occur from the vibration of a blow, as when a fall or blow upon the top of
the head produces fracture of the bones at the base of the brain.[6]

61. Treatment for Broken Bones. When a bone is broken a surgeon is
needed to set it, that is, to bring the broken parts into their natural
position, and retain them by proper appliances. Nature throws out between
and around the broken ends of bones a supply of repair material known as
plastic lymph, which is changed to fibrous tissue, then to cartilage, and
finally to bone. This material serves as a sort of cement to hold the
fractured parts together. The excess of this at the point of union can be
felt under the skin for some time after the bone is healed.

With old people a broken bone is often a serious matter, and may cripple
them for life or prove fatal. A trifling fall, for instance, may cause a
broken hip (popularly so called, though really a fracture of the neck of
the femur), from the shock of which, and the subsequent pain and
exhaustion, an aged person may die in a few weeks. In young people,
however, the parts of a broken bone will knit together in three or four
weeks after the fracture is reduced; while in adults, six or even more may
be required for firm union. After a broken bone is strong enough to be
used, it is fragile for some time; and great care must be taken,
especially with children, that the injured parts may not be broken again
before perfect union takes place.[7]

62. The Effect of Alcohol upon the Bones. While the growth of the
bones occurs, of course, mainly during the earlier years of life, yet they
do not attain their full maturity until about the twenty-fifth year; and
it is stated that in persons devoted to intellectual pursuits, the skull
grows even after that age. It is plainly necessary that during this period
of bone growth the nutrition of the body should be of the best, that the