Archive for the 'What Goes Inside Us' Category

The Female Organs - Vaginal Bleeding and Yeast Infection

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | September 21st, 2007

The female organs consist of the external genitals, near the surface of the body between the thighs, and the internal genitals, inside the body. They connect with one another through the vagina and the cervix of the uterus. The external female organs are composed of the vulva and the vagina. The vulva has two large major lips and two smaller minor lips. Between the lips of the vulva is the entrance to the vagina.

High up, surrounded by the minor lips of the vulva, is the clitoris. This is a small, firm structure about the size of a pea, and just below it is the exit of the urethra. It is through the urethra that urine is passed from the bladder to the outside.

The female organs the vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries are shown here in relation to structures which surround them. These structures are the urethra, the urinary bladder, the ureters, and the rectum. All of these organs are located way down low, at the bottom of the abdomen. This area is called the pelvis.

The vagina in a young girl is covered by a thin membrane with holes in it. This is called the hymen, or maidenhead. The vagina is a canal, lined by mucous membrane, which extends in for a few inches and connects with the entrance to the uterus. In a grown woman, the vagina receives the sperm that the man places there during intercourse. The vagina stretches widely when childbirth occurs, and, as we know, the newborn child comes out through the vagina. The internal female organs consist of the uterus with its cervix pointing down into the vagina, two Fallopian tubes, and two ovaries.

A channel, called the cervical canal, runs through the middle of the cervix up into the uterus. It connects with a cavity, the uterine cavity, in the middle of the uterus. And the uterine cavity connects with a channel running through the Fallopian tubes. The ends of the Fallopian tubes are wide open and are located next to the ovaries.

It is amazing that so few girls-and grown women, too-have much knowledge of their female organs. Maybe it is because most of these structures are inside the body, where they can’t be seen. Many people don’t even know that females have more organs than males.

The female organs in a girl under eleven or twelve years of age are not active. When she reaches that age which we call the age of puberty-the ovaries begin to supply larger and larger amounts of hormones. When these hormones get into the bloodstream, they influence certain other organs. The girl’s breasts begin to grow, her uterus enlarges, she gets hair under her arms and over her external organs, and her figure begins to take the shape of a woman rather than of a little girl. At about this time, or perhaps a year or so later, the ovaries begin to manufacture mature eggs. One of these mature eggs, or occasionally two of them, comes out of one or the other ovary each month. When an egg leaves the ovary, it is called ovulation.

An egg from an ovary is only about the size of a pinpoint, and can really be seen well only through a microscope. It travels from the ovary into the open end of the nearby Fallopian tube. When it gets there, one of two things happens to it:

1. If sperm from the male are in the tube, the egg may become fertilized. This means that one of the sperm has joined with the egg to form an embryo. At this moment, the woman has become pregnant. The fertilized egg then travels down the three inches or so of the Fallopian tube into the uterus. The journey down the tube takes three to five days. When the fertilized egg reaches the uterus, it buries itself in the lining of the uterus and begins to
grow and develop. It will take nine months for it to grow into a fully developed child.

2. If there are no sperm in the tube when the egg arrives, the egg remains unfertilized and passes down the tube into the uterus, out of the uterus through the cervix into the vagina, and out of the vagina and the body.

Each month when an egg leaves the ovary, the uterus prepares itself so it will be ready if pregnancy is going to take place. The cells lining the inside of the uterine cavity grow and swell, and more blood comes to the uterus. This will make it easy for the fertilized egg to take root, much like a seed takes root in the earth. However, if the egg is not fertilized and a pregnancy does not take place, then the uterus sheds some of the cells lining its cavity. These cells, along with some blood, are passed out of the uterus into the vagina, and out of the vagina to the outside. This is called menstruation. It usually takes from three to five days for all these cells and blood to leave the body. Therefore, a menstrual period lasts about three to five days.

When the menstrual period is over, the uterus starts all over again to make itself ready for the next month. The ovary, too, gets ready for the next month when it will ripen another egg.

Ovulation, the ripening and the discharge of the egg from the ovary, usually takes place about two weeks before the menstrual period.

So you see how wonderful Nature is. It gets the female ready to become pregnant every month from the time she is a young girl of about twelve until she is a woman of about fifty years of age. By the time a woman reaches fifty, the ovaries usually stop manufacturing ripe eggs.

The Male Organs - Semen and Sperm Count Test

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | September 21st, 2007

The male organs are the penis, the prostate gland, the seminal vesicles, the testicles, and the epididymis with its attached tube, called the vas deferens. These appear to be difficult words, but it is not difficult to explain what these organs are and how they work.

The penis is made up mostly of a special kind of elastic and muscle tissue, which allows it to get smaller and larger from time to time. Through the middle of the penis is a tube called the urethra. The urethra connects with the bladder, and urine is passed through it. The male urethra also connects with the prostate gland surrounding the bot¬tom of the bladder and with the seminal vesicles that lie on top of the prostate gland.

Sperm are produced in the testicles. They then travel to the coiled tubes called the epididymis. There, they mature rapidly and are stored, ready for use. During intercourse, they Travel up a long tube called the vas deferens, and eventually leave the body through the urethra of the penis.

When the urethra is being used to carry urine from the bladder, sperm and semen are blocked from passing through it. And when the urethra is carrying semen and sperm, urine is blocked, from passing through it. There are structures like valves, called sphincters, which prevent the urethra from carrying urine and semen at the same time.

Sperm cells are produced by the testicles, beginning when a boy reaches anywhere from twelve to fourteen years of age. There are hundreds of millions of sperm cells, each one so small that it can be seen only through a microscope. Sperm travel from the testicles to the epididymis. The epididymis is a small structure made up of one long, curled-up tube. Sperm that have been manufactured in the testicles are stored in this tube.

The seminal vesicles are glands that are filled with a fluid called semen. When the sperm cells are ready to come out and be placed in the vagina of the female, they travel up from the epididymis through a long hollow tube called the vas deferens. As the sperm get near the seminal vesicles, the seminal vesicles secrete the fluid, semen, which mixes with the sperm. Then the semen, which now contains the sperm, passes out through the urethra of the penis.

Signs of Female Maturing, Reaching Puberty and Menstruation Cycle

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | April 30th, 2007

Girls begin to grow and mature about a year or two earlier than boys. This means that they will start to show changes at about eleven or twelve years of age. And, as with boys, girls who live in tropical climates tend to start a year or two earlier than those who live in cooler climates. In some parts of Africa, females develop so completely by the time they are eleven years old that they are able to have children themselves. The reason for this early adolescence among tropical peoples is not known.

We have mentioned that puberty is stimulated by the increased amounts of hormones that circulate in the blood. In girls, these hormones come from the pituitary gland and from the ovaries.

The first sign that a girl is beginning to mature is enlargement of the nipples and an increase in breast tissue beneath the nipples. This can start as early as ten or eleven years of age among females in most countries. During the following year, hair begins to grow under the arms and above and around the female organs. Then, at about twelve years of age, a girl’s body begins to change shape so that she takes on the appearance of an adult female. Her waist seems to become narrower and her hips and buttocks enlarge. All this time, the breasts continue to grow and take on an adult appearance.

Some two years after a girl first notices breast growth, or when she gets to be about thirteen to fourteen years old, she will begin to menstruate.
Menstruation is the discharge of a small amount of blood from the vagina each month that pregnancy fails to take place. Once a girl has begun to menstruate regularly, it means that her body has matured sufficiently to allow for pregnancy. Of course, as we know, girls of thirteen or fourteen in our country don’t marry and have children. But Nature prepares a girl’s body very early in life so that she is ready to become a mother by the time she finishes adolescence and is fully grown.

The rate at which normal girls begin to mature varies widely. Some may start to menstruate as early as ten to eleven years of age, while others don’t begin until they are sixteen years old. Girls tend to take after their mothers in this regard. If a girl’s mother matured early, her daughter is likely to do the same thing. Once in a while, however, a girl takes after her father’s side of the family. Thus, if the father comes from a family where the females mature late, his daughter might mature late, too.

A girl can be pretty unhappy if most of her friends have developed sooner than she has. But she shouldn’t be too discouraged because, sooner or later, every girl changes into a woman. And it has been found that girls who develop exceptionally early may not grow as tall as those who start their adolescent at a later age.

Since most girls start to mature at eleven to twelve years of age, a time is reached when they get to be taller and heavier than boys their own age. For example, the average girl of thirteen weighs about 110 pounds and is 5 feet 3 inches tall; the average boy of thirteen weighs only 106 pounds and is only 5 feet 2 inches tall. However, by the time they are fifteen years old, the average boy has caught up and has passed the girl both in height and in weight. The average boy of fifteen is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds, whereas the average girl of fifteen is only 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs only 124 pounds.

Girls don’t seem to worry nearly as much as boys about how tall they will grow. They know that there are plenty of short men who like short girls, and plenty of tall men who like tall girls. Besides, height is not nearly as important as intelligence and charm and good looks, These are the things that girls, and boys too, can develop whether they are tall or short.

As we know, mental and emotional development are very important parts of the adolescent period, and girls undergo extremely rapid changes in their attitudes as they mature. A girl first becomes conscious of approaching womanhood when her breasts begin to mature and she has her first few menstrual periods. No longer does she consider herself to be a little girl. Her interests begin to change; she becomes more interested in boys; she wants to dress more attractively; she drops many of her tomboy habits; she wants to wear a brassiere and to use makeup; she gets more curious about sexual matters.

These are natural changes hut they often cause personality difficulties because they happen so quickly. It is not easy to change from a girl to a young lady within a few months or even a year! As a result, adolescent girls often become moody, anger easily, I cry easily, and are especially hard to live with. Also, they are frequently very irritable and tense for a few days before the onset of a menstrual period.

Young girls seem to mature into young women within a short period of time.

Fortunately, the great majority of girls don’t have too much trouble in adjusting to changes as they mature. They will have unhappy times, but they manage to overcome them. But once in a while, a girl stays upset for long periods. If this happens, she should not keep her unhappiness to herself. She should tell her parents about it because they can often help her to understand her problem. If the parents can’t remedy the situation, it is a good idea for the girl to have a chat with the family doctor. He has handled hundreds of girls with similar problems, and he will know what to do to relieve the situation.

For reasons that are hard to explain, some adolescent girls are embarrassed by their development They seem to be ashamed of their breasts, and they try to hide the fact they are getting to be interested in boys. This is silly. A girl should be proud of the fact that she is developing into a woman.
Some girls, like boys, get blackheads and pimples during adolescence. And just like boys, some girls gain too much weight during adolescence. They, too, must not pick or squeeze pimples. And like boys who are fat, they, too, should watch their diet.

Once in a while, the uterus and ovaries of an adolescent girl have trouble in maturing. In such cases, menstruation may be quite irregular and instead of occurring every month, it may come every couple of weeks, or it may not appear for several months in a row. And some girls may have considerable pain with their menstrual periods. These menstrual troubles are sometimes due to the way the pituitary gland and the ovaries secrete their hormones. But most upsets in these glands straighten out by themselves. If they don’t, the girl should be taken to a doctor who specializes in treating these conditions. In most cases, treatment will remedy the condition within a few months.

Signs and Symptoms of Male Begin to Mature and Reach Puberty

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | April 30th, 2007

The period when boys and girls begin to mature is called puberty, and the child who is maturing is called an adolescent. Puberty is one of the most difficult and trying times for children. Physical growth often occurs more rapidly than the growth and development of the mind. As a result, the child may appear to be confused and disturbed by what is taking place. This disturbance may cause his or her behavior to undergo great changes, and parents and their adolescent children sometimes find it extremely difficult to get along together. A pleasant girl may become excitable and rebellious when she reaches I adolescence. A boy who always was full of fun and laughter might become quiet and unhappy a great deal of the time. This, after all, is when he must begin to think seriously about the future.

Fortunately, the personality changes that take place during puberty are not permanent. As soon as most boys and girls get adjusted to the physical growth that has occurred, they return to their usual disposition. Once in a while, though, children do have an unusually tough time during puberty. They act nervous and cry a lot; they may get along badly with their parents and brothers and sisters; they may not want to be with their friends; and they may be generally unhappy. [f this happens, it is often a good idea for them to have a chat with the family doctor. He will usually be able to straighten out the problem without too much difficulty.

The Maturing Boy
When a boy reaches about thirteen years of age, great changes begin to take place within his body. His pituitary gland and his testicles start to manufacture large amounts of hormones because these hormones are supplied directly to the bloodstream, they influence practically every organ in the body. The most obvious change is a tremendous spurt in the boy’s growth. A boy of thirteen or fourteen may grow as much as three to five inches in just one year!

As we can see from the Chart, the fully matured man may reach almost six feet tall. Of course, in some countries like Asia and parts of the Orient, men tend to be somewhat shorter in height. How tall we grow depends a great deal on Inheritance, and b9ys with tall fathers have a tendency to grow to be tall when they mature. However, a boy with a short father may grow to be tall if his mother happens to be a tall woman. Also, people are a lot healthier today than they were generations ago, and healthy children get to be taller than those who are sick a lot.

The age at which puberty begins may vary greatly from child to child. Some boys start to mature at eleven years of age, while others might not really begin to grow until they are fifteen or even sixteen years old. No one really understands why adolescence is late in some boys and early in others, but we do know that children tend to follow their parents in this respect. Thus, if a boy’s father developed early when he was young, it is more likely that his son will, too. However, if the boy happens to take after his mother, and his mother was a late developer, it is possible that he will have a late onset of adolescence, too.

Boys who begin to grow late often have an especially difficult time. They may have been one of the tallest boys in their class, and suddenly, they discover that shorter kids are beginning to outgrow them. They may begin to worry and feel depressed because they no longer can compete as successfully with classmates of their own age. This can sometimes be a sad situation. In some families, brothers may begin to mature at entirely different rates. As a result, a younger brother may pass an older brother in height and in other signs of maturity. As you can imagine, this can make an older brother feel pretty bad. But the important thing to remember is that all kids eventually grow up, even if they start late. And a good number of the late developers outgrow the early starters. For some unexplained reason, children who live in the tropics tend to develop earlier than those who live in
cooler climates. It is not at all unusual to find boys in certain parts of Africa and Asia who are fully grown by the time they are twelve years old.

Puberty can sometimes be a pretty rough period for a boy because his body often grows more rapidly than his mind. As a result, he sometimes behaves strangely.

Adolescence shows itself not only by an increase in height and weight but by enlargement of the male organs and the appearance of hair on the face, under the arms, and around the male organs. Muscles in the arms and legs get bigger and stronger, the shoulders broaden, and the speaking voice deepens. Sometimes, the larynx (or voice box) grows so rapidly that the voice “cracks.” This means that some of the boy’s speaking is high-pitched, as in a child, and same of it is deep, as in an adult. Occasionally, a boy who sang in a choir finds he can no longer sing at all. Fortunately, voice changes are complete within a few months or at most a year, and the voice levels out and sounds like that of a grown-up.

Girls usually mature earlier than boys, and boys are frequently embarrassed when their girl friends are taller than they are. Luckily. it doesn’t take them too long to catch up.

Some adolescent changes are seen in some boys, but not others. For example, some boys develop pimples and blackheads, especially on the face, shoulders, and back. This condition is thought to be caused by increased amounts of male hormone that are circulating in the blood. The pimples will eventually go away, but it is important that the boy not squeeze or pick at them. The more a boy picks or squeezes pimples, the more pimples he will get.

Once in a while, a boy will develop a little lump beneath one or both nipples. The lump may be a bit tender. This condition is also thought to be due to increased secretion of male hormone. Nothing need be done about these lumps; they will disappear by themselves in a few months.

During adolescence there is usually an increase in appetite, because extra nourishment is needed to supply the rapidly growing muscles and bones. But an adolescent may not know how to control this increased desire for food and, as a result, he may gain too much weight. Frequently, parents will become concerned that their son’s overweight is due to an upset in the way his glands are working. This is seldom true. Most fat adolescent boys just eat too much, and require no more than a good reducing diet.

Adolescence takes place over a few years, but within a year or two after its onset, a boy has matured sufficiently so that he is physically able to have children of his own. Of course, in America, boys don’t marry and have children at fifteen or sixteen years of age. But they could, and in certain parts of the world today, boys of fifteen and sixteen are becoming fathers. By the time most boys reach nineteen years of age, they are fully grown. Some, however, may grow another inch or two between the ages of nineteen and twenty-one. Very little increase in height takes place after twenty-one years of age.

Recommended Correct Age Height and Weight Scale for Boys and Girls

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | April 29th, 2007

Some youngsters are tall for their age; others are short. Some are heavy; others are light. We can’t always tell too much about how tall or short or how light or heavy someone’s going to be eventually, because we all change a lot as we grow. Many children are short when they are very young, but when they reach twelve or thirteen years of age, they shoot up like magic and become tall. And even if they don’t, short people can be just as good and famous and wonderful as tall people. Also, some boys and girls are too skinny or too fat when they are little, but they get to be just the right weight later on.

Children usually like to find out how much they weigh and how tall they are. Their parents, too, are often interested in finding out how they are growing. I Because of this, it seems a good idea to list the average weights and heights for the various ages. But we must re- member that it doesn’t make much difference whether you are too tall on short, or a little too heavy or thin. You’ll straighten out by the time you get to be a grown-up.

