Книга только для ознакомления
. In all animals but man the heart is placed in
the centre of the pectoral region; but in man it inclines a little
towards the left, so that it may counterbalance the chilliness of that
side. For the left side is colder in man, as compared with the
right, than in any other animal. It has been stated in an earlier
treatise that even in fishes the heart holds the same position as in
other animals; and the reason has been given why it appears not to
do so. The apex of the heart, it is true, is in them turned towards
the head, but this in fishes is the front aspect, for it is the
direction in which their motion occurs.
The heart again is abundantly supplied with sinews, as might
reasonably be expected. For the motions of the body commence from
the heart, and are brought about by traction and relaxation. The heart
therefore, which, as already said,' as it were a living creature
inside its possessor, requires some such subservient and strengthening
parts.
In no animals does the heart contain a bone, certainly in none of
those that we have ourselves inspected, with the exception of the
horse and a certain kind of ox. In these exceptional cases the
heart, owing to its large bulk, is provided with a bone as a
support; just as the bones serve as supports for the body generally.
In animals of great size the heart has three cavities; in smaller
animals it has two; and in all has at least one, for, as already
stated, there must be some place in the heart to serve as a receptacle
for the first blood; which, as has been mentioned more than once, is
formed in this organ
|
