Parosmia (perverted sense of smell) are usually nervous disorders (vide infra). <Callout type="important" title="Important">Anosmia can indicate underlying health issues that need immediate attention.</Callout>
The Innervation of Smell, so far as we know it, is a simple matter. The stimulation of the filaments promulgates a nerve current along the olfactory nerve, which reaches the olfactory centre in the frontal lobe and registers itself there as a sensation. It is held, that the various qualities of odor are due to stimulation of different fibres of the nerve. Anosmia results from any condition which (a) destroys or impairs the path of innervation, or (b) renders the nerve or centre irresponsive to stimuli- Brain tumors and cerebral softening are the most conspicuous examples of the first; hysteria, melancholia and nervous depression of the second. Hyperosmia is usually an accompaniment of hysteria, which renders the olfactory center unusually acute. Parosmia is also the result of such functional psychic aberrations as hysteria, neurasthenia, and melancholia, but may be due to congenital absence of certain specific fibres in the nerve.
<Callout type="risk" title="Risk">Brain tumors or cerebral softening can lead to anosmia, which could indicate a serious underlying condition.</Callout>
The Mechanism of Taste consists in the contact of the sapid substance, in solution, with the surface of the tongue, where it stimulates the filaments of the nerves of taste. It is absolutely essential' that the substance be in solution ; taste is impossible on a dry tongue. Absence or Diminution of Taste results from any condition which destroys or impairs the mucous membrane in which the nerve filaments or taste buds lie, as cancer, ulceration, tuberculosis, and severe forms of glossitis. N. B. Absence of taste, so called, in catarrh, is due to impairment of retronasal olfaction.
Perversion of Taste (far more frequent than diminution) may arise from conditions of the tongue and palate which alter the sapid substance, as sali- vary disorders (mumps), digestive troubles (from food coating), fevers and sore throat (from epithelial coating), etc. The anomaly is therefore not really a perversion of the sense, but of the sapid substance.
<Callout type="tip" title="Tip">Maintaining good oral hygiene can help prevent taste disorders.</Callout>
Classification and Distribution of Taste Sensations. — There are but four fundamental taste sensations, of which all others are combinations and modifications, and while these are distributed over the tongue and palate differently in different individuals, yet the general average preponderance of the various sensations is as follows: Sweet. — Tip and forepart of tongue. Bitter. — Back of tongue. Acid. Salty.
Dissociated Taste Sensations are diagnostic of disorders of the tongue occurring in patches, which can be located (but not with exactness) by the dominant sensations.
<Callout type="important" title="Important">Disorders affecting taste and smell should be evaluated for underlying health issues.</Callout>
Reproduction. Ovulation. The Testicle is the essential organ of ovulation in the male. In the seminiferous tubules of these glands the spermatogenic cells (a very elementary variety of epithelial cells), by a process of Karyokinesis, evolve the spermatozoa. These are produced in enormous numbers, from twenty-five to a hundred million of them being contained in every cubic centimeter of ejaculated semen. The secretion of these cells begins at the age of puberty, and continues indefinitely, doubtless under the nervous influences of the sympathetics.
Azoospermatism, an absence of spermatozoa in the semen, results from secretory disablement of the testicles. Absolute azoospermia is a rare condition requiring complete disablement of both testes, but comparative azoospermia is not infrequent, consisting of a diminution in number or activity of spermatozoa. It is seen in malignancy of the testicle, orchitis, syphilis, tuberculosis, and sexual exhaustion from excessive coitus. Its effect is of course total or relative sterility.
The Vas Deferens carries the spermatozoa from the testicles as fast as they are produced, to the seminal vesicles. Azoospermatism is sometimes seen in conditions which impair the potency of the vasa deferentia, preventing the passage of the spermatozoa into the vescicles.
The Seminal Vesicles fulfill two offices. They serve as reservoirs for the spermatozoa, and their mucous lining secretes a fluid which is mixed with the spermatozoa. The specific influence of this secretion is unknown, but it serves at all events to increase the motility of the spermatozoa.
The Prostate and Cowper's Gland also contribute to the constituency of the semen. The secretion of the former, which consists chiefly of sodium chloride, dilutes the semen and decreases its consistency, thus rendering it very motile. In Seminal Vesiculitis, especially of the chronic type, the walls of the vescicles frequently become adherent, and the spermatozoa are unable to pass out into the semen. Such a condition produces asperma and sterility.
Prostatitis, especially when chronic, often results in sterility, due to the absence of prostate fluid, and consequent immotility of the spermatozoa. This condition of the semen is known as colloid semen.
The Semen is a mixed product, consisting of secretions of the testes, vasa deferentia, vesiciculae, seminates, prostate, and Cowper's gland. It is a whitish viscid fluid, alkaline in reaction, specific gravity of about 1025, and having a characteristic odor. It contains water and sodium chloride (the greater bulk) nuclein, protanin, proteid, lecithin, cholesterin, fat, and inorganic salts.
