Sensibility Of The Heart

The beart was not the sensible organ which tbey would suppose it to be, endowcd os it was with excessive irritability. The celebrated Plarvey, the discoverer of the circulation of ihe blood, had ao opportunity in his lifetime of jutüng ibis queslion to the test. A young noblemnn, of the name of Montgomery, Tiet vith an accident by which there were rorn away, or subseqnently camtj away, considerable portions of the ribs and parts covering the left side of the chest. This individual miraculouely recovered, but with a permnnent opening in the thora, exposing the eft iung and the hoort. On the case being made known to Charlea I., he requested that Hsrvey might hare an opportunity of exaraning this esttaordinary case. ïlarvey called jpon the young nobleman, and atated what lis mnjesty'a plecsure was; and the young nobleman immediately consenting, took off his :lothe., and exposed a Jarge opening, into vhich Harrey could introducé his hand . AferexpresRinif his surprise, as they might eupose he would, at the offort which nature had mode tt repnration, and th'at üfe couid be sus tained with all this expoanre of the contents of the chet, Harvey toik the heart in his mnd, and put his finger on the pulse, toascerJain whether it was really true thal lie had that most important órgan wiihin his grasp and sphere of observa tion; but íinding the pulsations of the heart nd the wrist were synchronous, he was convinced that it was the heart. Wonderful as it may appear, in touching it there was no sensibility, there was no pnin; the heart might have been sqneezed in the hand; and but from the circumstance of touching the young nobleman's clothes or his skin, he was not conncious that there was any pressure upon it. This proted that the heart was not so highly sensitive as they shoul have been led to think it was. Still, he hope that the rclalion of this case would not in (Juce them to suppose that this orgiiu could b roughly treated with mpuniiy. He coul assure them that it was an organ full of sym pathy. So.far as its exterior wns concernetit was not endowed wtth a slisrht dcgree of scnsibilitj, and thnt for the wiscat purposes; but iis interior enjoyed it in a most exqni6ite degree. The internnl surface of the heart immcdiately eympathised with any disturbed condition of the svstem. If the head or etomach were añected, tliey knew fuil well that the heart could be brought into intímate aympathj with it: thefcfore they were atrare that it was a highly