Boys and girls doWt differ much in weight during the early years of childhood. Then, girls seem to grow taller and heavier than boys during the pre-teen years. However, boys usually catch up and get to weigh more than girls by the time they reach 18 or 17 years of age.

Girls tend to be almost the same height and weight as boys while they are young, but as boys become teenagers, they may be taller and heavier than boys their own age. Eventually, as we know, boys get to be taller and heavier than girls’ when they are fully grown.

It might be a good idea for boys and girls who are much taller or shorter, or much lighter or heavier, than others their age, to see a doctor in order to find out if they need any kind of treatment. Certainly, all children who are exceptionally thin or fat should be put on special diets. And a youngster who is really, really short might benefit from hormone medications that will increase height.

Articles on Stages of Early Child Social Physical Development GCSE Courses

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | April 29th, 2007

Many slow starters catch up and may even pass the quick starters.

Normal children vary greatly in the way they grow, both in their bodies and their minds. Some children are quick starters and grow tall at a very early age, and some children begin to read and write and to learn arithmetic much sooner than others their own age. This doesn’t mean much, because slow starters often catch up and may even pass the quick starters.

There is no way of telling just how far any particular child is going to go in his development at any age. But normal children should never be worried if they are slow in growing, or in reading or writing. In a couple of years, they may jump way ahead of other kids their age, each child develops at his own special rate.

Development takes place in funny ways among normal children. Some learn how to read and write when they’re only four or five years of age, but can’t add or subtract numbers. Others can do all kinds of wonderful things with numbers, but they can’t read or write a word. Some children are husky and tall and have big muscles, but they can’t dress or undress themselves; others may be underweight and small, but can do all kinds of clever things with their hands. Some children at five or six may play the violin or piano beautifully, but they can’t throw or catch a ball.

We do know that boys and girls inherit certain things from their parents. And so we see that youngsters whose parents are excellent musicians often have children who develop musically at a particularly early age. And parents who are great athletes very often have children who develop ability in athletics far beyond most of their playmates.

The height of a child depends upon several things. First is heredity. If a child’s parents are tall, the child will probably be tall, too. Second is hormones. A child whose pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal gland, and ovaries or testicles work properly can be pretty certain that he or she will develop normally, even if development is slow at first. Third, normal growth requires a proper diet with the right amount of proteins, sugars, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Children who are poor and cannot afford a good diet will not grow as tall as those who can eat properly. Fourth, illnesses that last a long time may slow down a child from reaching his full development and growth. When the child has fully recovered from such an illness, he usually catches up on his growth and mental development.

Growth doesn’t take place evenly. There are spurts during which a child grows quickly, and there are times when he doesn’t seem to grow at all. The first really big period of increased growth generally occurs between the ages of five and seven years. The second period of extremely rapid growth starts between the ages of ten and twelve years in girls, and twelve and sixteen years in boys. This means that girls of eleven and twelve tend to be taller than boys the same age. However, there isn’t any difference in the speed of mental development between boys and girls of the same age.

Some children are pretty unhappy because they are smaller than their playmates and schoolmates. Frequently they ask their parents to see if something can be done to correct the situation. If the child is healthy and his growth has not been slowed by a long- lasting illness or a gland condition, very little can be done to speed his growth. However, if he is small because of a gland condition or a long-lasting illness, it is possible to speed growth through medical treatment. But remember, the late growers usually catch up to the early growers all by themselves.

If your mother has a record of how tall you were when you were two years of age, you can get a pretty good idea of how tall you will be when you’re all grown. Just take your height at two years of age, and double it! If you were three feet tall when you were two years old, you will be six feet tall when you are fully grown.

By X-raying the bones of the wrists, doctors can sometimes tell how much more a child is going to grow. However, this isn’t a very valuable test unless the child is twelve to fourteen years of age.

Inheritence High Blood Pressure Symptoms, Characteristics Eye Color and Sickle-cell Anemia

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | April 29th, 2007

Inheritance means that we get certain of our traits, our physical appearance, and some of our mental abilities from our parents. We say that these things are passed on to us from our mother and father through their genes. Of course, we can’t always tell specifically what we inherited from one parent or the other, but we have learned a good deal about some inherited things. For example, if a child’s mother has blood that is type A, and the father has type B, then the child will have type A or type B blood. He will not have type 0 or type AB because he has not inherited the genes for those blood types from either parent.


Physical traits or characteristics such as eye color, hair color, and other things, are inherited according to Mendel’s law, This means we can often tell In advance whether a child will have blue or brown eyes, or will turn out to be a blond or a brunette.

It is thought that highly intelligent people are more likely to have highly intelligent children than are people of normal or lower intelligence. This is not always true because, once in a while, highly intelligent people become ineffective parents, and less bright people become excellent parents. In other words, the way a child is brought up may be more important than the kind of brain he inherits. It is possible that “highly intelligent” people may be so busy with their own interests that they pay too little attention to their children, or they spoil their children by giving in to them too often. Thus a child who has inherited exceptional genes may not turn out well. On the other hand, parents who admit that they are not terribly bright themselves may spend a great deal of time teaching their children and encouraging them to learn, and those children may turn out better than the ones who inherited such good 1 genes.

Some of the most common inherited traits are the color of our skin, the color of our eyes, the color of our hair, our height, our blood type, and our general appearance. We realize though that our mother and father may not look very much alike. Therefore, if the mother has blue eyes and the father has brown eyes, we might inherit either blue or brown eyes. If they both have brown eyes, then, of course, we are more likely to have brown eyes. Frequently, a very tall man will marry a very short woman. Then their children can turn out to be short, or medium, or tall. But if a tall man marries and has children with a tall woman, then most of their children will be tall. And, if a short man marries and has children with a short woman, then most of their children will be short.

A good number of illnesses and defects are carried through the genes and can be inherited. Fortunately, many of the genes causing defects or diseases are recessive genes. This means that they are not very strong, and either may not have any influence on a child or may cause defects or disease only once in a very rare while.

In the past twenty or thirty years, doctors have studied inherited defects and diseases very carefully in order to prevent as many of them as possible. They have found that some conditions can be treated successfully by special medicines and diets. They have also found that giving the proper advice to people before they have children may prevent children from being born with an inherited disease or defect. For example, if a man with diabetes marries a woman with diabetes, the chances are that most of their children will develop diabetes. And if a man with a blood condition known as a positive sickle- cell trait marries a woman with the same positive sickle-cell trait, most of their children will develop a disease called sickle-cell anemia. To prevent this situation, the men and women who carry these genes may be advised to adopt children rather than to have them naturally. And we know that adopted children can be just as fine and wonderful as the children parents have themselves.

Most inherited detects in newborns don’t amount to much, such as an extra toe or extra finger, or even an extra nipple. These can be removed easily by a surgeon and the child will be as normal as can be.

Nature is really wonderful, because most newborn children are perfect. Ninety-seven out of a hundred newborn babies are absolutely perfectly formed, and most of the defects in the other three children are not serious. A lot of them, like an extra toe or an extra nipple, can be corrected easily by surgery. The saddest defects are the ones in which the child’s mind has not developed properly. But even among this small group of mentally handicapped children, we now know a great deal about how to make their lives happy. And, luckily, mental defects are not inherited very often, unless there are mentally handicapped people in both the mother’s and the father’s family.

Child Development, Saving Umbilical Cord, Blood Banking Storage, Stem Cells Collection

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | April 29th, 2007

The baby’s footprints are taken and are placed on a special chart that already has the mother’s fingerprint on it. This makes sure that the baby doesn’t get mixed up with another newborn child.

Girls and boys who are born in hospitals today are taken care of as if they were precious jewels. After holding the newborn baby aloft by his feet to allow any mucus to run out, the doctor or his assistant will then take a small rubber tube connected to a suction machine and will suck out any further mucus that may be left behind in the mouth or nose. This will permit the baby to breathe more freely. Then a clamp, which is allowed to stay in place for about a day, is placed across the umbilical cord. The cord is then cut, and the baby is handed to a nurse who will cover it with blankets and place it in a warm birth crib. As soon as the newborn baby is seen to be breathing smoothly and as soon as its color appears to be normal, here are some other things that
are done:

1. A drop of a specially prepared medicine is placed in each eye. This will prevent the child from getting an eye infection.

2. A band with the mother’s name on it and whether the baby is a boy or girl is placed around the baby’s wrist. This makes absolutely certain that the baby is not mixed up with another baby that has just been born.

3. The baby’s footprints are taken and are placed alongside each other on a special chart that already has the mother’s fingerprint on it. This makes doubly, absolutely sure that the baby doesn’t get mixed up with another newborn child.

4. A crib card is made up showing the mother’s name, whether the child is a girl or a boy, and the hour and. date of birth. This makes triply, absolutely, sure that the baby won’t get mixed up with another child.

As a further means of completely identifying the baby, a band is placed around his wrist It matches one that the mother herself wears.

To avoid hospital mix-ups, the baby’s footprints are recorded. The mother’s fingerprint will be added to the same card later.

5. Soon after birth, the infant is examined by a pediatrician. This is a doctor who is specially trained in caring for babies and children, He will look the baby over to make sure there is nothing wrong with him. The pediatrician will be particularly careful to the the baby’s eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and mouth. Then he measure the head to see if it is the right size. Next, he will go over the bones to make sure t none of them are out of place or were broken during childbirth (We must remember that a new born child’s bones are pre-delicate, and once in a gr while they can get injured during childbirth).

The doctor will then exam the heart and lungs with a stereoscope, and will look at the abdomen to make sure everything is all right. The groin is checked to see if the baby has a hernia and to see if the male or female organs are normal. The baby is then turned onto its stomach and the back and the anus are checked out.

6. When the pediatrician has finished with his examination, the child is sent to a nursery where other newborns are staying. know how to take care of the baby’s eyes, ears, and mouth; and, of course, they know how to change the diapers and keep the baby clean. They also know how to help a new mother take care of her baby herself.

The bones are examined for any evidence of fracture, and the spinal column is checked for defects.

7. Babies usually do not nurse or take a bottle until eight to twelve hours after they are born. Then they are fed about every four hours. Along with the milk they Nurseries in all good hospitals have nurses who are specially trained in taking care of newborn infants. They know the proper temperature for the nursery and for the baby’s crib; they know what to feed the baby; they know when to bathe the baby; they know how to inspect the baby’s skin and how to take care of the damped-off umbilical cord; they will get from their mother’s breasts, or from a bottle if their mother doesn’t nurse them, infants are given water to drink.

The initial examination also includes height and chest measurements and weighing the baby

8. Babies often lose weight for a few days after they are born, but they regain it quickly. The average girl weighs from six and a half to seven pounds when she is born, and the average boy weighs from seven to seven and a half pounds. Newborn babies are not allowed to go home from the hospital unless they weigh at least five and a half pounds. Since some babies are born early—after only seven or eight months inside the mother’s uterus—they may weigh only three or four pounds when they are born. Such babies are called premature, and they have to stay in the hospital for a few days or weeks after the mother has gone home. Most of them, however, get to be five and a half pounds within a few weeks, and then they can join their families at home.

You can’t tell what a child is eventually going to look like when you first see him after he has been born. The heads of newborn babies may look out of shape because of molding that takes place as they pass out of their mother’s body. This means the bones overlap to make the head smaller so it can pass more easily out of the uterus and vagina. Within several days after birth, however, the bones of the head to their normal shape and the baby’s begins to look much nicer, Sometimes, the nose is flattened out as the head is passing down the birth canal, and this, too, may make the child look kind of funny when he is born. But within few days, the nose returns to its normal shape, too. Loads of children look bowlegged, when they are born, but they really aren’t. And some children are born with red blotches and hair all over their - bodies. All this disappears quickly, and by the time an infant is a week or two old, everyone will think he or she is the most beautiful child in the world!

You can’t tell what a child is eventually going to look like when you first see him after he has been born.

Childbirth Preservation and Saving Umbilical Cord Blood Banking Storage

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | January 14th, 2007

As mentioned before, it takes some 280 days, or about 9 months, from the time the fertilized egg buries itself in the wall of the uterus until the new child is born. Most unborn children float upside down in the mother’s uterus; a few, however, stay in the upright position. If they stay upside down, they are born head first; if they stay upright, they are born bottom first.

Unborn children move their arms and legs quite a bit inside the mother’s uterus, and she often feels the kicking.

This is their way of exercising and getting to use their muscles. Sometimes the kicking is so strong that it may hurt the mother a bit, but it doesn’t hurt much or for very long. As a matter of fact, most mothers enjoy feeling their babies kick.

When the baby has fully developed and is ready to be born, the muscles of the uterus start to have contractions. These muscle contractions push the unborn child further down inside the mother so that, eventually, it will emerge from the vagina. At first, the contractions are not very strong and they come every fifteen or twenty minutes or so, and last only a few seconds. Then they increase in strength and take place regularly every few minutes and last for about a minute. Contractions usually keep up for several hours, getting stronger all the time. Then the fluid sac, in which the unborn child has been floating, bursts and the fluid runs out through the vagina.

The combination of the contractions of the muscles of the uterus and the pressure of the baby’s head-or if he is in an upright position, the pressure of his bottom-causes the cervix of the uterus to get bigger. Finally, the baby’s head-or bottom-is pushed out of the uterus into the vagina. When this happens, the birth of the child will take place within a few minutes. The doctor who is delivering the baby then gently lifts the head out of the vagina, and the rest of the baby soon comes out too. If the baby’s bottom happens to come first, the doctor reaches in and gently pulls out the feet. Then the rest of the body follows, the head coming out last.

Immediately after the baby is born, the doctor holds him upside down by the feet, so that any mucus that may be in the throat can run out. Most babies let out a little cry the second they are born, and then they begin to breathe for the first time all by themselves. Remember, inside the mother’s body, the baby is supplied with the oxygen he needs by the mother. If a baby doesn’t begin breathing right away by himself, the doctor will give him a swat on the behind, which soon starts him crying and breathing.

Remember that a baby is attached to its mother’s uterus by the umbilical cord. As soon as the baby is born, the
doctor puts a clamp on the cord near the child’s navel and he then cuts the umbilical cord straight across. The child no longer needs to be attached to the mother, of course, because he will now get oxygen through his own lungs and nourishment through nursing or taking a bottle.

The unborn child floats upside down, surrounded by fluid in the amniotic sac. Since the child doesn’t breathe none of this fluid gets into his lungs.

When the unborn child is in an upright position, it is called a breech. It is a little more difficult for a breech to be born, but the great majority come out without too much trouble.

A few minutes after the child is born, the placenta and umbilical cord are discharged by the mother and her uterus returns to normal.

Childbirth usually takes longer when the mother is having her first child. First children may take anywhere from half a day to a full day, or even more, from the time the uterus starts contracting until birth. Second, third, and other children may only take a few hours to be born.

Doctors have a special name for childbirth. They call it labor. That’s because it is real work for a mother to push out a baby, and most mothers are pretty tired by the time the child is finally born. However, they are not only tired but extremely happy, because the labor is worth it. Just ask your mother how happy she was when she finished giving birth to you!

Once the head has been delivered from the vagina, the shoulders and chest, and the rest of the body, will come out very easily. This is because the head is by far the largest part of a newborn baby’s body. In a breech delivery, the head comes out after all the rest of the body has been delivered, and this may take a few minutes longer.

Once in a while, for medical reasons, doctors may decide that a woman should have the baby by a special process called cesarean operation. This is done when the doctors think this way is safer both for the unborn child and for the mother. In a cesarean operation, they open the mother’s abdomen and uterus and lift out the baby. After the child is born, they sew up the uterus and the abdomen, and the mother is as good as new again.

Before the delivery of the baby, the mother may decide that she doesn’t want anesthesia during childbirth even though she knows it can be painful. Other mothers prefer not to feel pain during childbirth. They will therefore be put to sleep with general anesthesia, or will have injections to relieve the pain. Many times, the doctor will decide what is best to do. For example, if the unborn child is not very strong, the doctor may not want the mother to receive general anesthesia as this may affect the child. He may then recommend some other method of pain relief.

If a mother has twin or more babies in her uterus, they are always born one at a time. Usually, the second child follows a few minutes after the first. If there are triplets or quadruplets, they are born just a few minutes apart, too.

How the Unborn Child Develops from Embryo Stem Cell Research

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | January 13th, 2007

Once the embryo, with its fluid sac surrounding it, is buried in the wall of the uterus, it develops quickly. It grows from the size of a pinhead at one week of age to that of a pea at five weeks of age, to that of a limb bean at eight weeks of age, and to that of a hen’s egg by the time it is two and a half months along the road to development. Of course, as it grows during the first few weeks, the embryo doesn’t look much like a baby because it hasn’t really begun to take shape. However, even at six weeks, the primitive tissues that will eventually form the eyes, ears, arms, legs, head, chest, abdomen, spine and other organs can be seen. If the embryo were to be examined at this time, these parts could actually be recognized under a magnifying glass.

At first the embryo doesn’t look much like a human being, and it passes through many stages of development that resemble various forms of animal life. In the early days of the first few weeks, the embryo resembles a fish, then a frog, and finally takes on the shape of an animal with four limbs. But it grows and changes so quickly that by the end of three months in its mother’s uterus, it really looks like a human baby. Its head, neck, chest, abdomen, arms, legs, fingers, toes, and even nails begin to appear as they will when the infant is born.

The developing baby is called a fetus when it reaches the age of about three to three and a half months. At about four and a half months after pregnancy has begun, the mother starts to feel the baby moving around within her uterus. We say the mother “feels life,” and we know that the fetus is growing actively.

