the right to the left intersecting thus one another obliquely as they go from the heart to the anastomosis whereby they form a sort of Net or Sieve-like-woof upon the outside of the Artery At their coming out of the heart they are knitted together by a cartilagineous substance that incompasses the root of the Artery round about as an iron-ring does the end of a handle from the circumference of which cartilagineous Ring they run Helix-wise upon the superficies of the artery at the extremity of which being arriv'd they insert themselves into the tendinous small ring or anastomosis These spiral Fibres are tied so loosely on the body of the artery and so slightly between themselves at the places where they intersect one another that they may run very easily to and fro upon the artery The second thing conducive to the production of those stated turns of Systole's and Diastole's of the artery is that the bloud contains a certain subtil matter or vital spirit which can move it self and pass between its parts very easily And in fine that the bloud coming out of the heart where it acquires an extreme agitation into the arteria magna expands it self with great violence and strongly dilates that part of the said artery that lies contiguous to the heart forcing in the same time the bloud to advance from the heart towards the extremity whereby the spiral Fibres being necessarily drawn towards the dilating place do compress the artery round about all along so squeeze the subtil matter from between the parts of the compressed bloud into that which is not forcing it thus to pass from the extremity towards the heart which makes the ebbing or systole of the artery And then the spiral Fibres having been extended violently and on a sudden upon the dilatation of the artery do by the Elastick faculty of some of their parts come back again and restitute themselves into their former situation and state forcing thereby the subtil matter to fly through the bloud from the dilated place of the great Artery towards the extremity of the capillary ones c. which makes the flowing or Diastole of the Artery THE EXPLICATION WE have already supposed the Artery to be of a right Conical figure let us further for greater evidence imagine it to be mentally divided into four parts of equal capacity so that as much as the first shall exceed the second in bredth the second will exceed the first in length c. Let besides the places of the suppos'd divisions be marked with several letters as A B C and let A denote the first division proceeding from the heart to the extremity B the second and C the third let us also mark the Basis of the Cylindrical artery which is inserted into the basis of the heart by X and its capillary end inserted into the circumference of the annular anastomosis by Y. And now suppose that a certain portion of bloud as a dram for example passes out of the heart into the aorta where it swells and dilates it self very considerably by reason of a very intense degree of heat it acquires in the ventricles of the heart and of its being mixed therein with a certain leaven or fermentative juice it being the residue of that portion of bloud that had past immediately before through the heart which necessarily causes a great commotion and strife amongst its parts it must follow according to true Philosophy that the said portion of bloud coming out of the heart does in the same time thrust the bloud already in the artery forwards and dilates that part of the artery that lies contiguous to the heart It thrusts the bloud I say towards the extremity because that it must occupy a space in the artery equal to its natural bulk neither greater nor smaller by reason that a like quantity of the bloud to that that comes out of the heart into the artery is poured out of the vein into the heart so that there is only room left in the vein to admit just as much bloud as comes out of the heart at each Diastole And if we suppose the space X A to contain a dram of bloud whether more or less makes no matter here as we have also supposed that the same quantity comes out of the heart at every Diastole or Systole as some would have it it is an invincible truth that this bloud coming out of the heart must exactly occupy the space X A and that therefore it thrusts in the same time the bloud that occupied it before into the space A B that in A B into the space B C that in the space B C into the space C Y and that in C Y into the capillary end of the vein c. And altho according to our Hypothesis the passage from the artery into the vein be much smaller than that of the heart into the artery yet if the motion of the bloud through the anastomosis is to the motion of the bloud at the orifice of the heart as the orifice of the heart is to the anastomosis that is as X is to Y as it may easily be so altho it is naturally otherwise the rest of the anastomoses from which we have abstracted here being together at least as capacious as the orifice of the heart it is plain that a dram of bloud will as soon pass from the artery into the vein as another shall from the heart into the artery And as the bloud coming out of the heart into the great artery cannot possibly occupy a greater space than such as is adequate to its volume in a condensed state and that nevertheless it dilates it self it must necessarily extend and dilate X A the part of the artery that contains it as much beyond its natural tone or reach as the rarefaction of the bloud increases its volume which cannot come to pass but these two things must necessarily follow First that when the bloud dilates it self it leaves some intervals between its parts which intervals because there is no vacuum in nature must in the same time be filled up with some other fluid matter which ought to be thinner than the bloud for otherwise it cou'd not pass between its parts And as this subtil matter can't come from the heart because that then it 's empty and that besides its orifice is shut close by its three valves it can neither come through the coats of the artery by reason of their thickness and close texture neither is there any such matter about them It remains then only that it must come from the bloud contained in the artery Secondly that the spiral Fibres must be drawn towards the dilated place and the rest of the artery made as much narrower than ordinary as X A becomes wider than it uses to be Whereby the artery being compressed round about the vital spirit is squeezed from between the compressed parts of the bloud and forced to advance towards the dilated place
