Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/194

This page needs to be proofread.
*
166
*

MASS. INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. 166 MASSAGE. shadowed the other departments. Owing Lo the disturbed state of the country during the Civil War, the regular courses of instruction were not opened until 18G5. The development has recently been so rapid that more tlian half of the total of about 3000 graduates of the school belong in the last nine classes. The institute was a pioneer in the introduction of laboratory methods, which are a distinguisiiing- characteristic of its work. In addition to instruction in the sciences and their application to the arts, general .studies essential for a liberal education are required. Tliirteen di.stinct courses are oll'ered, each of four years' duration: Civil enginering, medianical engineer- ing, mining engineering and metallurgy, archi- tecture, chemistry, electrical engineering, biologj*, physics, general studies, chemical engineering, sanitary engineering, gcologj', and naval arclii- tecture. Each of these courses leads to the degree of Bachelor of Science. Within most of the regular courses a considerable latitude is per- mitted in the selection of branphes, a partial choice of professional course being made at the middle of the first year, whik' in the fourth year nearly the entire time is devoted to profession- al subjects. The school in [n)2 had 183 in- structors and a total attendance of 1008 stu- dents. The lilirary contained 00,727 volumes and 16,682 pamplilets. The institute publishes the Technoloijjj Qudrtrrly and I'roccedin(js of the So- ciety of Arts, and a graduate magazine, the Technology liericic. It occupies nine buildings in the Back Bay district of Boston, comprising the Rogers, Walker, and Pierce buildings, engi- neering buildings, mechanical laboratories, boiler and ]>owcr house, and gymnasium, valued with the grounds at $1,00."),'2'22. Plans are in prepara- tion (1903) for additional buildings. The en- dowment is relativelv small, .$1,845,139, . The income in 1902 was $403,137, Of tliis amount, more than half is derived from .students' fees, the remainder largely from interest on various funds and gifts from the State of Massaclnisetts and the United States, The total value of the Institute's property was $9, .552, 023. The presi- dents have been: William B. Rogers (lS(i2-70, 1878-81). .John D. Runkle (1870-78), Francis A, Walker (lSSl-97). James .M, Crafts (1897-1900), Henry S, Pritchett (1900—). MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOCIETY. .•ii a--^(iciat ii II willi lic'adi]Uarters in Biisdin, es- talilislied in Xuvciiiber, 1771, and incoi]iorated Xovember 1, 1781, making it the oldest State organization of the kind that has met regularly from the date of founding. Its charter was signed by Samuel .dams as president of the Senate, and .lolin Hancock as Governor of the Commonwealth, Its fellows may include all respectable physicians and surgeons of the Stale, and in 1884 the motion was carried to admit women to nii'iiibership. Its charter gave it au- tliiirity to c:iiiiine all canilidate^ for the prac- tice of medicine ami surgerv. The society has issued a nnniber of valuable publications, includ- ing The Mrrliral Cuiiimiitiirntinns. and The I'ub- liriilions of the Massachuselts Medical Society, a I'linrnntrnpnia, and many reports and essays. MASSAFRA, mftssii'frA. A town in the ProviiKC of l.cice, Italy, 12 miles by rail from Taranto (Map: Italy, M 7). The principal arti- cles of commerce are wine, cotton, and fruits. Population, in 1001 (commtine), 11,026. MASSAGE I Fr, massage, from masscr, Gk. /idaffeir, iiiassciii, to knead). A means of reme- dial treatment consisting in the manipulation of a part or the whole of the body by friction, strok- ing, pressing, kneading, percussion, and like movements. When these applications are com- bined with active or passive movements, the process is called the Swedish iiiorciiient cure. The practice of rubbing and anointing is prob- ably as old as the race. Homer alludes fre- quently to it. The Egyptians used it. Massage in one fonn or another was one of the luxuries of the baths of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Socrates spoke of the curative pro|icrties of olive oil with friction; Hippocrates laid stress on rub- bing and unguents; Asclepiades held that disease was the result of an abnormal arrangement of the atoms which form the human body, and consequcntlj' friction, bathing, and exercise would necessarily open the pores and allow the escape of all useless and worn-out atoms, and restore equilibrium ; Heropliilus, Athenieus, Celsus, and Galen gave written rules for such treatment. The Chinese are said to use massage, in place of bleed- ing, on the theory of producing better circulation. Both the Turks and the Russians combine it with their bath.s, and their excellent |)racticc has taken its place in our Western civilization. Travelers report that massage in one form or another is in vogue among the peojdes they have visited. In Sweden, and later in the United States, massage has received scientific consid- eration. Among the procedures of scientific massage arc friction by rubbing, rolling under the fingers, and gently pinching the skin, and rubbing, tap- ping, kneading, and exercising the muscles and joints. Beginning at an cxtremit.v. the foot for example, the skin is taken up between the thumb and fingers and rolled and pressed; then tli(i muscular masses are well grasped, rolled, and pressed and kneaded, and rapidly tapped ; and then each articulation is in turn put through all its motions. Even the muscles of the neck and face may be subjected to the same treatment. ^Massage by percussion, alone consists in ajiplving to various parts of the body a very rapid suc- cession of short blows, not forcible enough to cause pain. The elTccts of massage are local and systemic. The local eiTccts are the result of the masseur or rubber putting forth more or less muscular power, which at the ])oints of contact or friction develops or is transformed into another mode of motiim — heat. The action thus induced in the constituent tis,sues of the parts operated on also ,serves to elevate the temperature. The blood- vessels dilate and an increased i|iiantity of blood enters them, and the motion of the blood-current is accelerated. The immediate elTect of these changes is to promote tlii' nutritive energy of the tissues subjected to frictiiui. This result is seen in the improved color, warmth, and volume of the parts. .-Vmong the systemic ell'ccts of massage are a uniform slight ri.se of temperature and increase in bodily weight. All the oig:inic func- tions are |)erfornie(l with more eiicigy. and jHiwer is gained in every way. The ell'etts upon the nervous system ure. in general, excellent. For instance, if an inflamed joint is rubbcil with extreme gentleness, the sensibility, at first so acite that the slightest touch would give pain, rapidly subsides, until, after an hour of friction,