Читать книгу The Art of Cupping - Hedwig Manz - Страница 15

Observe how the things in the world are made, and differentiate between the forces acting on them and the goal.

Marc Aurelius

The body and its functions are two basic aspects of life that cannot be separated from each other. The human body develops meaningfully in growth and metabolism. Its internal unity makes possible its astounding organization and unimaginable regulatory abilities, on the basis of which it succeeds in continuously adjusting to new circumstances.

To better recognize the effects of cupping, understanding the basic structure of the organ systems and the functional processes in the human body is indispensable.

The human body is constructed of cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems. In accordance with their location, structure, and functions, the individual organs and organ systems vary considerably. Nevertheless, the human organism is more than just a sum of its organs. It is an integrated whole that cannot be separated.

The uniqueness of humans is not found in the details of our bodily structure, but in the functional harmony of the organs and organ systems, which guarantees the continuous, mutually interdependent, frictionless completion of all life processes.

The body consists of billions of cells, which are the smallest building blocks with vital properties, only visible under a microscope. These guarantee internal unity. Depending on their specialization, the cells exhibit very different shapes and functions (e.g., muscle cells, blood corpuscles, neurons, etc.).

Cells that are structured similarly in view of one or several similar functions form associations for certain tasks, namely tissue (e.g., muscle tissue, glandular tissue, nerve tissue, etc.).

Tissues in turn combine by practical associations and in abundant combinations to form organs that are charged with performing certain functions. Tissues and organs combine into systems in which the links are formed by functional complexes, such as digestion, respiration, and so on. All cells for the construction of organs are held together and connected to each other by intercellular fluid.

Nerve tracts and hair blood vessels (capillaries) end freely in the intercellular fluid without having direct cell contact. The intercellular fluid, also called tissue fluid, facilitates microcirculation and thereby the completion of all vital processes. This functional unity of cells, nerves, capillaries, and tissue fluid, called “vegetative ground system” by the researcher A. Pischinger, constitutes an impulse-transmitting system of information in the organism. As a result, every cell in the body is constantly linked indirectly with every other healthy cell. Only cells damaged by irritation, that is, diseased cells, are shut out of this comprehensive information system. Hence, they create a gap in the functional unity and thereby limit organ activity.

The human skeleton determines the shape and form of the body: Its hard and resistant components are the bones and cartilage. Our body is constructed with the purpose of moving it.