in such manner that as much of the spirit as is necessary to fill up the spaces left between the parts of the dilated bloud is sent thither from between the parts of that which is compressed the remnant of the spirit being equally distributed through the rest of the artery so that if every one of the four parts or divisions of the artery contains a certain quantity of vital spirit distinguished into three parts and that three of those parts do pass from A B into X A two of them will in the same instant pass from B C into A B and one from C Y into B C in which action consists the ebbing or systole of the artery And as a rope or more sensibly a gut-string which is fixed to any place being pulled with a jerk will draw back again him that drew it at first so likewise the spiral Fibres being extended violently and on a sudden upon the dilatation of the artery do come back again instantaneously by reason that some of the parts of each Fibre being strongly thrusted towards its middle and somewhat bent from its circumference towards its centre do presently spring back again extending themselves according to the bredth of the Fibre whereby the said Fibre is necessarily as much shortned as it had been stretch'd before and restitute themselves into their former situation tone which they are facilitated to do by the extenuation of that extraordinary agitation of the bloud which it communicates in an instant to the yielding sides of the artery forcing thereby three parts of the vital spirit or subtil matter to repass from X A to A B and the two parts that were already in A B to pass into B C from whence another will pass into C Y c. which makes the flowing or Diastole of the artery I foresee an Objection that some may make against what we have said that that portion of the bloud that comes out of the heart in its Diastole is dilated and yet occupies no more of the artery than if it were condensed only that part of the artery which contains it is a little more extended than the rest for they will say this supposes that both the artery and the vein are always full of bloud being certain that if the bloud in coming out of the heart into the great artery did find there any empty space where it might expand it self freely it would start forwards into it and then it wou'd not dilate the artery nor by consequence draw the spiral Fibres and therefore there wou'd neither be Systole nor Diastole in the artery But it is most certain they will continue that men have sometimes more and sometimes less bloud in their bodies and that if a man has for example fifteen ounces of bloud drawn it will follow that there being a vacuity in the Sanguiducts till the same quantity of bloud be regenerated a-new the Beating of the Pulse must also cease till then which being contradicted by daily experience they will conclude that the motion of the spiral Fibres with whatever else we have taught concerning the Beating of the Pulse is altogether chimerical To which I answer in few words that for the Beating of the Pulse and Circulation of the Bloud it matters not at all whether or no the artery and vein be quite full of bloud since that as the bloud decreases in them the muscles of the limbs and other adjacent parts do proportionably compress them round about so that their internal superficies touches the bloud continually every way which has the same effect as if the artery and vein were exactly full of bloud for the bloud coming out of the heart and finding as much difficulty in lifting up the adjacent parts as to drive on the bloud of the artery and vein when they are full on 't it 's forced to keep the same order and method in that case as it does in this concerning its dilatation and place in the artery Now these being the true and genuine reasons of the Diastole and Systole of the arteries it 's very easy thereby to explain all the Phenomena relating to Galen's experiment For the Quill being put into the artery and left there without being tied the artery will nevertheless beat still above and below the Quill as it did before because that the spiral Fibres can still play to and fro from one end of the artery to the other without impediment But if you bind the sides of the artery upon the Quill the motion of the same spiral Fibres will be intercopted by the ligature so that it must necessarily follow by the foregoing reasons that the artery being not alternatively compressed and dilated betwixt the said ligature and the extremity the Pulse must also cease in that part of the said artery c. Many things may easily be explained by this Doctrine tho impossible to be interpreted any otherwise which therefore become as many proofs of its verity as namely the difference which is between the arterial and venal bloud For having demonstrated above that when the bloud advances in the great artery from the heart towards the anastomosis and from thence into the vein the vital spirit goes in the very same time from the anastomosis towards the heart whereby the said spirit is necessarily kept within the artery it is certain that this disparity proceeds from the want of spirit in the venal to keep its parts in agitation which abounding in the arterial keeps it in a continual effervency c. I cou'd add many other things to authorize what we have said concerning the Beating of the Pulse and Circulation of the Bloud but I hope this will suffice to rational men and such as are of a Mechanical Genius As for those that attribute all things to final causes and have recourse upon every occasion to the designs and intentions of Nature as when they say that the Eye-brows are made to hinder the Sweat from falling into the eyes c. if notwithstanding all that we can do they remain still insensible to our reasons it matters not much and in my opinion such persons had a great deal better study Astrology or if they are big with devotion go and comment upon Job or Paraphrase some Psalms than meddle with Physical matters FINIS THE CONTENTS Section I. Of the Nature of the Teeth Page 7 Sect. II. Of the Alteration of the Teeth p. 11 Sect. III. Of the Corruption of the Teeth with their Remedies p. 15 The Description and Vse of the Polican p. 17 Sect. IV. Of the Restauration of the Teeth p. 19 Sect. V. Of the Tooth-ake Looseness of the Teeth and decay of the Gums with their Remedies p. 22 Sect. VI. Of Childrens Teeth p. 31 Sect. VII Of the Acceleration of the Teeth p. 37 Advertisement to the Readers p. 44 A Physical Dicourse concerning the Beating of the Pulse and Circulation of the Bloud p. 45 The Explication p. 52
