Madame Young's Guide to Health / Her experience and practice for nearly forty years; a true family herbal, wherein is displayed the true properties and medical virtues of all the roots, herbs, &c., indigenous to the United States, and their combination in all the diseases the human body is heir to; also, an explanation of the human body, its liability to injuries through ignorance of its structure. Dedicated exclusively to her sex.

by Amelia Young

THE DIAPHRAGM.

Now that I have explained the circulation of the blood, and showed you the contents of the chest, I will proceed to the midriff. The contents of the chest are separated from the abdomen, by a floating curtain, called the midriff, or diaphragm. The midriff is the floor of the lungs; the right and left portions are loose, and float upward into the chest every time we breathe out the air in the chest; on breathing, or drawing in the air, the midriff of a person in health, forms a floor to the lungs and heart, and it descends until it is drawn tight, flat and stiff, across the body. The arrangement of the midriff is such, as always to form a strong support to the heart and lungs, as it floats below the lungs, every time we empty the air out from the chest.

The midriff is united, or fastened to the back bone, breast bone, and the middle of the ribs; therefore, we say the right and left portions float upward into the chest. How often is this part strained, and then called consumption! I allow there may be a cough, and tightness across the chest; but the real cause is, the lungs have lost their support, and consequently they wither and decay, unless you can strengthen the floor or support, that is, the ligaments; the symptoms are, you are unable to draw a long breath; if you go up stairs, your breath becomes short.

How many of you have had relations or some female friend, whom you considered near dying of consumption, but fortunately became pregnant; and she, to your astonishment, enjoyed better health than for years previous. But how could it be so? Why, this is the cause: as soon as the fœtus rose from the vagina, it supported the midriff, and pushed up the floor of the lungs, and the poor patient found instant relief; she could breathe freely, could walk easily, her cough ceased, and her sleep was calm. But alas! as soon as parturition takes place, her symptoms all return, and, as no one understands her case, she must die, through ignorance.

Young men very often sprain their midriff, by lifting, or in wrestling, and frequently die of consumption, when, by a little care and judicious treatment, they might be saved. In the first place, your lungs hang on your wind-pipe, air vessels, and blood vessels; now, if so, they want a support, and the midriff is this support; but if it is gone, do not be surprised if you decap a blood vessel, and thereby spit blood from that cause; but be not frightened to death by this, as it will, in many cases, relieve you and be beneficial in the end.