The unborn child is attached to its mother by a cordlike structure that extends from its abdomen to the placenta. The structure is called the umbilical cord. The placenta is a large, round, flat structure almost as large as a dinner plate that attaches to the wall of the uterus. The nourishment and oxygen so necessary to life pass from the mother’s blood into the blood vessels of the placenta. This nourishment, containing all the proteins, necessary sugars, fats, vitamins, minerals, and fluids, then flows through the placenta into the blood vessels of the umbilical cord. From there, it enters the baby’s body in the abdominal region and travels throughout the blood vessels of the baby. The waste products resulting from use of the nourishing substances flows out. through the umbilical cord to the placenta, and then into the mother’s body. She then disposes of these wastes, mainly through her kidneys and lungs.

As mentioned before, the baby float, in a fluid sac that surrounds it, called the amniotic sac. Of course, the unborn child doesn’t drown, because it doesn’t breathe while in its mother’s uterus. It gets all the oxygen it needs from the mother through the placenta and the umbilical cord. Therefore, it isn’t necessary for it to breathe. And it doesn’t have to move its bowels either, because instead of eating through its mouth, it is getting its nourishment from the mother through the placenta and umbilical cord.

The fluid that surrounds the developing baby helps to protect it and cushions any blow that might strike it accidentally from the outside. It is rare indeed that an unborn child is injured, even if the mother has a severe fall.

At about five months along in its development, a doctor can often hear the baby’s heartbeat through a special kind of stethoscope. And by the time the fetus is six months old, it will probably be fourteen to fifteen inches long and will weigh about two pounds. At this age, all the unborn child’s organs are well formed.

So rapid is the child’s development that it gains about five pounds and grows about six inches in length during the last three months within its mother’s uterus. And the child is ready to be born when it has been inside its mother for about nine months. Some children, however, are born a month or two earlier. These are called premature babies, and they require very special care after they are born if they are to live. Occasionally, a baby is born two or three weeks late, but that doesn’t seem to matter at all.

Fertilized Frozen Transfered Embryo Egg Develops in Stages in Uterus

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | January 13th, 2007

As soon as the sperm has entered the egg, the nucleus of the sperm and the nucleus of the egg unite to form one nucleus. The nucleus is the central, important part of the sperm and the egg. Under the microscope it looks like a large dark dot. Within the nucleus lie the chromosomes, the genes, and other necessary elements of life.

Chromosomes are threadlike structures within the nucleus of the sperm and egg. They carry the genes, which are responsible for what the new child will look like, how he will act, and all the rest of his traits and characteristics. The chromosomes and genes are responsible for a child resembling one parent more than the other. They are responsible for a child having blue eyes, or brown eyes, or green eyes. They determine how short or tall a child will grow to be, whether his nose will be long or short, narrow or wide, and whether he will inherit various personality traits that his parents have.

Most important is that the chromosomes of the sperm decide whether the new child will be a boy or a girl. The chromosomes of the egg have nothing to do with the child being a boy or a girl! It was your father-not your mother-who supplied the chromosome that determined that you are a girl or a boy. Here’s how it works:

Each and every normal sperm and egg carries twenty-three chromosomes. When the sperm and egg unite, these chromosomes unite and form pairs.

Here, we see the egg, already fertilized by a sperm, beginning to divide into many cells. This takes place while the egg is traveling down from the fallopian tube to the uterus. After the egg buries itself into the wall of the uterus it grows extremely rapidly.

responsible for the inheritance of a different trait or characteristic. Some scientists think that about 17 million possible combinations of chromosomes and genes can occur when a sperm unites with an egg. Thus, even though brothers and sisters may look or act alike in many ways, they may also differ tremendously from one another. They can have entirely different personalities and characters, or may not look alike at all, depending upon the combination of genes that results from the union of the sperm and the egg.

Some genes are called dominant. This means they are so strong that they are likely to appear in most of the children of one set of parents, and they probably will appear in grandchildren, too. That is why we sometimes see a girl or boy who not only looks like a parent but like a grandparent. Other genes are called recessive. This means that they are not very strong and are not likely to appear in many of the children of one set of parents. A recessive gene may produce a characteristic such as blue eyes in a family where everyone has brown eyes. A recessive gene may not happen again for a long time. Thus, a blue-eyed woman who came from a brown-eyed family may have all brown-eyed children and grandchildren.

Sometimes a child inherits genes that make him look like his father and at the same time inherits genes that give him his mother’s personality and character.

After the sperm and egg have united to form one cell with one nucleus, it immediately begins to multiply and divide. First it splits into two, then the two into four, and so forth. This happens even while the fertilized egg is traveling down the Fallopian tube toward the uterus. In the three to four days it takes to reach the uterus, the fertilized egg will have multiplied many, many times so that it will have become a cluster of many cells. And as each cell of the fast-growing egg divides, its chromosomes split into half, one half going to each of the two new cells. This means that every single new cell will contain the same chromosomes that were in the original sperm and the original egg.

Also, as the fertilized egg travels down to the uterus, it begins to develop a sac containing fluid around it. This fluid sac is called the amnion. On about the seventh day after the egg has been fertilized, the sac will attach itself to the lining of the uterus and will begin to absorb nourishment produced for it in the uterine lining. The egg and its sac will then bury itself in the lining, a placenta will develop, and the egg now called an embryo–continues its rapid growth.

The Beginning of Life-Conception in Ovum

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | January 13th, 2007

The beginning of life is called conception. It takes place when the egg of the female is penetrated by the sperm of the male. This union between the sperm and the egg is known as fertilization. The entire process of conception in the human, as well as in other animals, is one of Nature’s great wonders. Let’s start from the very beginning:

As mentioned elsewhere, the male sperm are deposited in the vagina near the entrance of the cervix of the uterus or womb. Nature seems to have sensed that it would be a difficult trip for the sperm to bring about conception. For this reason, 100 to 200 million sperm are provided just for the purpose of fertilizing one female egg! The millions of tiny sperm, which can be seen only under a microscope, are so delicate that they live only a few minutes unless they are successful in passing through the cervix into the uterus.

The sperm have tails, called flagella, that push them forward. Actually, sperm look very much like miniature tadpoles, and they move forward like tadpoles by wiggling their tails from side to side. When they reach the cervix, the sperm must swim through a mucous barrier that covers the entrance to the inside of the uterus. Tens of millions of sperm are unable to do this, and are lost. Those sperm that pierce the cervix then swim up the three to four inches of the inside of the uterus to find the two exits at the upper ends where the Fallopian tubes begin. Tens of millions more sperm are lost before they get to the Fallopian tubes. Those that do survive swim into the narrow passageway of the Fallopian tube where they may finally meet an egg. But this meeting can take place only during two to three days of each month.

The egg leaves the ovary and enters the fallopian tube. There. It is fertilized by a single sperm. The fertilized egg begins to divide and to make many cells. When it reaches the uterus. some 3 to 4 days later, the fertilized egg buries itself in the wall of the uterus.

Females normally have one egg, no larger than the point of a pin, that leaves an ovary each month. This is called ovulation. Ovulation usually occurs halfway between two menstrual periods. (The menstrual period is described in chapter 21.)

When an egg leaves an ovary it finds its way to the funnel-shaped opening of the Fallopian tube. Nobody knows how it manages to get from the ovary to the Fallopian tube because an egg has no ability to move by itself. However, it gets there somehow. Once inside the Fallopian tube, the egg is very slowly swept down toward the uterus by tiny hairlike structures that line the tubes. These hairlike structures, called cilia, are so small they can be seen only under a microscope. It takes anywhere from three to five days for the egg to travel the three inches of the Fallopian tube, and during this time it may meet the sperm.

If an egg meets the sperm in the Fallopian tube, there is a good chance that one of the sperm will enter the egg and unite with it. This is called fertilization.

So, even if there are 100 million sperm that meet an egg in the Fallopian tube, only one will usually be able to pierce the outer coating of the egg and cause fertilization. When this happens, all the other millions of sperm die. Sometimes, however, two or more eggs emerge from the ovary. They, too, may be fertilized, each one by a different sperm, and the result will be twins or triplets or even more. Also, twins can result by the splitting of a single fertilized egg into two.

The male’s sperm, which is responsible for determining the gender of the embryo. contains approximately equal numbers of chromosomes for each sex. There Is, therefore, an equal chance of a couple having a boy or a girl, and approximately equal numbers of children of each sex are born.

But even when the egg and the sperm are united, it is not yet certain that a new life will come about. The fertilized egg must continue its journey for another few (lays down the remainder of the tube until it reaches the cavity of the uterus.

In order for pregnancy to take place, the fertilized egg must bury itself in the lining of the uterus at a spot where it can take root and grow. This is very much like what happens to a seed when it is planted. If a seed is planted in healthy soil with plenty of moisture and minerals in the ground, if it is watered often enough and in the sunshine frequently, and if the climate is not too cold or too hot, the seed will sprout and grow into a plant. In the same way, the fertilized egg must plant itself into a healthy lining of the uterus. If the lining is infected, or if there isn’t sufficient blood coming to that part of the uterus, the egg may no take root properly and will not grow. Then, even though it has been fertilized by a sperm, it will be prise out of the uterus into the vagina and pregnancy will end before it really begins.

With all the things that have to happen just right, it’s remarkable, isn’t. it, that so many millions of children are born every year!

Although we know a great deal about how life begins, there are still many processes that we know very little about. For example, no one knows why only one sperm out of hundreds of millions can penetrate an egg. What keeps the other sperm out? Also, no one knows how the egg chooses the particular sperm that enters it. Did you ever stop to think that if a different sperm had penetrated your mother’s egg you wouldn’t be you! You might: be your brother or your sister. Now, wouldn’t that be funny?

How Our Glands Work and Swollen Enlarged Prostate Throat Glands Infection

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | November 20th, 2006

All people, and animals, too, have glands that influence or control how their organs function. These glands are called endocrine glands, and they are located in many different places throughout the body.

An endocrine gland makes a chemical substance called a hormone, which it supplies directly into the bloodstream. The hormone travels through the blood vessels to parts of the body where it acts upon organs and influences how they work.


Removal of the thyroid gland is a simple and safe operation. The scar from the horizontal incision is just a thin line and usually fades out as the child gets older.

Hormones from the anterior portion of the pituitary control many body functions. The most important hormones are the growth hormone, the hormone that affects the activity of the adrenal glands, and the hormones that stimulate other glands like the thyroid and the testicles and the ovaries. When these glands are stimulated, they secrete their own hormones into the bloodstream.

To give an example: The pancreas, located in the upper part of the abdomen, manufactures the hormone insulin. When insulin is supplied by the pancreas, it travels in the bloodstream and controls how we use the sugar that we have eaten. Since the insulin goes to all parts of the body, it regulates the use of sugar whether it is in the brain, or in the liver, or in the muscles. Without insulin, we couldn’t use the sugar for the energy we need. Our brain, our liver, and our muscles would all fail to work properly as they require a great deal of sugar.
The endocrine glands are:

The Pituitary Gland

Located at the base of the brain, this is a tiny gland, no bigger than an ordinary thimble. But it is the “master gland” of the body because it directs all the other glands that we have. The pituitary gland makes several hormones. The main ones are:

1. The growth hormone, which determines how little or how much we will grow. If a child’s pituitary gland isn’t working right and fails to manufacture enough growth hormone, that child may not grow properly and might even become a dwarf. If the pituitary makes too much growth hormone, that child might become a giant.

2. The gonadotropic hormone, which influences the ovaries in a girl and the testicles in a boy. This hormone doesn’t really do its main work until a child reaches about twelve years of age. Then, in a girl, it stimulates the ovaries and the girl starts to undergo changes into becoming a young woman, or, in a boy, it stimulates the testicles and the boy starts to develop into a young man. Without sufficient gonadotropic hormone, a child’s adolescence may be delayed. In¬stead of beginning to mature at twelve or thirteen years of age, a child might not begin to grow up until he or she reaches fifteen, sixteen, or even seventeen years of age.

3. The thyrotropic hormone, which regulates the function of the thyroid gland. If too little of this hormone is manufactured, the thyroid won’t work properly and a child’s growth might be stunted. Such children are called cretins; they are short, fat, and sluggish, and their minds don’t work well, either.

4. ACTH. If not enough ACTH is manufactured, then the adrenal glands above the kidneys won’t function properly.

5. ADH, which controls the amount of water our kidneys excrete. If the pituitary fails to make enough of this hormone, tremendous amounts of urine are excreted. People with this condition drink huge amounts of water all the time. They never seem able to drink enough to make up for all the water they are losing through their urine.

Overactivity of the pituitary gland will cause abnormal growth and very early development, as can be seen In this comparison of two 9′h year-old girls.

Scientists have learned how to make most of the pituitary hormones right in a chemical laboratory. And so, if someone’s pituitary gland doesn’t produce enough of one of its hormones, that person can be given the hormone in a tablet or an injection. In that way, it is often possible to overcome the shortcomings of the pituitary gland. And if the pituitary manufactures too much hormone, it can sometimes be controlled by giving X-ray treatments to the gland to slow down its activity.

The Thyroid Gland
This gland is located in the neck, in front of and on the sides of the wind¬pipe. Like the pituitary gland, it, too, is extremely important. The thyroid makes a hormone called thyroxin. Thyroxin, when it gets into the bloodstream, regulates how our food is turned into energy and how quickly and completely that energy is used up.

The thyroid is also concerned in regulating our muscle activity, our body growth, and our body heat.
Even though the thyroid gland itself may be perfectly normal, it won’t work properly unless it receives a sufficient amount of thyrotropic hormone from the pituitary gland.
People whose thyroid secretes too little hormone have little pep or energy, their muscles are flabby, they get fat and lazy, they feel cold even in warm weather, and their minds function poorly. Very often, poor functioning of the thyroid gland can be controlled by giving the person thyroid pills.

People whose thyroid manufactures too much hormone will lose weight even though they eat a lot, their hearts will beat faster than they should, their hands may shake when they pick up something, their eyes may bulge, and they may have a swelling in the neck because the gland has become enlarged. (The enlargement of the thyroid gland is called a goiter.) Quite often, an overactive thyroid can be controlled by giving the person certain medicines, such as antithyroid pills, or by giving him radioactive iodine to chink. If these medicines don’t slow down the thyroid, it is sometimes necessary to operate and remove the overactive part of the gland. Operations almost always cure the condition.

The endocrine glands secrete hormones that are responsible for controlling many body functions, and they also play an important part in seeing that the body’s chemical reactions are well balanced. The main glands are the pituitary, the thyroid, the parathyroids, the pancreas, the adrenals, the testicles and the ovaries.

The Parathyroid Glands
These are four pea-sized structures lying in back of the thyroid gland in the neck. Although they are located right next to the thyroid, the parathyroid glands have an entirely separate function. They manufacture a hormone called parathormone. Its job is to regulate what happens to the minerals calcium and phosphorus that we get in our diet. For example, milk has loads of calcium and phosphorus.

A person whose parathyroids secrete too much parathormone will have a poor appetite, may be nauseated and throw up, will lose weight, and may develop a great thirst.. Also, his bones will get very brittle and will break easily. Such a person may also develop stones in his kidneys.

Sometimes the parathyroids become too active, because the child doesn’t get enough vitamin D in his diet. This can be corrected easily by taking vitamin D pills or drops. Once in a while, a swelling or tumor of the parathyroid glands develops, and in order to cure the patient, it is necessary to operate and remove the tumor. This can be done without too much trouble.

A person whose parathyroid glands don’t manufacture enough hormone will have muscle cramps, stiffness in the arms and legs, tingling in the fingers and toes, and may even have a convulsion. This condition is called tetany. In most cases, tetany can be controlled with large doses of vitamin D and calcium. Children who drink enough milk and take their vitamins regularly seldom have trouble with their parathyroid glands.

The four parathyroid glands are located behind the thyroid gland. Two are shown here. A parathyroid tumor may cause overactivity of the gland, but this is rare in children.

The Adrenal Glands
The adrenals lie on top of the kidneys, one on each side, on the back of the abdomen, high up under the ribs. They have almost as many different jobs to perform as the pituitary gland, but they can’t function properly. unless they receive the right amount of hormones from the pituitary gland. Here are some of the many jobs the various adrenal hormones perform:

The adrenal glands are located on top of each kidney, as seen in this diagram. They secrete adrenalin, cortisone and other hormones.

1. They make the heart beat stronger, especially during times when it is necessary for the heart to do extra-hard work because of strenuous exercise. The hormone they supply to make this possible is called adrenalin.

2. They overcome muscle tiredness, so that people can continue to do physical work or strenuous exercise.

3. They cause certain blood vessels to contract so that blood which would ordinarily go to those parts of the body, can go to other parts of the body where it is more urgently needed.

4. They increase the amount of sugar in the blood. This makes more sugar available to be used for energy.

5. They control the amount of salt and water in the body, sometimes causing us to hold more water and salt, at other times causing us to get rid of extra water and salt.

6. They are partially responsible for the development of a girl into a woman, and for a boy into a man. (These hormones have much the same function as hormones manufactured by the ovaries in females and the testicles in males.)

7. They are responsible for the body being able to overcome great strains and stresses. The hormone that accomplishes this is called cortisone. Without cortisone, we would not be able to live for very long.

