6. From the brain, white or reddish gray pulpy cords, called nerves, pass
to all parts of the body. These nerves are of two kinds: nerves of feeling,
and nerves of motion.
7. If I prick my finger, a nerve of feeling carries the message to my
brain; if I wish to move my finger, a nerve of motion causes my finger to
obey my will.
8. Twelve pairs of nerves pass from the base of the brain: the first pair,
called the nerves of smell, to my nose; the fourth pair, called the nerves
of sight, to my eyes; the fifth pair, called the nerves of taste, to my
mouth, tongue, and teeth. One pair pass to my face; another to my ears. The
ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth pairs to my tongue and parts of my
throat and neck.[3]
9. The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves extending from the base of my
brain, down through the whole length of my spine, or backbone. It is the
largest nerve in my body.
10. From the spine, thirty-one pairs of nerves, called _spinal nerves_,
pass to different parts of my body; some to the lungs, some to the heart,
some to the stomach, some to the bones, and some to the muscles and skin.
11. If a nerve be destroyed it cannot carry messages to and from the brain.
Before filling a tooth, the dentist sometimes destroys its nerve.
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