ways but that I may render what I have to say upon it as perspicuous and intelligible as I can I think it very convenient we should take a special notice of the vessels that come into the Tooth and of their respective Functions The first and chiefest whereof is an Artery whose Office is to bring directly from the heart that hot and spirituous blood out of which although it is not the general Opinion the Tooth is at first made as well as the rest of the whole body and ever after preserved and repaired by the supply of nourishment and vital principles it affords continually To this effect the whole Artery divides it self into an infinity of small branches which being disseminated throughout the whole substance of the Tooth distribute to each part as much of their blood as is necessary to make up the incessant loss they are subject to and the rest is returned through innumerable hair-like veins into the great ones and thence to the heart again but in two different manners for the superfluous part of that portion of the blood that is carried by the Capillary Arteries to that part of the Tooth standing above the Gums is sent back again through some Capillary veins towards the middle of the Tooth where uniting together they make but a single channel and this is it we commonly call the vein of the Tooth which we shall here take for its second vessel But the remainder of the blood that goes to the relief of that part of the Tooth that is within the Gums passing quite through the substance of the Tooth is carried by the Capillary veins to the veins of the Gums Checks and Lips and hence it is that whatever pain is at any time occasioned in any of those parts either by bruise excessive heat or cold c. comes to be soon after communicated to the Teeth The Third and Last Vessel of the Teeth is a Nerve one of the extremities whereof is expanded through the Membrane that invests the cavity of the Tooth and that that contains its Vessels and the other is rooted in the Brain from whence it takes its Origine and where the Animal Spirits being elaborated are thence sent by the Nerves to all the parts of the body to administer sense and the cause of motion to them c. although in some as the Teeth the faculty of motion is not exercised From this consideration of the Vessels of the Tooth we may gather the following reasons of its Dolour As first that if either through the too great quantity or ebulition of the blood the Artery is so dilated and swoln that it fills up the hole at the end of the stumps where it enters the Tooth and consequently so compresses the vein going out the same way that the circulation of the Blood is thereby hindred the continual flowing in of the blood will extremely puff up and distend the membrane that contains the vessels and consequently cause a great pain in the Tooth which will last till either the preternatural state of the Blood be changed or that the Arteriols which we have said to pass quite through the rooty part of the Tooth be so stretched and widened that by them the Blood may be discharged into the Gums Cheeks and Lips where it will then cause a swelling greater or lesser according to the quantity of the superfluous Blood And if at the beginning of this disorder when the Vein is first impeded in its Function the motion of the Blood is so rapid and its influx into the Tooth so impetuous that before it can make its way through the small Arterial Twigs into the Gums it does extremely extend the coats of the Artery the Interstices between their Fibres will thereby become wide enough to give passage to some of the thinnest parts of the Blood which gathering at the end of the root between the outside of the Artery and the common Coat investing all the Vessels will there putrifie and cause a great and very lasting pain in the Tooth during which if the Tooth be drawn the said gathering will appear at the end of its stump like a little Bladder You shall know this sort of Tooth-Ake by the high beating of your Pulse the fulness of the Veins and an often beating in the affected Tooth with a continual tho not very extreme pain And then for the Cure of it you must first bleed the Gums and sometimes open a Vein in the Arm also and wash your mouth with Rose-water and Vinegar of each equal quantities mixt together putting a little Cotton dipt in Oyl of Box into the Tooth if it be hollow Furthermore if that portion of the Blood which is diffused through the substance of the Brain for the production of the Animal Spirits is so depraved that all the sifting it receives through the hidden meanders and recesses of the Brain cannot clear it from its impurities and that notwithstanding all the contrivances of Nature it is deposited into the ventricles of the Brain tho under another form yet still impregnated with its ill qualities such sort of Animal Spirits being compounded of Heterogeneous parts if not timely discharged of their malignant and offensive Corpuscles through the usual Emunctories will either by their fermentation in the Ventricles of the Brain cause an Head-ake or by the oppilation of its pores cause a giddiness or else passing out of the Brain into the Nerves will by their irregular motion and preternatural extention of the coats of the Nerves and other Tunicles breed a disturbance in all the parts they go to but more particularly in the Teeth in which they always excite very great pains For discharging the peccant humour between the membrane that invests the inside of the Tooth and that that incloses its vessels it occasions a perpetual torment in them till it be expelled from thence by transpiration This second kind of Tooth-ake will be known by a disturbance in the head which precedes it most commonly a soreness in the joynts and a certain drousiness and lingring pain all over the body as if one were inclined to an Ague with a sharp and very excessive pain in the distempered Tooth which comes by fits soon ceasing and often beginning a-new As for its Cure it may be effected by Sternutation the friction of the nape of the Neck with warm clothes and the application of aperitive Remedies to open the pores of the Tooth and if it be hollow you shall put in 't a drop of Oyl of Camphire whereinto has been infused some Henbane-root These are the two general causes of the Tooth-ake all the rest proceeding from them some few excepted There is what I had a mind to say at this present concerning the Tooth-ake But you must note further that as it is not enough for one that intends to travel a Countrey over to understand the Map of that Countrey but he must also inquire often of the people he meets with as he goes