The Pancreas
This gland lies across the back of the abdomen beneath the stomach. Most of the pancreas is not an endocrine gland. It supplies most of the substances it makes directly to the intestines, not into the bloodstream.

But it is partially an endocrine gland because it manufactures the hormone insulin. And insulin is supplied, as all hormones are, directly into the bloodstream. In the bloodstream, insulin controls how we use the sugar we have eaten. And since insulin goes to all parts of the body, it regulates the use of sugar whether it is in the brain, the liver, the muscles, or anywhere else. If not enough insulin is manufactured, diabetes will result.

The Ovaries
Present only in females, the ovaries lie one on each side of the uterus in the lower part of the abdomen. They are almond-shaped and about the size of large walnuts. During early childhood, the ovaries don’t secrete much hormone. When they do, a girl, no matter how young she may happen to be, may begin to show signs of maturity and will develop breasts and hair under her arms. This happens to a really young girl only once in a great while, but when it does, it usually means the girl has an important upset in gland function or might possibly have a tumor in one of her ovaries.

This diagram shows the various parts of the female organs, including the vagina, the cervix, the uterus, fallopian tubes and the ovaries. Young girls should be taught about these organs, which are responsible for reproduction.

Normally, the ovaries start to secrete large amounts of hormones when a girl reaches eleven, twelve, or thirteen years of age. These hormones are responsible for the onset of menstrual periods and for changes in the girl’s general appearance. Because of the action of the hormone estrogen, the girl’s breasts begin to enlarge, she develops hair under her arms and in the pubic region of her lower abdomen, her female organs enlarge, and her figure changes from that of a girl to that of a young woman.
The ovaries, in addition to supplying hormones to the bloodstream, manufacture eggs that can one day unite with a sperm to form a new child.

The Testicles
Present only in males, these are two oval-shaped glands located in the scrotal sac beneath the penis. In addition to manufacturing sperm, which can one day unite with an egg to form a new human being, the testicles make a hormone called testosterone. It is also called the male sex hormone.

The testicles don’t produce sperm or secrete very much testosterone until a boy reaches about twelve, thirteen, or fourteen years of age. Then they begin to make large amounts of testosterone, which goes into the bloodstream. This male sex hormone is responsible for the development of hair on the face, under the arms, and in the pubic region of the lower abdomen. Testosterone also influences the male organs, causing them to grow larger; it is responsible for the voice changing from that of a boy to that of a man; and it is responsible for the boy’s figure changing so that he looks more like a grown man.

The Tummy Tuck Belly Button and Navel Surgery

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | November 14th, 2006

Everyone has a navel. Some are large, some small, some are shallow, some deep. The size and shape make no difference, however, because the navel actually serves no purpose at all. Lots of parents have a nickname for the navel-the belly button. But I’ll bet you don’t know the name your doctor gives it. He calls it the umbilicus.

The navel is the scar left behind after the umbilical cord has been tied and allowed to drop off. In unborn infants, the cord is about three feet long and about half the thickness of a garden hose. This cord attaches the unborn baby to its mother’s uterus inside her body. Through it, the unborn child gets all of its nourishment and all the oxygen it needs. When the child is born and comes out of its mother’s vagina, part of the umbilical cord comes out too. The doctor immediately clamps and cuts the umbilical cord a couple of inches from the baby’s stomach. The cord is no longer necessary because the baby breathes air through its own lungs. As a result, it doesn’t need to get oxygen from its mother through the umbilical cord. Then, a few hours after childbirth, the infant is fed by a bottle or from its mother’s breast, and so doesn’t have to get nourishment any longer through the umbilical cord.

Animals that develop inside their mother’s uterus also have umbilical cords which the mother animal bites off at birth. Most animals are so smart they don’t need doctors when they have babies.

After the baby is a few day’s old, what is left of the umbilical cord dries up by itself and falls off. And what is left is the belly button, or navel.

How Our Kidneys and Bladder Work, Kidney Stone Symptoms, Disease, Infection and treatment

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | November 14th, 2006

The kidneys are two brownish-red structures, one on each side of the body, located in the back of the abdomen below the ribs. They have the shape of a lime bean, but each kidney is about the size of your fist. The kidneys are connected to long, hollow tubes called ureters, which connect with the bladder. The bladder is located in the front of the abdomen, way low clown.

The job of the kidneys is to filter out waste products from the blood, to keep in substances that are important so to the body, and to manufacture urine. To show how to filter something, you can go into the kitchen and try this experiment. First take an ordinary empty glass and cover it over with a paper napkin. Then take another glass and put some water in it. Next sprinkle some black pepper into the water. Now slowly pour the pepper water onto the paper napkin and let it leak into the empty glass below. You will see clear water dripping down fro the bottom of the paper napkin into the glass, and on top of the paper napkin you will see the pepper. The paper napkin has acted as a filter. It allowed water to pass through, but it held back the pepper.

The kidneys are clever about what they do, because they don’t allow nourishing substances, such as sugar certain proteins and fats, to be filtered out, but they do make such wastes as urea and extra salt and some chemicals pass into the urine. Practically all of the blood we have our bodies eventually reaches the kidneys.

From the blood, the kidneys take a certain amount of water and waste materials and manufacture urine. The urine drips down through the ureters, which are located along the back part of the abdomen, into the blade A grown-up’s kidneys will make about six full glasses of urine a (lay, t a child’s make much less, accord to his or her age and size.

When enough urine collects in the bladder we get an urge to urinate, and pass the urine out of our bodies rough a tube called the urethra. The urethra in boys empties through the penis. In girls the urethra empties through its own opening just above the vagina.

The Kidneys, two large, bean-shaped organs, located In the back part of the abdomen, filter waste products from the blood and manufacture urine. The urine passes from the kidneys down through a ureter, and into the bladder.

Blood entering the kidney through the renal artery passes into tiny blood vessels in the glomerulus, where the waste products and water that make up urine are filtered out. The urine then passes through the tubules, into the calyx of the kidney, and into the ureter.

For some peculiar reason, children sometimes allow their bladders to get too full before they pass their urine. Once in a while, they discover that more is inside than they think, and bingo!, there is an accident. One or two accidents and a child learns that it is always a good idea to empty his bladder in good time, especially before he might be going someplace where there might not be a toilet handy.

Every child should go to the bathroom before going to school or before taking a long ride. This way it will not be necessary to leave the classroom so often. And who wants to stop the car unnecessarily just because a child has forgotten to empty his bladder before going for a ride?

Doctors can learn some important things about a child’s health just by examining his urine. This is why every child should have a urine analysis clone every year. Urine examination can tell a good deal about whether the kidneys are working properly. If they are allowing the wrong substances to filter out into the urine, then something must be wrong with the kidneys. If sugar is allowed to pass into the urine, it may mean that the child has diabetes.

Normal urine is perfectly clean and contains no germs. As a matter of fact, in some primitive places in the world where there are very few doctors-as in some parts of Eskimo territory and in some jungle areas in Africa-the people used to use urine as an antiseptic to kill germs. Of course, if they had alcohol or another antiseptic medicine, they used that instead.

When we have a kidney infection, or an infection of the bladder, examination of the urine will show germs. In that case, the people in the laboratory will find out exactly what kind of germs they are and what antibiotic medicines will kill them. Today, most kidney and bladder infections can be cleared up within a few days without much trouble.

To keep the kidneys in good order, everybody should drink plenty of water and milk and fruit juices. A grown-up should drink at least eight glasses of fluids a day, and a child about half that amount. Then the filtering system of the kidneys will work at its best. If we drink too little, we might not get rid of enough waste materials and we might not pass enough urine. Also, if we drink too little, the urine might give us a burning sensation as it leaves the body

How Our Pancreas Works, Signs of Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | November 14th, 2006

The pancreas is a gland lying crosswise in the abdomen, just below the liver. It is an important organ because it makes the juices, or enzymes, that help to digest the foods we eat. The pancreas also has special cells that manufacture insulin, a substance that allows the body to use the sugar we have eaten for the production of energy.

The three main juices manufactured by the pancreas are called Trysin, lipase, and amylase. Trysin helps to digest proteins, including the meat, fish, and chicken we eat as well as protein found in milk, cheese, and other foods. Lipase helps to digest the fat we have eaten, and amylase is necessary for the digestion of sugar.

The juices of the pancreas reach the small intestines through a special duct, or hollow tube, that runs through the middle of the pancreas. This is called the pancreatic duct, and has one large and one small opening into the small intestines. Without these pancreatic juices, we could not digest our foods properly, and they might pass through the intestines without being absorbed into our bloodstream. Then we would be thin and undernourished and would not grow properly.

The insulin produced by the pancreas does not go through the pancreatic duct into the intestines. Instead, it is absorbed directly into the blood¬stream where it acts, along with oxygen, to turn the sugar we have absorbed into energy. You know, don’t you, that physical activity burns up a great amount of sugar? Well, if you didn’t have enough insulin, you would not have much energy and there would be too much sugar in your blood. That condition is known as diabetes, and sometimes it affects children. However, there isn’t too much to worry about, because 999 out of 1,000 children do not have diabetes.

Every so often-about once in 2,000 births-a child is born with a condition called cystic fibrosis. In this condition the pancreas, along with several other organs, doesn’t perform the way it should and fails to secrete enough lipase, amylase, and trypsin into the intestines. As a result, a child with cystic fibrosis will not digest food properly and therefore won’t grow the way he should. Also, because his bronchial tubes don’t function properly, he may get infections in his lungs. Children with this illness usually take antibiotics regularly every day, just as they take food every day, in order to protect them from infections.

How Our Liver Works, Vitamins and Treatment for liver Cancer Disease Symptoms

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | November 5th, 2006

The liver is the largest organ in the body. It stretches across the whole per part of the abdomen and is protected by the lower ribs, so that when something hits the area, the liver usually escapes injury. Most everybody seen slices of calf’s liver. Our livers is much the same-soft, reddish and meaty. Of course, our livers not sliced.

The liver serves as a powerhouse, a chemical factory, and a warehouse. It a powerhouse because it produces proteins that are necessary to for blood cells and to supply our tissues with on. Another function of the liver is to form bile, which flows into the intestines and allows us to digest the fats that we have eaten. The liver is a warehouse because it stores fats and proteins and sugars, and releases them into the bloodstream when we need energy for our daily activities, or when we need substances to replace used¬up materials. The liver is so important that without it we cannot live.

The liver does even more than what we have just mentioned. Like a huge chemical factory, it performs the following functions:

The portal vein collects blood from the intestines and takes it to the liver. Through this vein, food elements which have been absorbed from the intestines are brought to the liver, where their nourishing ingredients are taken out.

1. It forms chemicals necessary for blood clotting. If we had no liver and cut ourselves, we would continue to bleed and bleed without stopping.
2. It also forms chemicals that prevent too much blood clotting. If we had no liver, the blood in our arteries and veins, instead of flowing smoothly, might clot and not run at all.
3. It purifies the blood, getting rid of waste materials.
4. If a poison should accidentally get into the body, the liver will destroy and get rid of it.

The liver receives most of its blood from the intestines. When the nourishing foods and vitamins we have eaten are absorbed through the walls of our stomach and intestines, they go directly into vessels that lead to the liver. In that way, the liver receives all the fats and proteins and sugar and minerals and vitamins that we have digested. The liver is such a remarkable organ because it can do its job even when it is inflamed or damaged. In some sicknesses, a large part of the liver may be out of order, yet the remaining part will keep us going until recovery takes place. Of course, we must be sure that we don’t cause damage to our liver. For instance, here are some rules to hell) keep your liver in good condition.

1. Avoid as many infections as possible, because germs and viruses can easily reach the liver and inflame it. When you are told to take medicines, take them without making a fuss. Then the chances of a liver infection will
not be very great.
2. Avoid eating or drinking anything unless it is approved by your parents or other grown-ups. Some children accidentally swallow harmful substances that might poison their liver. It is particularly important to keep things like cleaning fluids and detergents and insect killers and antiseptics and drugs away from small children. They don’t know any better, and they may think they are good to eat or drink.
3. To work properly, the liver needs a large supply of minerals and vitamins, as well as a good supply of fats and proteins and sugar. This means that a child must follow a good diet at all times. It won’t help a child’s liver if he balks when told to eat fruits and vegetables, or fails to drink plenty of milk. And if his doctor wants him to take vitamins, he should take them without squawking.

Intestine Flu Infection and Cancer Symptoms of Irritable Bbowel Cleansing Syndrome

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | November 5th, 2006

Food in the Small Intestines
The small intestines, which connect with the stomach, are long, hollow tubes all curled up. They, too, have millions of tiny glands that make juices like saliva. They, too, have muscle walls that help to churn the food and pass it on. The small intestines, if they weren’t all curled up, would look something like a garden hose, only they are about half as thick. The intestinal juices of the intestines act upon the food and prepare it to be absorbed into the body, where it will supply energy and stuff to grow on.

Do you know what it means to be absorbed? Here’s an experiment you can try in the kitchen that will tell about absorption: First, take some ordinary water from the faucet and spill a little of it on to the kitchen table. Next, take a kitchen towel-paper or cloth, it makes no difference-and place it directly on the spilled water. Wait a few seconds, and then pick up the towel. What happened to the water? It’s not on the table anymore. It has been absorbed into the towel. Much the same thing happens inside us. The food that we have eaten is digested in the small intestines and is absorbed through the walls of the intestines and goes to various parts of our body where it supplies energy for us to run and play and think. And it also supplies us with materials that make us grow and stay strong.

Food in the Large Intestines
By the time the food has passed through the small intestines, almost all the nourishing, valuable, important things it contained have been absorbed into the body. What is left is mostly water and waste material. This water and waste material pass into the large intestines, which connect with the small intestines. In the large intestines water is absorbed through the walls and into the body. This is important because our bodies must have plenty of water if they are to work properly.

Food is broken down and churned in the stomach before it passes into the small Intestines, where real digestion starts, aided by secretions from the liver, the pancreas, and cells lining the walls of the intestines.

The large intestines are about twice the width of the small intestines but not nearly so long. The inner lining of the large intestines has millions of glands that can absorb water, and its walls have muscles that contract and push along the waste material. By the time the waste material has passed through the large intestines and has lost most of its water, it becomes solid and somewhat hard. And when it reaches the very end of the large intestines, it causes us to want to have a bowel movement and get rid of it. When we do have a bowel movement, we get rid of all the useless solid wastes.

How long do you think it takes from the time we first eat a meal until it goes clown the foodpipe, reaches the stomach, then goes into the small intestines, then into the large intestines, and finally is gotten rid of when we have a bowel movement? For food to slide down the foodpipe into the stomach takes only a few seconds, but the food then stays in the stomach for a few hours while it is being churned up and digested. It usually takes from breakfast to lunchtime for the food to pass out of the stomach into the small intestines. When the stomach is good and empty, you will begin to feel hungry again. This happens about lunchtime, and so you eat lunch. It takes from lunchtime until supper time for the stomach to empty again, and when it does, you will feel hungry once again and are ready for supper. And, of course, we all know that it takes from supper time until the next morning before you again feel empty and hungry and are ready for another breakfast.

And so we see that it takes almost an entire clay for food to pass through our bodies, from the time we take it into our mouths until we get rid of its wastes. In the meantime, it has given us all the things we need to grow and be healthy and happy.

Surgery for Bloated Stomach Problems Due to Acid, Fat, Stapling and Banding

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | November 5th, 2006

Some children don’t like ice cream, but love spinach. Some children like bananas, but not peanut butter. Animals, too, have their own special likes and dislikes when it comes to what they eat. Why do we like some foods and not others? Well, we all have little sputa on our tongues that we call taste buds. They are responsible for giving us the carious tastes we have. Without them, foods would have very little taste.

In fact, almost everything would taste just about the same. How would you like it if cereal tasted like applesauce, or if peas tasted like grapes? Now, a child’s buds may like the taste of one particular food but not that of another. Although sometimes a preference for one food over another is the result of an attitude, everyone’s taste buds are different, so that even sisters and brothers may not like the same foods.

It’s nice that we really don’t have to eat things we don’t like, even if they happen to be good for us. This is because there are enough different foods whose taste we do enjoy that are also good for us. Did you know that some children become big and healthy grownups without ever having eaten eggs or drunk milk? These children have to flay away from these nourishing foods because these foods make them sick. When they drink milk or eat eggs, their skin might break out in an itchy rash, Dr their eyes might get swollen, red, and teary, or they might get cramps and pains in the stomach. Such children are allergic to these foods, although they may be perfectly able to eat and drink everything else. Luckily, they can eat plenty of other nourishing foods instead.

There are several things in foods that our bodies use from the time we are born. These essentials are called proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. We must get plenty of them if we are to grow normally.

Some foods have more protein than others; some foods have more fat than protein; some have more carbohydrate than protein; and still other foods may be rich in vitamins but poor in minerals.

Ulcers of the stomach and duodenum may respond to medical management if the child is kept on a proper diet that includes large quantities of milk.

For example, if we ate chocolate and nothing else, day in and day out, we wouldn’t get enough protein or vitamins or minerals in our diet and our muscles wouldn’t grow as strong as they should, and perhaps our teeth would get lots of cavities in them. If we ate only fish or chicken all the time, we’d get plenty of protein, but we wouldn’t have enough carbohydrates to supply us with the pep and energy we need to run and play. And if we never ate butter or took cream on our foods, or put gravy on our potatoes, we might not get enough fat in our diet, and we might turn out to be terribly skinny. When we eat bread and jelly, or noodles, or spaghetti, or rice, or potatoes, we are sure to have plenty of carbohydrates for the energy we use up every (lay. Cake and candy and ice cream, too, have loads of carbohydrates in them, but we shouldn’t eat them until we have finished the main part of our meal.

