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Show Medical Sermonettes By W. E. LEONARD, M. D. v - r (. 1927, by Western Newspaper Union.) "Why, then, do you walk as If you had swallowed a ramrod?" Old Kpic-tetus Kpic-tetus was undoubtedly ridiculing a proud nobleman, and had no thought of modern posture training. Man was made in, or grew up into by evolution, an upright posture, and to be healthy he should retain it at all times. In walking or sitting all the organs of the body are best served and kept in trim by straightness. All this is commonplace enough in the new training train-ing of youth, but cannot be too often emphasized for all ages. A bowed position is sure to cramp some organ, notably the largest gland of the body, the liver, which next to the stomach Is the most abused by our carelessness. I would make a special plea for that faithful bile-producer which occupies a very important location In the northeast north-east quadrant of the abdomen. If the body is not held straight and upright, and the lungs regularly filled to their utmost with life-giving air, this poor servant of the whole economy is cramped and becomes stagnant and insufficient in-sufficient in Its action. One of the most common ailments, both from a surgical and medical standpoint, is a "sluggish liver," mainly because wc do not allow It room to' function. Thomas Bailey Aldrich wrote : What probing deep Has ever solved the mystery of sleep? Nor is there yet any full explanation explana-tion of its cause or its usual accompaniments, accompa-niments, dreams. We know the blessedness bless-edness of it and agree entirely with Keats when he sang: O magic sleep! O comfortable bird, That broodest o'er the troubled sea of the mind Till It Is hushed and smooth! O un-conflned un-conflned Restraint! Imprisoned liberty! Great key To golden palaces. But what sleep may bring of mental balm or woe we cannot foretell. The heavenly smile of the sleeping infant may seem only an incipient colic, while the deeper sleep of the adult may bring one knows not what horrid visions and nightmares. There is no adequate way of telling how one may spend the unconscious hours, nor any method of anticipating the rest that sleep should bring except by bringing to the retiring hour a calm and even state of mind or body. Such preparation prepara-tion Is most often possible by so conducting con-ducting (he whole business of the day as to lead up to the tranquillity of a day well spent in every sense. "Laugh and grow fat." Probably generally true, but why then such lank, thin men as Mark Twain, Arte-mus Arte-mus Ward, Bill Nye and many more who have amused and even convulsed the American people by contrast with Irvin Cobb and certain fat ones in the movies? It may be that professional profes-sional humorists are evenly divided between the fat and the lean. The truth that needs to be remembered Is that good spirits and gay humor are always aids to digestion, and that the contrary state of mind may even paralyze, para-lyze, and always hinders, such processes. proc-esses. Jolly people are almost always fond of eating and prefer large quantities quan-tities of food. They certainly put the thin ones to shame at the table. The "lean and hungry Cassius" may live a little longer than Sir John Faistaff. but the observer does not envy the former, nor usually imitate him. "Be sure you are right, then go ahead." Old David Crockett's motto is of extreme value in all medical matters. mat-ters. The great difficulty is to know when you are right, amid the conflicting conflict-ing opinions of medical men. . The sensible and Intelligent patient should know that medicine is not an exact science, but an art, practiced by human hu-man and therefore fallible men and women. He should never risk his life and happiness upon the opinion of one person alone, nor rely solely upon one human judgment. It is a too common habit of all medical men to be dogmatic dog-matic and arrogant In their opinions. It Is extremely difficult for them to be ' Judicial and impersonal In an opinion I I about disease. Selfish ant mere pro- fossional notions are very apt to creep I ! in and unconsciously bias their conclu- I iions. Many a frightened patient has left the doctor's office with the sen- ' I tence of death hanging over him. from heart disease, let's say, and rallied to outlive the condemning physician Many an "ulcer of the stomach" has recovered withou. an operation, al though the pronouncement lias been otherwise. The moral for the every day man is: Get more than one opin ion and use your own common sem-e N'or is this intend. 'd to belittle tin-knowledge tin-knowledge ami learning of any truly conscientious physician in whom yon may have confidence. |