The Ovary is the essential female organ of ovulation. In it the ovum is developed, from the Graafian follicle. As the ovum grows the follicle is forced to the surface and the circulation at the point of tension is cut off, producing necrotic changes, until the follicle finally bursts and liberates the ovum. The cavity thus left is filled with a yellow filtration liquid and is known as the corpus luteum. The life of the corpus luteum is about three weeks, except when the liberated ovum is fertilized, under which circumstance it is not absorbed for several months (corpus luteum of pregnancy). Like the ovulation of the male, ovarian activity begins with puberty and lasts until forty or forty-five years of age, at which time the sexual life of the female ends.
Absolute Sterility, such as occurs in the male in the absence of the testical secretion, occurs in the female in total disability of both ovaries. Fortunately such a condition is exceedingly rare, and is only found in such uncommon cases as bilateral ovarian cysts, ovarian atrophy and profound constitutional diseases in which the ovarian vascularity suffers in common with the other organs.
Excessive Ovulation results from a hyperemic state of the ovary, such as is induced by frequent coitus, ovaritis, and any form of pelvic congestion. In such cases the vitality of the rapidly matured ovum is below par, so that the net result of such conditions is diminished fertility, or relative sterility.
Premature Menopause is induced by those conditions which unduly increase ovulation, owing to the rapid exhaustion of ovarian vitality.
The Fallopian Tubes receive the discharged ovum from the ovary, and convey it by ciliary motion, in a varying length of time, to the uterus. Evidence tends to show that the ovum is not necessarily discharged into the tube on the same side as the functioning ovary, but is discharged into the pelvic cavity and caught by the fimbriated extremities of either tube, or may never reach the tube at all but be disintegrated and absorbed in the abdominal cavity. Sterility is more frequently due to disease of the tubes than to all other causes combined. Any condition which impairs the integrity of the tubes naturally hinders the passage of the ovum and prevents its meeting with the male element. Conspicuous examples are seen in salpingitis, hydro- and pyo-salpinx, and tubercular infiltrations of the tubes.
Ectopic Gestation of the abdominal type occasionally occurs as the result of the failure of the ovum to reach the tube, and the migration of a male sperm-cell into the abdominal cavity, where the two meet and fuse.
Menstruation is a periodic phenomenon in the female process of ovulation, in which the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus take an active part. There can be little doubt that menstruation bears a sequential relation to the liberation of the ovum, the general idea being that the growth of the Graafian follicle furnishes in some way, a stimulus to increased uterine metabolism.
The Process of Menstruation is divided by Howell into four stages, as follows: (1) Period of growth, five days, characterized by a rapid increase in the uterine stroma, blood vessels, epithelium, etc.; (2) period of degeneration, four days, during which capillary hemorrhage takes place and the epithelium is degenerated and cast off; (3) period of regeneration, seven days, during which the mucous membrane returns to its normal condition; (4) period of rest, twelve days, during which the endometrium remains quiescent.
The Rationale of Menstruation is undoubtedly that of a preparation of the uterus for the reception of the ovum, whether we adopt the view that the congestion of the membrane constitutes the preparation or the raw surface left by degeneration.
Amenorrhea is commonly understood to signify simply a failure of the visible flow in the second period of menstruation, and as such may result from obstructive and anatomic causes. True functional amenorrhea, however, is a failure of the whole process, and usually depends upon (a) some constitutional dyscrasia by which vascularity of the generative organs suffers with that of the other organs, or (b) some local vaso-motor disturbance in the generative tract. Of the former variety, anemia, tuberculosis, and neurasthenia are frequent examples; of the latter type, trauma, surgical shock, cold, etc.
Menorrhagia (excessive flow), on the other hand, results from those conditions which increase uterine congestion and metabolism, either systematically, as in fevers, or locally, as in metritis, local malignancy, and all forms of pelvic inflammation. Dysmenorrhea, outside of those cases due to anatomic anomalies, is comparatively rare. True functional dysmenorrhea is usually due to a neurosis of some kind, as neuralgia, neurasthenia, or hysteria.
Suspension of Menstruation With No Other Signs of Disturbed Health, especially in a woman who has heretofore been regular, is almost infallibly indicative of pregnancy. Vicarious Menstruation. — Sometimes the mucous membrane of the uterus fails to undergo degeneration, and under the increased vascular tension the capillaries in other parts of the body, such as the breasts, stomach, lungs, nose, etc., break down in hemorrhage.
Supplementary Menstruation occurs when the capillaries of other organs break down in addition to uterine disintegration.
Fertilization. Erection is an important, though not absolutely essential, factor in fertilization because it facilitates the entrance of the penis into the female vagina, and the depositing there of the spermatozoa. It is accomplished by means of engorgement of the vessels of the cavernous spaces of the erectile tissue, whereby the penis is enlarged and rendered hard and erect.
Innervation of Erection is mediated by the nervi erigentes, composed of sympathetic fibres from the sacral segments of the cord by way of the pelvic plexus. The act is a reflex one, whose stimulus may arise from the brain, as in the case of erotic thoughts, or from irritation of the sensory nerves of the testes, urethra, or glans penis, and is effected through a centre in the lumbar cord.