Vitamins and minerals are present in many of our foods and in many of the things we drink. They are necessary to help our organs work properly and to allow our bones and muscles to grow. If we don’t get enough vitamins, for example, our eyes might not see as well as they do, or our skin might not be as soft and smooth as it is, or our bones might not grow straight. Vitamins are found in especially large amounts in fresh fruits and vegetables and milk, so it is really important for us to include a lot of these things in our diet. We’ll get a good supply of vitamins if we eat such things as lettuce and celery and carrots and string beans and spinach and apples and cherries and peaches and oranges.

Minerals are present in tiny quantities in most of our foods, and we really need only small amounts of them to be healthy. The minerals our bodies needs have odd names, but we might want t memorize them anyway. For instant there is calcium, which we need for our teeth and bones to grow. There is lots calcium in mill:, so if we drink a
w glasses each day, that matter will taken care of. Then there is phosphorus, also present in milk, which we because calcium won’t work properly in our bodies unless plenty of phosphorus is there, too. They work together like brothers and sisters. Also, we must have sodium and chlorides and potassium, and we do have them in many of our foods. They supply the salt for all our body fluids. Without the proper amounts of sodium and chlorides and potassium, we might not breathe as easily as we do, and we might not be able to exercise as much as we want to. And, finally, our diets must have iron if our bodies are to work the way they should. Unless we have enough iron, our blood will not be healthy, and we might get sleepy and tired too early in the day. On Sundays, we might even fall asleep before the Disney show comes on television! Now wouldn’t that be awful? Fortunately, there is plenty of iron in the fruits and vegetables we eat.

Chewing and Swallowing
Most of us learn, quite early, to chew thoroughly and not to take too much food into our mouths at one time. Of course, there are a few children who stuff themselves so their cheeks bulge out like huge apples. Children who do that can’t chew properly, which is bad because then the saliva in the mouth doesn’t mix with and soften the food before it is swallowed. And when some¬one tries to get down a big chunk of unchewed food, sometimes it gets stuck. And then he has to cough up or spit out the food, and that looks terrible and makes an awful mess.

When we chew our food thoroughly and slowly, our teeth break up the big pieces and our saliva is able to mix with and wet the food properly, so it can glide down smoothly from the back of the mouth into the food pipe and then on down to the stomach. If someone swallows before he has chewed completely, he often swallows a lot of air along with his food, and this air when it gets into the stomach-may cause hiccuping and burping, or it may even cause a gas pain in the stomach. Of course, ‘no one wants to listen to someone else’s loud burps or hiccups, nor do they want to see a child get a stomachache.

The most common causes of upset stomach are overeating and gulping down food. Such stomach and Intestinal upsets can be avoided by developing good eating habits.

1. Always take a portion that will fit your mouth. Never stuff; there is plenty of time to eat.
2. Keep chewing until all the big pieces are chopped up. Don’t swallow until then.
3. Keep your lips closed while you chew. If you smack your lips you will make a lot of noise when you chew.
4. Don’t talk while you are chewing. Talk only after your mouth is empty.
5. Don’t put any more food into your mouth until the last mouth food has completely disappeared down your throat.
6. Drink only between mouthfuls, when your mouth is empty. Don’t drink to wash down food that hasn’t been chewed thoroughly. Then you won’t burp or hiccup, or get a gas pain.

Food and Drink When It Reaches the Stomach
When you swallow, the fluid or food slides down the foodpipe, or esophagus, which runs from the back of the throat down to the stomach. The stomach looks like a sack, hollow on the inside so it can hold plenty of food and fluid. In a grown-up, the stomach is about the size of a football. Naturally, it is smaller in a child. The inside lining of the stomach has millions of tiny glands that pour out a fluid much like the saliva in our mouths. This fluid is called stomach juice or gastric juice. The outer wall of the stomach is made of muscle that churns and mashes the food into tinier and tinier pieces, so that it looks a lot like something that has just come out of a blender. When the food is all soft and mushy, it leaves the stomach and passes into the small intestines.

The stomach is the organ of the digestive tract which breaks down food into small particles. It is located between the esophagus (foodpipe) and the duodenum (the first portion of the small intestine). Many people think the stomach does most of the digesting of food, but this is not true.

How Our Lungs Work, lung fibrosis and Cancer Treatment

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | November 3rd, 2006

Our lungs work for us clay and night, clay after day, month after month, year after year, throughout our lives. About every three or four seconds, they take in air containing the oxygen we need, and breathe out air containing the carbon dioxide and excess water that our bodies must get rid of. Like the heart, the lungs never rest. In a way, muscles and bones are luckier, for they rest when we sit still or lie down.

Everyone has two lungs, a right and a left one, lying inside the chest. The lungs fill with air and expand when we breathe in, and they give out air and contract when we breathe out. It is good to get into the habit of breathing deeply, for then we take in large amounts of the oxygen that is so necessary for all the organs and tissues of the body.

The lungs are very light and their insides are spongy. Millions of tiny air sacs, so small that they can only be seen under a microscope, make up the main structure of lungs. Each one of these air spaces, or sacs, is surrounded by a thin layer of special lung cells and by tissues that are elastic. When we breathe in-we call that inhaling-the elastic tissue relaxes and allows the sacs to fill with air. When we breathe out-we call that exhaling-the elastic tissue around the air sacs contracts and forces the air out.

The thin layer of lung cells has the special ability to take out the oxygen from the air we breathe. This oxygen goes directly into the blood and circulates to every part of the body. These same cells also have the ability of taking the carbon dioxide out of the blood. This is good because carbon dioxide is a main part of the waste that results from the using of the oxygen. The lung cells also allow a certain amount of water to leave our blood stream and we breathe that out, too, when we exhale.

If you want to prove to yourself that our breathe out water, all you have to do is get up close to a window or mirror and take a deep breath. Now, breathe out hard against the window or mirror. How it clouds up? Feel it, and you’ll see it is wet. That’s excess water that our body didn’t want. Even a child gets rid of about two big glassfuls of water every clay, just by breathing out. And a grown-up exhales about four glassfuls each day.
As we all know, air is breathed in through the nose, goes to the back of the throat, and down the windpipe, or trachea, into the bronchial tubes and finally to the lungs. When your nose gets clogged with a cold, you have to
breathe through your mouth.

People are especially careful these days to take good care of their lungs. They have begun to realize that many serious illnesses can result from neglecting the lungs. There are many ways in which we can help to keel) the lungs healthy. Here are a few of them:

1. Always try to avoid breathing polluted air. Such air, if you breathe it year after year, may damage your lungs. If you live in a neighborhood where there is smog, or where factories give off a great deal of smoke, or in places where the traffic is exceptionally heavy, you should try to keep that air out of your house or apartment. Ono way to do it is to have an air conditioner. If you don’t have an air conditioner and the air is particularly bad on a certain day, keep your windows and doors closed.

2. Go to nearby parks or beach or to the country, every chance you get. This tell help to fill your lungs with good, clean air.

3. Try not to get too many colds as this may lead to infection of the bronchial tubes or lungs. While a cold or bronchitis once in a while doesn’t do any serious damage, if you get such infections over and over again, they can cause damage. So take your parents’ advice about catching colds. And read how to avoid colds in the section of these books dealing with sickness.

4. If you have an allergy, such as asthma, don’t neglect to take your medicine and make sure to keep your appointments with your doctor.

5. Make up your mind now, while you are still young, that you are not going to smoke when you grow up. It has been found that smoking, especially cigarette smoking, is terrible for the lungs.

6. As you grow older, join the various clubs that are fighting air pollution. Great work is being done by these organizations to clean up dirty air and to keep clean air clean.

7. Never burn anything out of doors unless a grown-up says it is all right to do so. Did you know that when your parents and grand¬parents were children, people used to burn the leaves that fell from the trees? We don’t do that anymore because it pollutes the air. And we don’t burn garbage as we used to many years ago.

Leukemia, Low Hemoglobin and Cord Blood Transfusions Hepatitis

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | November 2nd, 2006

A transfusion is a means of giving blood to another person. It is recommended most often in an emergency, when someone has lost a great deal of blood due to an accident or serious illness. We mentioned in another part of this book that children have any¬where from three to four quarts of blood. If a child loses a quart or more, he or she might need to replace it with a transfusion. This can be done easily and safely by getting blood from a blood bank.

A blood bank is a place where people go to give some of their blood so it can be used whenever a really sick person needs it. The blood is stored in a refrigerator and can be kept there for a couple of weeks, to be used when necessary. People who give their blood to a bank are called donors. Patients who receive the blood are called recipients.

Children cannot give their blood; only adults can. Since adults have five to six quarts in their bodies, it does them no harm whatever to give away a pint (two glasses full) as often as every few months. Their bone marrow makes new blood quickly, and in a few days all the blood they have given away is replaced.

When blood from the donor fails to match that of the patient, the red blood cells clump together. In such cases, the donor blood Is not used.

All people belong to one of four main blood groups, or types. Our blood type stays the same all our lives. The four types are called A, B, AB, and 0. When giving a transfusion, the doctor always matches the donor blood with 1he recipient blood. And so we give type A blood to a type A recipient, type B blood to a type B patient, and ao forth. In great emergencies, we might give type 0 blood to anyone, since type 0 blood seems to be accepted by most people who have types A, B, or AB blood as well as those with type O.

Transfusions are simple to give. All that is done is to take a plastic bag urge enough to hold a pint of blood, ‘attach it to a tube and needle, and slide the needle gently into the arm of the patient. The blood then runs in smoothly and without causing pain. In a matter of an hour or so, by this method, the doctor can replace the blood a patient has lost. If more blood is needed, it can be taken from the blood bank.

It is a pretty good idea for all children to know their blood type, especially if they are going on trips to places where laboratory facilities for determining blood types aren’t available. Then, the child can wear a bracelet or a neck¬lace on which his or her blood type is printed.

When children reach eighteen years of age, they are permitted to become blood donors. Most towns and cities have Red Cross Centers where people can give a pint of blood every few months. By doing this, they may save someone’s life. Just think how wonderful it is to save a sick person’s life without any harm to yourself!

White and Red Blood Cell, Cord Blood Stem Cell Banking and Research

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | November 2nd, 2006

Everyone has blood inside his body, and when someone cuts himself, a bit of it runs out. This nothing to be frightened about, since each of us has about three or more quarts of blood.

Blood is an interesting fluid. It is composed of red blood cells, white blood cells, little specks of material called platelets, and plasma. Blood cells are also called corpuscles. The plasma is a pale yellow fluid in which the red and white blood corpuscles, and the platelets too, are carried throughout the body inside the arteries and veins. If you have, let us say, three quarts of blood, then a little more than one quart is made up of the red and white cells and a little less than two quarts is made of plasma.

Of course, you know what blood looks like when you cut yourself. But have you ever seen plasma? You probably have. When you skin your knee, for example, you will notice a yellowish fluid ooze from the scrape. That’s plasma. It contains many things, but one of its important functions is to help your blood to clot and form a scab.

Plasma has other important jobs, too. It carries all the absorbed nutriments (the foods we have eaten and have been absorbed) to the tissues. Without plasma, there would be no way for all the nourishing things we have eaten to get to the muscles and other tissues where they are needed. And, finally, it is plasma’s job to carry away from the tissues all the waste products. These are carried by the plasma to the kidneys. The wastes are then gotten rid of by the kidneys in the form of urine, and when we urinate, they are let out of our bodies.

A-white blood cell
B-red blood cell
C-plasma
D-platelet

In addition to plasma, all of us have billions of red blood cells in our bodies. Each cell lives for about two months and is then replaced by a new one. Red cells are formed inside the marrow of our bones. (If you don’t know what marrow is, ask your mother or father to show you the marrow inside of a chicken bone, or a ham bone, or a steak bone.)

The red blood cells have the job of carrying oxygen to all our tissues and of carrying carbon dioxide to our lungs. When we take a deep breath, we breathe in loads of good oxygen from the air, and when we breathe out we get rid of the carbon dioxide that comes from our tissues.

We don’t have as many white cells in our blood as we have red cells, but these white cells are still extremely important to us. They are the cells that fight against infection and disease. They kill the germs and viruses that get into the body when we are sick. Without them, we’d be in pretty bad shape.

Our blood platelets help the blood to clot when it leaves the body. If it weren’t for platelets, when we cut ourselves the blood might keep running, instead of stopping and forming a scab or clot.

And so, blood is very necessary and we should do everything possible to take good care of it. Do you want to know some things you can do to keep your blood healthy?

1. Breathe deeply so that your blood gets a good supply of oxygen from the air and so that your blood can get rid of as much car¬bon dioxide as possible.
2. Eat a good diet, especially foods with plenty of iron in them, such as meats, fish, fruits, and vegetables. Iron is needed to keep the red blood cells healthy, so they can take plenty of oxygen to the tissues.
3. Exercise every day, as this will help your blood to flow the way it should to every nook and cranny of your body tissues.
4. Clean every scratch or cut thoroughly. This will help to prevent germs from getting into your bloodstream.
5. Stay in bed as long as you are told to when you’re sick. This will give your white blood cells the best chance to fight and kill the germs that have made you sick.

How to Monitor Heart Rate and Blood Vessels Work

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | November 2nd, 2006

Every human being has a heart that pumps blood throughout his body. This is absolutely necessary, because blood carries the oxygen taken from the lungs, and all the digested foods that have been eaten, to the tissues. Without oxygen, nourishing sugars, and proteins and fats, our organs could not possibly work or live.

Did you ever place your ear against someone’s chest and listen to the heartbeat? Do it, and you will hear a sound like thub-dub each time the heart beats. A child’s heart beats about eighty to ninety times a minute, while a grown-up’s heart beats somewhat slower.

The heart is made of a special kind of muscle that contracts and relaxes automatically, without our having to do anything about it. You might think the heart is shaped like the pictures on a candy box or a Valentine’s Day card, but it really isn’t. The actual shape of the heart is shown in the diagram. It is about the size of an orange in a child, and of a small grapefruit in a grown-up.

The heart, commonly believed to be on the left side, is actually more toward the center of the chest and even extends over into the right side. It is surrounded on three sides by the lungs.

Blood from the body flows to the right side of the heart and is pumped to the lungs to get oxygen. It then flows to the left side of the heart and is pumped throughout the rest of the body.

The heart is hollow on the inside and has four parts. The two chambers on the right side receive blood that has already traveled to all the tissues of the body. This blood is a dark reddish purple color. This dark blood is then pumped by the heart through large vessels, called arteries, to the lungs where it picks up a new oxygen supply. The oxygen then turns the blood a bright red color. It is then returned from the lungs to the left side of the heart. The heart then pumps the blood from its two chambers on the left side into the largest artery in the body, the aorta. The aorta connects with smaller arteries throughout the body. After the blood delivers its oxygen and its vitamins and chemicals and nourishing food elements to each and every part of the body, veins then carry the blood back again to the right side of the heart. Once the blood is carried through the veins back to the heart, the whole process is repeated over again.

How much blood do you think a boy or girl has? Well, take a look at the quart container of milk and imagine that there are three of them. That’s about how much blood, three quarts, each of you has. Your mother may have about five quarts of blood and your father, because he is bigger, about six quarts.

The heart is one of the most remarkable organs in the body. It beats about 12,000 times a day, whether you’re asleep or awake. And each clay, it pumps your three quarts of blood through your body about 3,000 times!

Just as we take good care of our teeth by brushing them regularly and visiting our dentist every few months, we must also do what is good for our heart. You remember that regular exercise keeps the muscles of the arms and legs good and strong. Well, the heart is a muscle too, and we keep it strong by playing and exercising regularly. If we sit around and do nothing all day, sooner or later the heart won’t work as well as it should. Also, if you get fat from overeating, your heart will get fat, too, and that’s not good for your health.

When you run and play, your heart beats fast and hard and pumps your blood more rapidly through your body. Sometimes, when you run very fast for a long time, you can hear your heart beating and pounding in your chest. This is healthy, for it exercises the heart muscles and helps keep them strong. Sometimes, when you get frightened your heart beats fast, too, but. this can’t hurt you. As soon as you realize there’s nothing to be afraid of, your heart slows down to normal.

When you rest or sleep, your heart beats more slowly. It rests too. The next time you go to your doctor, ask him if you can listen to your own heart through his stethoscope. You will actually be able to hear your heart pump your own blood. Here are some rules to follow to help keep your heart healthy:

1. Run and play and exercise regularly.
2. Don’t eat too much, so you don’t get fat.
3. Stay in bed as long as your doctor tells you to when you are sick. 4. Don’t let yourself get overtired from playing too hard.
5. Eat all the good things your mother tells you to.
6. Get at least eight to ten hours of sleep each night.

The Arterial and Venous Systems. Blood is propelled by the contractions of the heart through the various arteries to the tissues of the body. The pulse is an indication of these contractions, which are transmitted along the arterial system. There is no pulse in the venous system, blood is returned to the heart by the force of gravity and by the pressure transmitted The arteries that carry the blood from the heart to all the organs have a smooth inner lining, so the blood can flow quickly over it, and walls containing small muscles that can contract and relax, so the blood can be pushed along without stopping. When the muscles in the walls of the arteries contract, the blood is pushed along The capillaries are very small blood vessels that directly nourish the body cells.

