Middle-aged and elderly encyclopedia - (Illustrated)

Author: Ning Zhiming / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates once said, "You must know yourself." We want to borrow this famous saying to remind every middle-aged and elderly person. "You must know yourself," here refers to one's own body. In other words, every middle-aged and elderly person should learn and master some basic medical knowledge, such as the origin of life, human anatomy, and physiological changes at different stages of life, so that they can understand and recognize themselves, and healthily take charge of their lives. Some people might think, "I already know myself very well." A normal human body consists of only four major parts: the head, neck, torso, and limbs. The face has five senses, and the torso contains five internal organs and six internal viscera—these are common knowledge. However, knowledge about the specific structure of the body, the physiological functions of each organ, and their relationships with one another, as well as the physiological changes at different age stages, is lacking for most people. If people lack this knowledge, they cannot take good care of themselves, maintain a balanced diet, protect themselves during labor, exercise properly, or prevent diseases. Over time, this can affect their health, even lead to illness, and shorten their lifespan.
Humanity has gone through a long historical process to understand itself. Nowadays, people know that consciousness and activities are controlled by the brain. However, in ancient times, people believed that the heart was the organ of consciousness and thought, as expressed in the saying, "The heart governs thought." Therefore, words related to thinking, such as "think," "consider," "ponder," and "think," all have the character "heart" at the bottom.
Regarding blood circulation, it is known to be composed of the heart and blood vessels. The heart acts as a "pump," and under its driving force, blood moves from arteries to capillaries, then returns to veins, and finally flows back to the heart, repeating this cycle continuously to maintain normal body functions. Although people have known since ancient times that the heart and blood vessels are connected, they were not very clear about the substances in the arteries and veins and their respective functions. For example, doctors in ancient Greece observed that almost all blood was found in the veins, while the arteries were empty. As a result, they believed that the human body's arteries were filled with air that entered from the lungs.
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