Experiment shows that the nature of the efferent impulse is a vaso-dilator influence, but its precise rationale is obscure. Impotence, as to erection, results from any condition which (a) interrupts the course of the reflex, or (b) inhibits it from the higher centres. The former conditions are found in all of those spinal diseases which impair the integrity of the lumbar centre, as tabes dorsalis, sclerosis myelitis, and in all of those nervous diseases in which the general reaction to stimulus is lowered, as neurasthenia, tuberculosis, diabetes, etc.
204 FUNCTIONAL DIAGNOSIS The latter type of impotence is generally known as psychical impotence, and is seen in hysteria, melancholia, and neuroses of all kinds. Priapism, on the other hand, arises from any state which (a) renders the reflex abnormally sensitive, or (b) stimulates the cerebral end of the tract. In the former class are inflammatory spinal diseases, as early myelitis, meningitis, spinal and cerebral hyperemia, and growths. In the latter class are manias, epilepsies, hysteria, etc.
Ejaculation is accomplished by a vigorous and sudden contraction of the muscles of the vaso deferentia, seminal vesicles, perineum, and urethra, in the sequence indicated, throwing the semen into the female vagina. It is the last part played by the male in the process of reproduction.
Innervation of Ejaculation is similar to that of erection, is effected through the same spinal centre, and stimulated by an intensification of the same peripheral stimuli. It is, however, rarely precipitated by direct cerebral stimulation, as erection is. Impotence, as to ejaculation, depends in a general way, upon essentially the same functional disturbances as failure of erection, and the classification under that head may be accepted as applying to this process.
It may be said, however, that this faculty fails earlier than that of erection; and to other causes must of course be added those conditions in which no semen is secreted. The latter, however, do not of themselves really influence the functional performance of ejaculation, as the reflex takes place even though no fluid is ejaculated.
Premature Ejaculation and Emissions occur under the same conditions as those enumerated under priapism, q. v.
Impregnation of the ovum by the spermatozoon takes place usually in the Fallopian tube. The probability is that the ovum exerts a chemotaxic attraction for the spermatozoon within certain limits of distance. The minute nature of the impregnating process belongs to the science of embryology, and will not be discussed here.
Infecundity, due to impaired integrity of the tubes, is, as already stated, far more frequent than from any cause. Any condition which renders the tube impassable and prevents the passage of the male spermatozoon is fatal of course to impregnation. Such conditions are found in the plastic adhesions caused by salpingitis (especially gonorrheal), tubal tuberculosis, and in pyo-, hydro-, and hematosalpinx.
Tubal Pregnancy. — In some instances the impairment of the tubes, although not sufficient to hinder the passage of the spermatozoon, is enough to prevent the fertilized ovum from passing down into the uterus, in which case it remains in the tube and there develops into a fetus. This is known as tubal ectopic pregnancy.
Key Takeaways
- Anosmia can indicate underlying health issues that need immediate attention.
- Maintaining good oral hygiene can help prevent taste disorders.
- Disruptions in the reproductive system, such as tubal pregnancy and sterility, are common and can be life-threatening.
Practical Tips
- Regularly check for signs of anosmia or parosmia to ensure early detection of potential health issues.
- Practice good oral hygiene to maintain a healthy sense of taste and prevent taste disorders.
- Be aware of the risks associated with tubal pregnancy, especially in cases where the tubes are impaired.
Warnings & Risks
- Anosmia or parosmia can be signs of serious underlying health conditions that require immediate medical attention.
- Impotence due to spinal diseases or nervous system disorders can severely impact reproductive capabilities.
- Tubal pregnancies pose a significant risk and should be monitored closely by healthcare professionals.
Modern Application
While the historical text provides valuable insights into olfactory and gustatory mechanisms, as well as reproductive health, modern medical techniques have significantly improved diagnostics and treatment options. However, understanding these basic physiological processes remains crucial for recognizing early signs of potential health issues that could affect survival in a crisis scenario.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the common causes of anosmia mentioned in the chapter?
The chapter mentions several causes of anosmia, including chronic rhinitis (both hypertrophic and atrophic forms), catarrh, adenoids, polypi, hypertrophy of the turbinate, new growths, and brain tumors or cerebral softening.
Q: How can taste disorders be prevented according to the chapter?
The chapter suggests that maintaining good oral hygiene can help prevent taste disorders. It specifically mentions that conditions like catarrh can impair retronasal olfaction, leading to a perceived loss of taste.
Q: What are some signs of tubal pregnancy mentioned in the text?
The chapter notes that tubal pregnancy occurs when the fertilized ovum remains in the tube due to impaired integrity. This can happen even if the tubes are not completely obstructed, as the fertilized ovum is unable to pass down into the uterus.
Q: What factors contribute to sterility according to the chapter?
The chapter lists several factors contributing to sterility, including azoospermia (absence of spermatozoa), chronic seminal vesiculitis, prostatitis, and excessive ovulation. These conditions can significantly impact reproductive health.
Q: What is the process of menstruation described in the chapter?
The chapter describes menstruation as a periodic phenomenon involving the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus. It outlines four stages: growth, degeneration, regeneration, and rest. The rationale behind menstruation is seen as preparing the uterus for potential ovum reception.