The arterioles carry blood from the arteries and the venues carry It toward the veins faster. When the muscles in the walls of the arteries relax, the blood flows more slowly. This action causes a pulse. You can feel the pulse yourself by placing your fingers on your own wrist or temple, or more easily, by feeling someone else’s wrist or temple. The pulse you feel means that the heart has just beaten, or contracted, pumping the blood faster through the artery.

Very often when you see the doctor, he will feel your pulse and look at his watch while holding your wrist. He is ting how fast your pulse is beat Generally, when you have a fever feel sick, your pulse beats much faster than usual.

At the same time as the blood tiers all its nourishment to the tissues, picks up waste materials that will Fentually be gotten rid of by your body. For example, as the tissues use oxygen, they give back carbon dioside to the blood. And when the sugar yes been used by your tissue cells, lacticiteid and other waste chemicals are even back. These substances are carjed to the heart through the veins. The lams, like the arteries, have a smooth peer lining, but their walls have much muscle tissue. As a result, veins can’t contract like arteries. The blood in the veins gets back to the heart by being pushed along from behind by the pumping action of the heart. Imagine a whole line of freight trains being pushed along the tracks by an engine p the back. The engine is like the heart, and the trains way up front are Ue the blood in your veins.

The arteries get smaller and smaller as they extend into the tissues until they hecome tiny, tiny little passage ways only big enough for a few blood cells to pass through at one time. These tiny blood vessels are called capillaries. They surround all of our tissues, and it is through these capillaries that the blood gets to every single part of the body. Then, after the blood has supplied the tissues and picked up the waste, it goes back into tiny, tiny veins. As the veins go back toward the heart, they get bigger and bigger.

The flowing of the blood through the heart, the arteries, the capillaries, and the veins is called the circulation. To keep our circulation in good working order we must move about and exercise a lot. Sitting still in front of the television set all clay is not the proper way to take care of our circulation. But we shouldn’t put a strain on our circulation, either, by being so active that we don’t get enough rest and sleep.

Chronic Causes for Sore Muscles and Bones Joints Pain and Aching

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | October 17th, 2006

Everybody has a couple of hundred bones and several hundred muscles throughout his body. They keep us all together and give us our shape. Without them we might look like a jellyfish, or a ball of putty or clay.

When we were tiny, our bones were kind of soft-so soft, as a matter of fact, that we could neither stand nor walk. And even though the muscles in our legs were able to work perfectly, they weren’t yet strong enough to hold our young bodies if we tried to stand. Our bones start to grow and they harden quickly, and by the time we were a little more than one year old, we were able to stand up and walk by ourself. The bones and muscles of our hands and arms, too, grew and developed so that we could pick up things by ourselves and could feed ourselves without help. Eventually we learned to dress all by ourselves. And most of us became pretty good at throwing and catching balls after we reached five or six years of age.

A human baby, however, grows into a little child who soon learns to use his hands and feet, and most other muscles and bones, in many ways that an animal can’t. Muscles are able to get longer or shorter almost like an elastic rubber band. When they contract and get hard, they become shorter. This happens when you bend your elbow and harden the muscles in your arm. When you straighten out your arm and relax, the muscles get longer and softer.

Every muscle in the body is attached to a bone by a ligament or tendon. It is the tightening (contraction) or the loosening (relaxation) of the muscles and their tendons that pulls on our bones and causes them to move. When you lift your arm, you tighten the muscles in your shoulders; when you drop your arm, you loosen those same muscles.

In order for the muscles to act properly, the nerves that supply them mustt be in good working order. If the nerves don’t work, the muscles cannot tighten or relax.

It is very important that we take good care of our bones and muscles. If we don’t drink enough milk and have too few minerals, such as calcium, in our diet, the bones may not grow the way we want them to. And if bones don’t grow properly, we won’t be as tall as we want to be. The length of our bones decides how tall we will be.
A great many children, at one time or another, break a bone or strain a muscle. Usually, it happens as an accident while running or playing or perhaps falling off a bicycle. Nobody wants that to happen, butt when it does a doctor can almost always fix it so that it will be as good as new again. If a bone is broken, it may be necessary to put it at rest for a few weeks by placing it in a cast. If a muscle or ligament has been torn or strained, it may be necessary to rest that for a few weeks.

A broken arm or leg stops hurting almost the same (lay that the cast is put on. And, fortunately, it doesn’t hurt to take off the cast. For a few days after a cast has been removed, the arm or leg may be a little weak, but it soon gets its usual strength back. A strained muscle or ligament may hurt for a long time, but it, too, even¬tually heals completely.

In many ways, we are much luckier than some of our animal friends. If we exercise regularly and play a lot and eat foods that are good for us, our muscles will become big and powerful. If we lie around the house all day looking at television, or if we don’t play and run and exercise, our muscles may become soft and flabby, and we won’t be very strong.

Here are a few rules to follow to make sure muscles and bones will be healthy:

l. Drink several glasses of milk each day and eat plenty of meats and fresh fruits and vegetables.
2. Don’t cat too much candy and other sweets, as this will make you fat.
3. Exercise regularly, in school and at home, and take part in the games your friends play.
4. Learn to ride a bicycle, to play ball, and to swim, as soon as you are old enough to do so.
5. On nice, sunny days, walk and run a lot, instead of staying around the house doing nothing.
6. Help out with family chores. If you live in a house, help to mow the lawn and rake the leaves; if you live in an apartment, help to keep it neat and clean. These are all good ways to exercise muscles and bones and accomplish something useful at the same time.
7. Dancing is great exercise as well as good fun, and boys, as well as girls, should learn.

Here are some things to remember if someone injures a muscle or bone and seems to be really badly hurt:

1. It is always better to lie flat and wait for a grown-up to help out than it is to try to walk on an injured foot or leg.
2. Whenever an injury affects the neck or back, it is especially important to lie as flatt as a pancake and not try to move. Wait for someone to come and help out.
3. If an arm is hurt, it should held close to the side of the Fwd and moved as little as possible.

Our Teeth, Laser Teeth Whitening, Implants, Bleaching and Crowns

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | October 14th, 2006

By the time a child is two and a half to three years of age, he has gotten all of his first, or “baby,” teeth. There are twenty of them: ten in the upper jaw and ten in the lower. The two center teeth are called central incisors; the next two on each side of the central incisors are called lateral incisors; the next two on each side of the lateral incisors are called eyeteeth; the next two on each side of the eyeteeth are called first molar teeth; and the next two on each side of the first molar teeth are called second molar teeth.

A child uses these teeth only for a few years, after which time they begin to fall out and second teeth, called , permanent teeth, start to conic in. ages at which baby teeth fall out varies quite a bit.

By the time a child becomes grown up, he or she has thirty-two teeth. The two center teeth are called central incisors; the next two on each side of the central incisors are lateral incisors; the next two on each side of the lateral incisors are canine teeth; the next two on each side of the canines are called first premolar teeth; the next two on each side of the first premolars are second premolar teeth; the next two on each side of the second premolars are first molar teeth; the next two on each side of the first molars are second molar teeth; and the next two are called third molar, or wisdom, teeth.

No one knows why, but the lower baby teeth seem to fall out earlier than upper ones, and the lower permanent teeth usually come in earlier than the upper ones. Of course, it may be different in some children, but eventually all the baby teeth come out and permanent ones come in. Once in a while, baby teeth don’t fall out when they should, and this may delay a second tooth from appearing. When this happens, a dentist may have to pull the baby teeth. It doesn’t hurt much to have a baby tooth pulled, especially one that is almost ready to come out by itself anyway.

Children don’t mind verv much when they lose their baby teeth, even if it means having a big empty space in the front of the mouth. All youngsters understand that the loss of baby teeth is a sign of growing up. As a matter of fact, some children like to lose baby teeth because, when they put one tinder their pillow at night, a Tooth Fairy sometimes comes by, takes the tooth, and leaves some money in its place.

It is natural for a little bleeding to occur when a first tooth is pulled or falls out. This doesn’t cause any trouble, as only a few drops of blood are lost, and the bleeding almost always stops by itself. Parents used to tell youngsters not to keep putting the tongue in the space left behind when a tooth comes out. They used to say that would make the second tooth come in crooked. We now know that this isn’t true, and that no harm results from putting the tongue in the empty space.

The principal parts of a tooth and its sur¬roundings are: enamel (1), dentine (2). pulp cavity (3), gum (a), root (5), and jawbone (6).

Teeth are made of the hardest substance in our body, much harder and tougher than bones. They have to be. Just think of all that chewing three times a day all the years of our lives. But even the toughest teeth get holes, or cavities, if we don’t take care of them properly. And even the strongest teeth can break if we try to chew such hard things as metal coins or stones. So use your teeth wisely. They are meant for chewing foods, and nothing else.

The main parts of a tooth are:

1. The hard enamel covering.
2. Under the enamel is another hard layer called dentine.
3. Beneath the dentine is the soft pulp cavity through which blood vessels nourish the teeth and nerves supply it with feeling.
4. All teeth have roots that go down deep into the bones of the jaw. These roots anchor the teeth solidly to the bone so that they don’t wiggle or become loose.
5. The socket of a tooth is the part of the jawbone that surrounds the roots of the teeth.
6. The gums surround the base of the teeth, and it is very important that they stay healthy and not become infected. If they do become infected, the infection may spread ‘ and damage the teeth. It is also important to brush teeth regularly two to three times each day. This will not only prevent germs from growing beneath the gums, but it will prevent tartar from forming. (Tartar is a yellowish-brown crust that may damage the tooth and the bone that surrounds it, if it isn’t removed regularly. A trip to the dentist twice a year will take care of tartar, but regular brushing of the teeth helps, too.)

Most people are proud of pretty teeth, but, unfortunately, not everyone’s teeth are nice to look at. Although dentists have discovered marvelous ways to make even ugly teeth look prettier, they find it difficult to work on unhealthy teeth. So it is a good idea to keep your teeth healthy while you are young. If they stay healthy but their appearance needs improvement, this can be done when you are older.

How We Speak

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | October 13th, 2006

Did you ever happen to think about how you learned to talk? Or why you couldn’t talk until you were a year or two old? One reason is that you had to do a lot of listening during the time you were a tiny tot in order to learn the meaning of words, and in order to make the sound of words.

When you were just a few weeks old, your mother probably said “hi” to you when she came into your room. You didn’t answer because you didn’t understand the meaning of the word “hi.” But she repeated the word many, many times each clay, week in and week out, and finally you did understand her and probably said “hi” back to her. You had learned to imitate the sound she made and, at the same time, learned its meaning. And did you know that if you hadn’t been able to hear, you wouldn’t have been able to talk? Since there would have been no talk to listen to, there would have been nothing to imitate.

When a child hears the same sounds over and over again, he begins to understand what they mean. If the mother says “come here” and motions for the baby to come to her, eventually he knows the meaning of the words. If the baby happens to live in France and the mother says viensici over and over again, the little French child soon realizes that it means the same as “come here.” When a mother points to the electric light in the ceiling and sees “light,” the baby soon learns what a light is, and imitates the sound his mother has made.

The Speech becomes possible when we find out how to use the larynx in the neck, together with the tongue and lips. The larynx-some people call it the Adam’s apple-is located in the neck below the throat and above the windpipe going to the lungs. It is made of cartilage and is held together by muscles and ligaments. In the middle of the larynx are two vocal cords, which vibrate when air passes between them. ,When we tighten our vocal cords and air very hard out of the lungs, we e a high sound. When we relax our vocal cords and blow air out of our lungs, we make a low, deep sound. By using the muscles in the throat to tighten and relax the vocal cords, we learn to make all kinds of different sounds.

When we breathe in, air passes from the outside through the larynx and down through the windpipe into the bungs. During times when we are not talking, the vocal cords are relaxed and apart. When we talk or sing, we tighten the vocal cords and narrow the opening in the larynx. Air passing through the vibrating vocal cords causes them to vibrate, producing sound. It is very much the same as producing sound by blowing through a clarinet or a trumpet. When we play a clarinet we cause a thin piece of wood, called a reed, to vibrate as we blow air over it. When we blow a trumpet, our lips vibrate as we blow air into the instrument’s opening. We also make a sound when we blow air through a whistle. In fact, whenever air passes with force from a larger to a smaller passageway, sound is created. You can do that by letting air out of a balloon by allowing only a small opening at the top.

When the sound waves we create by blowing air out of the windpipe and larynx reach the mouth, we are able to turn those sounds into words. We do this by using our tongue and lips and jaws. If you want to see how important the tongue and lips and jaws are in speaking, just try to talk without moving them. You find you can make sounds, but you can’t make words. Your jaws, and even your teeth, help to make your talk clear. For instance, try to say the word “mom” with your jaw open. It can’t be done. Or try to say the word “open” with your mouth tightly shut. You’ll find you can’t do that either.

As children grow up they learn to control their larynx and their tongue and lips better. They even find that they can train these organs to perform just like a fine instrument. Some boys and girls take singing lessons, and when they do, they are really learning how to use their breathing, their larynx, and their tongue and lips so they work together smoothly. A child who sings beautifully has learned how to control his vocal cords, too, so that they vibrate just right in order to make just the musical sounds wanted.

The vocal cords are delicate and can be injured by constant yelling, shouting, or screaming. Did you ever see someone just home from an exciting football or basketball game? He may be hoarse from having shouted encouragement to his team. If he only does this once in a while, it probably will do no great damage. Still, it is better to speak softly and take good care of your voice.

When someone gets an inflammation of his larynx, he may also become hoarse. Some children and grown-ups actually can’t talk because of the inflammation, but if they stay quiet, drink a lot of water and fruit juice, and take their medicine regularly, they will see the condition clear up within a few days and their voice return to normal.

Just above the larynx is a piece of tissue called the epiglottis. Whenever we swallow food or liquid, the epiglottis closes the entrance to the larynx. This prevents food or drink from getting into the windpipe or lungs while we are eating. Once in a while a person talks and eats at the same time, and the larynx opens and the food or liquid goes down the wrong way-right into the windpipe. And, of course, he coughs and chokes. That’s why nobody, especially a child, should try to talk with his mouth full.

How Our Nose Can Smell, Blocked Nose Infection and Bleeding

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | October 13th, 2006

Inside the nose, in the middle part, there are nerves with a fancy name. They are called olfactory nerves, and they are responsible for our being able to smell. The air we breathe in passes by these nerves. If the air has an odor, let us say, of roses, then we immediately smell roses. These nerves are extremely sensitive. They can tell hundreds upon hundreds of different odors from one another, and they transmit along the nerve to the brain a separate signal for each smell. The brain then interprets each smell separately. And these nerves practically never make a when the air smells of roses, they never transmit the signal for lilacs or some other flower.

Think of all the many odors you know. In a second, with no trouble at all, you can tell the smell of bacon cooking in the kitchen even without being in the kitchen yourself. You can smell perfume, if your mother uses it, without being anywhere near her. And, of course, there are many outdoor smells-newly cut grass, fresh flowers, burning leaves, and zillions of others that you can spot as quickly as you can say Jimmy Cricket.

It’s pretty remarkable, isn’t it? And yet most animals can smell even better than people can. Cats, dogs, and horses have such a much better sense of smell than we do that, if one knows you, he can usually smell your body’s odor and everyone has a special kind of body odor-long before you come anywhere near him. If you are outdoors and the wind is blowing right, an animal can smell you coming front as far as a block or so away. Wild animals have an even better sense of smell than tame animals. A deer or it rabbit can smell the approach of a dangerous animal when it is far away. This wonderful sense of smell protects them, so when danger approaches they can run or hide in plenty of time.

We mentioned that everyone has a body odor of his or her own. That’s true. And the smell of a clean body, whether it is of a child or grown-up, can be very pleasant. It is only when people wear dirty clothes or don’t bathe often enough that their bodies smell bad.

The sense of smell all but disappears when we have a bad cold, because the membranes in our noses become swollen and irritated and stuffed with mucus. As a result, the nerves aren’t stimulated by odors in the air. You can test for yourself what happens when you can’t breathe through your nose. First, smell something nice by breathing in deeply through your nose. Next, pinch your nose closed and breathe in deeply through your mouth. Whatever you smelled before you practically can’t smell now. That’s what happens when your nose gets clogged up when you have a cold.

The nose is composed mainly of bone and cartilage. Its two cavities are separated by the septum, a wall of cartilage. The nasal bone is quite delicate and is easily fractured. In most cases, it is not too difficult to restore a fractured nose to its normal shape.

The sense of smell also has a great deal to do with the sense of taste. The next time you have a cold you will realize that you really can’t taste anything, unless you can smell it at the same time. If you want to, you can test this even without having a cold. Ask someone to blindfold you and then pinch shut your nose or stuff it for a few minutes with a little cotton. Then, ask to be given something familiar to eat. You may find that it doesn’t taste familiar at all.

How We Hear and Our Ear Function with Hearing Aids

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | October 13th, 2006

Sound travels by sound waves that are much like the waves you see in water. Sound waves can be strong and big, like a stormy sea, or they can be weak, as when the sea is flat and calm. When a jet plane flies directly overhead, the sound waves are strong and we hear a loud sound. When somebody whispers softly, the sound waves are small and weak.

Sound waves can travel through air or water or even through solid things such as doors and walls. When you hear your mother and dad talking in another room through a closed door, you are hearing the sound waves of their voices passing through your door. And when a friend yells from the out¬side and asks you to come out and play, you may be hearing the sound waves right through the walls of your house.

Hearing takes place when sound waves enter the ear and strike against the eardrum, causing it to vibrate that’s moving back and forth quickly, or quivering, almost like what happens when you shake a bowl of Jello.

When the eardrum vibrates it causes three little bones just behind the eardrum to vibrate too. The vibration of these three bones-the malleus, incus, and strapes-transmits a signal to the inner ear. The inner ear is filled with a fluid, and this fluid passes the vibrations along to the nerve of hearing, called the acoustic nerve. The acoustic nerve picks up the signal from the inner ear and sends it on to the brain. The brain then interprets the signals it receives sound and, within the flash of a second, can say, “I hear Mom’s voice” or “that’s Dad speaking” or “that’s the baby crying” or “that’s thunder” or “that’s the music of my favorite song”.

It is really amazing how we hear! And all it takes is the time to blink an eye for anyone to hear something. The second someone makes sound waves by talking, your ear picks up the waves, sends the vibrations to your eardrum, then to the three little bones, then to the inner-ear fluid, then to the nerve of hearing, and finally to that amazing brain inside your skull.

Sound waves are transmitted through the ear canal and the middle ear to nerves in the inner ear, which send Impulses to the brain. The various parts of the ear are very delicate and can be damaged by repeated loud noises.

To keep our hearing at its very best, there are certain rules to follow:

1. Never stick anything into your ear or into anyone else’s ear. The eardrum may be hurt, and that could interfere with hearing. However, if an insect accidentally flies into your ear, or if you accidentally lose something in your ear, don’t worry, because it is easy for a doctor to remove it.

2. Always tell a grown-up when you have a pain in your ear. It may be necessary for you to take med¬icine to clear up an ear problem.

3. Always tell someone if you don’t hear as well as you usually do. You may need to have the wax cleaned out of your ears. Or, if you have an ear infection, you may need medicine to clear it up.

4. Don’t shout into another person’s ear. Remember, very strong sound waves can do damage.

5. Get into the habit of playing your radio or television set softly. It has been found that people who work in places where there is loud noise all the time don’t hear as well as others.

6. When people talk to you, look right at them. You can always hear better when you look at the person who is speaking to you. And that way he won’t have to speak so loudly.

7. Don’t listen to the radio or to television while you are reading a book or magazine. If you want to be sure to understand what you are reading, concentrate on it. If you want to hear the radio or television program properly, then concentrate on it. You can’t do both well at the same time.

How We See

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | October 11th, 2006

Of all the various parts of the body, the eyes are among the most wonderful. They are like two big, shiny-bright, beautiful windows through which all the marvelous sights of the world are viewed. We don’t appreciate our eyes sufficiently or we would take better care of them all the time. And if you want to find out what life would be like without your eyes, ask someone to blindfold you for a little while and let you walk about your room. Then you’ll learn a little bit about how difficult life is without vision. And you’ll discover how remarkable it is that unsighted people manage to get along so well without the use of their eves.

Did you know that unsighted people develop extra-fine hearing? And that their fingers and hands develop a much better sense of touch than those of us who can see? And that their ability to smell and taste things develops better? Well, that’s because all these other senses make up for the loss of sight. In a way, unsighted people “see” with their fingers and their ears and their noses and their tongues.

To understand how we see, we must learn something about the eye’s structure and how it works. The part of the eye we see in the face is only the front of the eye. The entire eye is shaped like a ball and is called the eyeball. Most of its lies inside the head in a special bony socket called the orbit. The front of the eyeball is covered by a clear, thin tissue, the cornea. You can look through a cornea as you can a piece of clear glass. The cornea covers the iris, the colored portion of the eye. Practically all babies are born with blue-colored eyes. Some eyes stay blue permanently. Others turn brown or green or gray when the child is several months old.

There is a black-looking opening in the center of the iris in everybody’s eyes. This is called the pupil, and it is the part of the eye through which light passes. The pupil gets smaller when exposed to bright light and larger in dim light. As a result of the iris’ opening and closing, the pupil looks larger or smaller, depending on how much or how little light there is.

The white part of the eye is called the sclera, and its job is to protect the rest of the eye. We don’t see through the white portions of our eyes.

Covering the front of the eye and the insides of the eyelids-except where the cornea is located-is a tissue called the conjunctiva. It protects the eyeball from infection, and from any dust and dirt that might be flying around.

Behind the iris and pupil in the center of the eye is an elliptical lens. It is like the lens of a camera, and like camera’s lens it lets light pass through it. The lens can change its gape, getting rounder or flatter in order to bring the light into focus.

Light passes through the cornea and pupil, then through the lens, then through the clear fluid that fills the inside of the eyeball, and, finally, hits the retina in the very back part of the eyeball.

The retina, which lines the back of the eyeball just like wallpaper lines all, is the part of the eye with which we actually see. It is like the film in a camera. Without film in a camera, it doesn’t make any difference how often we click the shutter or how little or how much light passes through the lens no picture will develop. It’s the same with our eyes. If we didn’t have a retina, no picture would result.

But this isn’t the end of the story about how we see. When light hits the retina, the retina transmits a signal along the nerve of sight-called the optic nerve-to a special part of the brain. And when that special part of the brain receives the signal, we finally fee what the eye is looking at.

Let’s go over it once more:
1. Light passes through the cornea and pupil to the lens.
2. It passes through the lens and the fluid of the eyeball to the retina.
3. The retina picks up the light impulses and passes them along to the optic nerve.
4. The optic nerve sends the signals to the brain.
5. The brain translates the signals into sight.

In many parts of this book, we discuss how smart the brain is. Just think of it. In the flash of a second, your brain translates what it sees and you say to yourself, “I see a dog,” “I see a boat,” “I see boom,” or “I see Dad.” But what happens when you see something that isn’t familiar to you? You see it, but you don’t understand it. Suppose you look through a microscope and see all sorts of strange cells and germs. You would have to say to yourself, “I see it, but it doesn’t mean anything to me.”

So it is not only important for us to see things clearly. We must study carefully and understand what we see. Most children ask questions when they don’t understand what they are seeing. That’s what helps us to grow up to be smart.

The iris of the eye. like the iris of an automatic camera, closes down in strong light and opens up in weak light to control the amount of light that enters.

How Our Nerves Work, Trapped Nerve in Lower Back, Neck and Shoulder

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | September 5th, 2006

Just as we have blood vessels that go to every part of the body, we also have nerves that supply every bit of our skin and all the organs beneath the skin. Some nerves are called sensory nerves. They allow us to feel sensations, such as heat and cold or pressure of pain. Without these sensory nerves, we wouldn’t be able to feel anything at all. Other nerves are motor nerves. They go to the muscles and give them the signals to contract or relax. These motor nerves are responsible for our movements and motions. Without them, we would not be able to move at all.

These two sets of nerves work together like a well-trained team. If you should accidentally stick your finger with a sharp pin, the sensation of pain would travel-like lightning-from the sensory nerves in your fingertip up your arm to the nerves of the spinal cord inside your spine. In a flash, the sensation of pain would go from the sensory nerves in your spinal cord to the motor nerves in your spinal cord. Immediately, instantly, in no time at all, the motor nerves send the signal to the muscles of your arm and hand and you would immediately pull your hand away from the pin.

These nerves act in the space of time it takes an electric bulb to turn on when you flick the light switch. Naturally, we have to be made that way. Imagine what it would be like if you had a sharp pin sticking into you and didn’t realize it for a few minutes, or if your nerves were so slow that it took you a long time to pull your finger away? It could be serious, too, if you accidentally leaned against a hot radiator or stove and didn’t know it for a while. You could get pretty badly hurt if your nerves didn’t act quickly.

Although the sensory nerves tell us about pain and heat and cold, not all of them act in exactly the same way. For example, if you were to feel pain in the skin of your stomach or thigh, it wouldn’t hurt as much as if you were feeling it in the tip of one of your fingers. That is because the fingers have special nerve endings that are much more sensitive than the ends of the nerves in the stomach or thighs. These nerve endings in the fingertips allow us to feel things that practically no other nerves can feel.

You can see for yourself just how sensitive the nerve endings in your fingers are. Have someone blindfold you and ask him to take something familiar-a nickel or quarter, a pencil or pen, a spoon or fork, or anything else you are used to seeing and feeling -and put it between your bare knees. Now, rub your knees together and see if you can recognize what he has placed there. You probably won’t be able to tell, or if you can, it won’t be easy. Now, have him take the same thing and, while you are still blindfolded, put it in your hand. In a second, you will probably recognize what it is. That’s because the nerves in your fingertips are so highly developed with their special nerve endings that they can tell one thing from another much better than nerves anywhere else in your body.

When we automatically pull our hand away the second we feel something painful, we call this action a reflex. A reflex is something we do without thinking. But our nerves don’t always act by reflex. For example, if we feel something unfamiliar, our nerves may study what it feels like and send a signal to the brain. We don’t jump away from something that feels smooth or round or comfortably warm or cool. Instead we feel it more thoroughly in order to decide what it is. When we do this, the signal from the nerve endings travels from our fingers to the nerves in our spine, and, instead of ending there, keeps on going up the nerves of the spinal cord to the brain. The brain then decides what we are feeling, and we can identify the object as a spoon or a nickel or a pencil.

Motor nerves from the brain cross over in the spinal cord. Thus a nerve from the right side of the brain supplies a muscle on the left side of the body.

Motor nerves work just as fast as sensory nerves. With lightning speed they direct muscles and tendons to contract or relax, thus moving various parts of the body away from danger. Think how wonderfully muscles and tendons work when we pull away from a sharp pin or a hot stove. And how remarkably they work at difficult jobs such as playing a piano or a violin. None of these things could be done if the motor nerves failed to give the proper signals to the muscles and tendons of the hands and fingers.

The signals for many of our motor nerves come directly from the brain. Here is an example:

Think of raising your arm-quickly -but don’t move it yet. Get ready, get set, RAISE IT. How did it happen? Your brain told the nerves in your arm that you were going to raise your arm, butt you didn’t. Then, when you saw the words horse IT, your brain gave the command to the nerves in your arm, and bingo!-up went your arm. In other words, the nerves obeyed your brain, and the muscles obeyed your nerves, and the bones obeyed your muscles. The boss of the whole thing was your brain. If your brain hadn’t said “I’m going to raise my arm,” nothing would have happened.

The Nervous System. Every part of the body Is supplied by nerves, and all of these nerves connect with the brain. Some nerves carry impulses toward the brain: these are called afferent nerves. Other nerves carry impulses away from the brain: these are called efferent nerves. Nerve tissue shows very little tendency to grow again once it has been destroyed.

In addition to the motor and sensory nerves, we have what is called an involuntary nervous system. This is made up of a bunch of nerves that act by themselves, without the nerves in the spinal cord or brain having anything directly to do with them. This system of nerves is just as necessary as other nerves, because they control some very important actions of our body. Here are a few actions of our involuntary nerves:

They allow us to keep on breathing without having to think about it. They make the small blood vessels in our skin contract when it is cold. This holds in heat and keeps us warm. And they cause the small vessels in our skin to relax when it is hot. This permits more blood to go to our skin, and, in this way, we get rid of extra body heat.

Signals sent to our heart by involuntary nerves make our heart beat faster when we run and play. When we run or play hard, our muscles need more blood. The faster the heart beats, the more blood it will pump to our muscles.

Involuntary nerves tell us when we have to go to the bathroom. They are responsible for the contractions of our stomach when we get hungry, too. Also, without the action of the involuntary nerves, our foods wouldn’t pass along from the stomach to the intestines and our digestion would get out of order.

Many other signals are given by the involuntary nerves, and all their actions are automatic. Our brains don’t have to think about them. For instance, we don’t have to say to ourselves, “Now I am going to perspire,” or “Now I am going to see to it that the food leaves my stomach and goes into my intestines.” These things happen all by themselves as a result of the actions of our involuntary nerves.

One of the great things about our nerves is that they are able to work without our doing much to keep them healthy. However, they work at their best when we exercise regularly and eat a diet containing plenty of vitamins and minerals. If we don’t exercise and get fat and lazy, our nerve reactions may become slow and sluggish. And if we don’t eat a proper diet, our nerves may suffer and won’t work as well as they should.

How Our Brain Works, Brain Exercises and Fitness

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | August 27th, 2006

The brain is a mass of nerve tissue that fills the entire inside of the skull. It is by far the most important organ in the body. Without it, we could not live.

The billions of tiny cells in the brain are remarkable. They remember things for years; they seem to be able to learn endless new things, year in and year out, throughout our lives; they can remember tastes and smells, sights and sounds, and the feel of things for a lifetime without ever forgetting. Once a child becomes familiar with the taste of milk, or the smell of roses, or the sound of a piano, or the sight of the sky, or the feel of an ice cube, he will remember them forever-without even trying.

This is because there is no limit to the ability of our brain cells to understand and to store knowledge.

Just think of some of the brilliant things the human brain has done. For example, it figured out how to send people safely to the moon and back. It invented television, where all we have to do is flick a switch and pictures and voices appear in our own home. And the human brain invented and improved the airplane so that now we can travel safely from place to place in the air rather than on the ground.

All this, and so much more, too, because of the wonderful cells our brains possess. Did you know that we keep the same

brain cells all our lives? We replace our skin cells every few weeks, and our blood cells every few months, but we never replace our brain cells with new ones. When we scratch ourselves or skin a knee, a scab forms, and a couple of weeks later when it falls off, we have brand-new skin underneath. Not so with our brain cells. If anything happens to one of these cells, it is never replaced by a new one.

Nature was clever in having us keep the same brain cells, because it allows us to remember things for always. If we changed our brain cells the way we do our skin cells or blood cells, we would not be able to remember things for very long. New brain cells would have to learn all over again the various senses of taste or smell or sound or sight or touch that the old brain cells had been familiar with since early childhood. Why, we might not even remember our parents from one year to the next.

No one knows for sure how the brain works. For instance, we don’t know exactly where in the brain cell our knowledge is stored. If we were to look at brain cells under a microscope, we could not see anything to show us how they developed the amazing ability to know all the things they know. Some scientists believe that our ability to think and to store knowledge is a chemical reaction, but exactly what that reaction is, we don’t understand. However, doctors do know that the brain won’t work properly unless, at all times, its cells are supplied with a great deal of oxygen and sugar. Brain cells die more quickly than cells of any other organ in the body if they are deprived of oxygen for even a few minutes, and if the brain cells don’t get enough sugar, they can’t function properly.

The four major portions of the brain are the cerebrum, the cerebellum, the pons, and the medulla oblongata. Our thoughts and our movements are controlled by the cerebrum.

The brain is composed of four main parts:

1. The cerebrum controls our thoughts. Even while we are asleep, the cerebrum keeps working, producing thoughts. These thoughts are our dreams. Often they don’t seem to make much sense, because they pay little attention to time, or space, or place. But dreams are created by our brains, so they must have some meaning.

The thoughts we have while we are awake are called conscious thoughts; those we have while we are asleep are unconscious thoughts. The cerebrum also controls our movements and sensations. The motor nerves that move our muscles are in the cerebrum, and the sensory nerves that allow us to feel things are also in the cerebrum.

2. The cerebellum lies beneath the cerebrum in the back of the brain. It controls muscle reflexes and is responsible for our muscles working together so they don’t tug and pull in different directions at the same time. The cerebellum also controls our sense of balance.

3. The pons lies beneath the cerebellum in the base of the skull. It receives and sends out impulses or signals from the cerebrum.

4. The medulla is located under the pons and connects with the spinal cord. It transmits signals received from all the other parts of the nervous system. Doctors learned about the various functions of the different parts of the brain by making experiments. They discovered that brain cells and nerve cells react to electricity. For example, if we supply a small electric current to a nerve, the nerve will send out a signal and the muscle it supplies will contract. In the same way we can stimulate brain cells and, by so doing, obtain information about their function.

Research has revealed the fact that certain areas of the brain are responsible for various specific functions and these areas have been carefully charted. From experiments of this sort, doctors learned that the signals or impulses that travel from one part of the brain to another, or that travel along nerves to and from the brain, work much the same way as electricity traveling along an electric cord.

Of course, we know that the brain and its nerves don’t have to be stimulated by electricity from the outside. We can start our own “current,” without any outside help at all. Here is an experiment that will show you how your brain works:

Place the palm of your hand flat on the table. Now, think about lifting up your hand, but don’t move it. When you see the numbers 1-2-3, lift up your hand.

1-2-3

Now let’s see exactly what happened. First the brain cells in your cerebrum told the nerves going to your hand that you would soon send signals along them. When you lifted your band, your cerebrum started the signal that traveled to the cerebellum, then to the pons, then to the medulla, then to the spinal cord and out to the nerves that control the muscles in your hand and arm. And all this took place in the flash of a second.

Close your eyes and think of a large airplane flying through a cloudy sky. Think hard and imagine you are actu¬ally seeing it. And there it is!

What really happened was that your brain, all by itself, without paper or paint or crayon or pencil, made that picture and you saw it clearly in your own mind.

Teachers and scientists and doctors know that the brain does certain things automatically, but if we want to develop it to its very best, we must train

The cerebrum can do other amazing things, too. For example, it can make imaginary pictures and feel imaginary sensations. Here is another experiment showing how your brain works:

it all the time. If we don’t, it won’t develop nearly as well. Here are some rules to follow to grow up with a fine brain:

1. Always get enough sleep. A tired brain doesn’t work very well.
2. Eat a good, balanced diet. Brain cells need more. nourishment than any other cells in the entire body. A badly nourished body means a badly nourished brain, and a badly nourished brain won’t function well.
3. Control your anger. It has been found that people who lose their temper all the time, or who constantly fight and hate, develop brains that don’t function as well as they might.
4. Follow what your parents and teachers tell you. Listen carefully to what you are told, whether at home or in school. It has been found that children who fail to pay attention don’t learn well, and their brains never develop as well as they could.
5. Read lots of good books.
6. Look at good television shows, and listen to good radio shows, especially those that can tell about new things.
7. Make as many friends as you can. Children with many good friends usually learn much more than those who are lonely or without friends.
8. Try to get along well with your brothers and sisters. For some strange reason, the brain doesn’t develop as well as it should if there is too much quarreling and fighting and arguing in a family.
9. Tell your parents whenever something is bothering you greatly. It is not good for your brain for you to worry too much, or be unhappy for too long a time. In most cases, parents can help you solve your problem without too much trouble. If they can’t, they will take you to a doctor or other counselor who will know how to help you.

The Human Body Muscle Skeleton Diagram

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | August 24th, 2006

The Skeleton
There are more than two hundred bones in the skeleton of each one of us. The skeleton supports all the structures of our body and gives us our shape. Bones are made up mostly of hard calcium, but inside them is a soft substance called bone marrow. In this marrow, blood cells of all kinds are manufactured and are taken by blood vessels into the bloodstream.

The Human Blood Circulatory System, Health Symptoms and Problems

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | August 20th, 2006

The Heart
The heart is a hollow organ, with four chambers, made up of muscles that continuously contract and relax. It is located beneath the breastbone in the chest, mostly on the left side, although a small portion extends over to the right side of the chest. The heart pumps the blood through the body. Without it, we could not live.

The Appendix
The appendix is a small extension of the large intestines, connected to the cecum and located in the lower right part of the abdomen. It is shout the length of your middle finger but only about as thick as a pencil. The appendix has no real function, but it kicks up quite a bit of trouble every once in a while by becoming inflamed or in¬fected. When that happens, it is usually removed.

The Adrenal Glands
The adrenal glands lie on top of the kidneys in the upper portion of the abdomen. They are shaped like triangles, and are about the size of ordinary cookies. Even though the adrenals are small, they are absolutely necessary to life. They supply important hormones, such as adrenalin and cortisone, and they control what happens to various essential substances, including salt and other chemicals in the blood.

The Kidneys
The kidneys are bean-shaped organs about the size of a fist. There are two of them, one on each side, under the ribs in the back part of the abdomen. The kidneys get rid of waste materials from the blood, which is then excreted in the form of urine. The kidneys also make sure that the blood retains those substances that the body needs to function normally.

The Ureters
The ureters are two long tubes connecting the kidneys with the bladder in the lower part of the abdomen. Their purpose is to carry to the bladder the urine that has been produced by the kidneys.

The Bladder
The urinary bladder is a hollow sac located in the lowermost part of the abdomen. The two ureters empty into it from above, and the urethra empties it from below. When the bladder is empty, it is much like a balloon without any air in it. When it is filled with urine, it is large and firm, like a blownup balloon. The purpose of the bladder is to store urine until we are ready to urinate.

The Urethra
The urethra is a tube whose function is to carry urine from the bladder to the outside. In the male, the urethra is located within the penis; in the female, it is located just above the opening of the vagina.

The Male Reproductive Organs
The Penis
The penis has two main purposes: to carry urine from the bladder to the outside, and to carry the sperm to the vagina during intercourse.

The Testicles
The two testicles, one on each side, are located in the scrotal sac just beneath the penis. The testicles manufacture the sperm that unite with the female egg to form a new human being. The testicles also manufacture the male sex hormone, which is supplied directly into the bloodstream. When a male reaches twelve to fourteen years of age, this hormone is responsible for his gradually turning from a boy into a man.

The Prostate Glend
This gland is located around the urethra at the bottom of the bladder. It supplies the fluid in which the sperm are carried.

The Seminal Vesicles
There are two seminal vesicles, one on each side, just above the prostate gland. They supply the fluid (semen) in which the sperm are carried.

The Female Reproductive Organs
The Uterus
The uterus is a pear-shaped organ made up of a cavity lined with membrane and surrounded by a thick muscle wall. It is located deep in the lower part of the abdomen in front of the rectum and just behind the urinary bladder. The uterus connects with the vagina below it and the two Fallopian tubes above it. The uterus is also called the womb. It is the organ within which the unborn child develops.

The Fallopian Tubes
The two Fallopian tubes extend for three to four inches from the top of the uterus, one on each side. Their purpose is to carry to the uterus the eggs that come from the ovaries. If pregnancy is going to take place, the sperm meet and fertilize the egg while it is in a Fallopian tube.

The Ovaries
There are two ovaries, one on each side of the uterus, next to the Fallopian tubes. Once a month, in a grown girl or woman, one of the ovaries produces a tiny egg-about the size of a pinpoint-that leaves the ovary and enters one of the Fallopian tubes. If the egg meets sperm in the Fallopian tube, it may become fertilized and form an embryo. If the egg is not fertilized, it will be expelled naturally. The ovaries also manufacture the female sex hormone, which is supplied directly into the bloodstream. When a female reaches eleven to thirteen years of age, this hormone is responsible for her gradually changing from a girl into a wuman.

The Vagina
The vagina is a membrane-lined canal, whose opening is located between the anus and the urethra. It extends from the outside up to the entrance to the uterus. The penis is placed within the vagina during intercourse, and the sperm that come from the penis are deposited in the vagina. During childbirth, the baby leaves the uterus and comes out through the vagina.

The Skin
The skin covers and protects the entire body. It also helps to control how much fluid we have in our bodies. On hot days our pores open, and we lose a lot of water through perspiration. On cold days our pores remain closed, and we hold more water within our bodies. Certain waste materials are also gotten rid of through the skin in perspiration.

Diagram of Large Intestines, Cleanse Diseases, Pain and Cancer

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | August 16th, 2006

The large intestines connect with the small intestines in the lower right part of the abdomen. They then extend up the right side of the abdomen to an area beneath the liver, cross the abdomen to the left side high up near the diaphragm, and, finally, extend down the left side of the abdomen all the way to the rectum and anus. The various parts of the large intestines are called:

- The Cecum connecting with the small intestines in the right lower abdomen;
- The Ascending Colon extending up the right side of the abdomen;
- The Transverse Colon extending down the left side of the abdomen;
- The Sigmoid Colon an S-shaped portion located in the lower left side of the abdomen;
- The Rectum the last part of the large intestines, way down in the lower portion of the abdomen;
- The Anus the outlet of the large intestines through which we have the body and were straightened out, we’d discover that they are about five or six feet long, or about as long as the couch in most people’s living room.

The purpose of the large intestines is to absorb water from the stools and to push the stools onward so they can be excreted through the anus. By the time the large intestines receive the foods we have eaten, all the nourishment contained in the foods has been removed in the small intestines. Therefore, the stools consist mostly of waste materials that the body neither needs nor wants.

Diagram of Small Intestines, Health Symptoms Such as Blockage, Inflammation and Pain

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | August 15th, 2006

The small intestines are long muscular tubes that join the stomach to the large intestines. If they were outside the body and were straightened out, they would stretch out to about twenty feet, or about the length of most people’s living room! The first part of the small intestines is called the duodenum, the second part the jejunum, and the third part the ileum.

The small intestines receive bile from the liver and gall bladder and juices from the pancreas. These substances help us to digest foods. Also, tiny glands in the walls of the small intestines manufacture juices that help in the digestion of the proteins, sugars, and fats that we have eaten. Digested food, minerals, and vitamins are absorbed through the walls of the small intestines and are taken to the liver. From there, they are sent where they are needed or stored for later use.

The Stomach, Liposuction to Loose Stomach Fat and Weight

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | August 5th, 2006

The Pancreas
The pancreas is a gland that lies crosswise in the middle of the abdomen below the stomach. It makes insulin, a hormone that controls the way we use the sugar we have digested, and it manufactures various juices that flow into the intestines to help digest the foods we have eaten.

The Stomach
The stomach lies in the upper left side of the abdomen. It connects with the esophagus, or foodpipe, above and the small intestines below. The muscles of the stomach churn up the undigested food received from the esophagus and break it into small particles. The stomach also digests some of the sugars we have eaten and even absorbs some of them into the body through its wall. The tiny gland cells of the stomach’s lining manufacture an acid that also helps to break up large undigested food particles into small ones. People once thought that the stomach was important in digesting foods, but this is not so. Most of the digestion goes on in the small intestines.

Symptoms of Liver Damage and Small Intestine Cleanse Alcohol Transplant

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | August 3rd, 2006

The Liver
The liver is the largest organ in the body. It extends across the upper abdomen beneath the diaphragm, the muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. The liver has more jobs to do than any other organ. It stores and releases into the blood the proteins, sugars, and fats that we have absorbed from our food. It also purifies the blood and gets rid of wastes.

The Gall Bladder
The gall bladder is a small thin walled sac, shaped like a pear, attached to the underside of the liver. It receives from the liver and stores bile, which it sends out as needed through a hollow tube called the bile duct. The bile duct leads into the intestines where bile acts to digest the fats that we have eaten.

The Spleen
The spleen is a large bean-shaped gland lying high up’ beneath the diaphragm on the left side of the abdomen. Before a child is born, the spleen manufactures red blood cells. After birth, it destroys worn-out red blood cells.

Pictures of Lungs Nodules and Cancer Symptoms

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | August 1st, 2006

The lungs are located in the chest and are surrounded and protected by the ribs. They are two large spongy organs that get bigger as we breathe in and smaller as we breathe out. The lungs take out the oxygen from the air we breathe in and get rid of carbon dioxide with the air we breathe out. Without lungs, we could not live.

1. The Larynx
The larynx is the top of the trachea, or windpipe. It forms the bulge in the neck that is called the “Adam’s apple” and contains two vocal cords that vi¬brate and that open and close as we speak or sing.

2. The Thyroid Gland
The thyroid is a gland located in the front of the neck on both sides of the trachea, or windpipe. It manufactures the hormone that controls how well we break down food into substances that are used for energy and for rebuilding worn-out structures.

3. The Trachea
The trachea is the windpipe, which extends from the larynx in the neck down to the bronchial tubes in the chest. It carries the air we breathe into and out of the lungs.

The Parathyroid Glands
The parathyroids are four pea-sized glands located in the neck behind the thyroid gland. They make a hormone that controls the way calcium and phosphorus behave in the body. These minerals are important because they help keep bones and muscles in good condition.

The Esophagus
The esophagus is the foodpipe. It extends from the throat down through the chest, and it carries the food and fluids we swallow into the stomach.

The Bronchial Tubes
The bronchial tubes connect the trachea and the lungs. Air moves through these tubes into and out of the lungs.

The Enlarged Pituitary Gland Symptoms

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | July 30th, 2006

The pituitary gland is located in a special hollowed-out place in the base of the skull. This gland manufactures several important chemicals, known as hormones. These hormones are supplied to the bloodstream and have so much to do with controlling all the other glands in the body that the pituitary is often called the “master gland.” If a person’s pituitary supplies too little of certain hormones, that person may never grow properly and might even become a dwarf. If it secretes too much, the person might grow to become a giant. Luckily, it almost always secretes just the right amount, allowing us to grow to the right height.

The Pharynx, or Throat
The pharynx, or throat, is located behind the mouth and nose. It is a passageway for the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the fluids we drink. At its lower end it divides into two parts: the esophagus, for food and drink, and the larynx and trachea, which carry air into the lungs.

The Parathyroid Glands
The parathyroids are four pea-sized glands located in the neck behind the thyroid gland. They make a hormone that controls the way calcium and phosphorus behave in the body. These minerals are important because they help keep bones and muscles in good condition.

2. The Tongue
The tongue is a large muscle with a membrane covering it, located, as we know, in the floor of the mouth. With the membranes of the tongue we are able to taste. The muscles of the tongue also help us to chew food properly, and we use these same muscles in speaking.

3. The Tonsils
The tonsils are two glands, one on each side of the throat, behind the tongue. We don’t know for sure what the tonsils are supposed to do, but some doctors think they are helpful in preventing germs from entering the body. All too often, the tonsils themselves become infected, and, in some cases, they must be removed.

4. The Adenoids
The adenoids are glands high up in back of the throat behind the nose. No one really knows what their function is, but we do know that in young children they often become enlarged. When that happens, it is easier for the child to breathe through the mouth rather than the nose. If the adenoids become too big and infected, they may be removed along with the tonsils. After that, the child can breathe easily once again through the nose.

5. The Larynx
The larynx is the top of the trachea, or windpipe. It forms the bulge in the neck that is called the “Adam’s apple” and contains two vocal cords that vibrate and that open and close as we speak or sing.

6. The Thyroid Gland
The thyroid is a gland located in the front of the neck on both sides of the trachea, or windpipe. It manufactures the hormone that controls how well we break down food into substances that are used for energy and for rebuilding worn out structures.

7. The Esophagus
The esophagus is the foodpipe. It extends from the throat down through the chest, and it carries the food and fluids we swallow into the stomach.

8. The Trachea
The trachea is the windpipe, which extends from the larynx in the neck down to the bronchial tubes in the chest. It carries the air we breathe into and out of the lungs.

The Tethered Spinal Cord Diagram and Stem Cell Injury Treatment

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | July 30th, 2006

The spinal cord is composed of all the nerves that are connected to the brain. It is located inside the spinal canal, which is a space inside all the separate bones of the backbone, or spine. The spinal cord extends all the way from the base of the brain to the lower back. The nerves of the spinal cord are sensory nerves, which carry sensations from all parts of the body to the brain, or motor nerves, which travel from the brain to all parts of the body and are responsible for motion, action, and gesture.

The Brain and Types of Brain aneurysm symptoms

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | July 27th, 2006

Our body consist of various organs, each organ is part of the body that has one or more special functions to do. Take the heart for example whose special job is pumping blood and loaded it with oxygen throughout the body; likewise the brain’s main job is to control our movement and thinking, while the lungs inhale oxygen from the surrounding and burns it off as carbon dioxide as we breathe.

Our body has lots of organs and in order to live a healthy life, we need to understand what goes on inside us and how these organs works and what are the best way to keep them running, these organs are special to us therefore below are a list of the most important ones, listing down where they are and where they are located and the special jobs they perform to keep us healthy and alive.

Our brain is located in the head close to the primary sensory apparatus and the mouth. While all vertebrates have a brain, invertebrates have either a centralized brain or collections of individual ganglia. Brains can be extremely complex. For example, the human brain contains more than 100 billion neurons, each linked to as many as 10,000 others.

History

Early views on the function of the brain regarded it to be a form of “cranial stuffing” of sorts. In Egypt, from the late Middle Kingdom onwards, in preparation for mummification, the brain was regularly removed, for it was the heart that was assumed to be the seat of intelligence. According to Herodotus, during the first step of mummification: ‘The most perfect practice is to extract as much of the brain as possible with an iron hook, and what the hook cannot reach is mixed with drugs.’ Over the next five-thousand years, this view came to be reversed; the brain is now known to be the seat of intelligence, although colloquial variations of the former remain as in “memorizing something by heart”.

The Brain Main Parts

Our human brain consist of mass nerve tissue within the skull, it controls all of our thinking and activities, protected by the skull, it is one of the most important organs in our body. It is composed of four main parts:

1. The cerebrum controls all mental processes and movement, it is the largest part of the brain. Without the cerebrum, thinking and controlling any part of our body is impossible.
2. The cerebellum is located right below the cerebrum at the back of the
head. The cerebellum is the second largest part of the brain and it controls our sense of balance and our muscle reflexes, such as those that make us automatically take our hand away when we touch a hot stove by accident.
3. The pons, which is at the base of the skull beneath the cerebellum, receives and sends out impulses or signals from the cerebrum.
4. The medulla, below the pons, extends down into the spinal cord. It sends on signals received from all the other parts of the brain.

What Goes Inside Us

Filed Under What Goes Inside Us | July 21st, 2006

The curiosity of children is deep and limitless. They want to know everything about themselves and the world in which they live. Not too long after they have learned how to communicate, they ask, “Who made me?”-”How did I get into your tummy?”-”How did I come out?” Given another year or two and their interests begin to extend beyond the mere confines of the earthly planet on which they exist. They want to know about the stars and the sun and the moon, about God, and about life and death.

The main thesis of GROWING UP HEALTHY is that a Child’s Bill of Rights is justified and is long overdue. Children are entitled to know the truth about their physical and emotional development, about their organs and how they work, about illnesses that might befall them, and about their World and Universe.

In doses sufficient to satisfy a five to ten year old’s inquisitiveness and ability to comprehend, we have dispensed medical information and advice on how to maintain good health. It is our belief that the wonderful Disney characters have not only created great visual pleasure in these pages but have contributed tremendously to the enjoyment and understanding of the text.

We want to emphasize that the material contained in this book is not meant to be a manual for self-diagnosis or self-treatment, nor should it be a substitute for the advice of a physician.