MUSCID2E, mds-cl'di, family of flies from the Latin musca, a fly. The most familiar ex amples are the house-fly and the blow-fly. They belong to the order diptera and their wings have the characteristics of the family, being naked, furnished with a single pair; the pro boscis is used for sucking, ending in two fleshy lobes. The flagellum of the antenna is gen erally plumed with hairs on both sides (the tsetse, however, on one side only). Upper sur face of thorax has a transverse suture and the feet have a pair of adhesive pads. Their presence is almost universal, as they thrive in the cold northern latitudes as well as in tropical climes. The eggs are laid and hatched in filth. The species reaches a large and varied assortment.
a form of observa tion whereby one who is .specially trained may, by careful study of muscular movements, in terpret many wishes that are present in others. This is possible because all wishes, to be ex pressed, primarily involve muscular or glandu lar activity. Even though the wish, when con scious, is repressed, muscular reactions regis tering such repressions are always present and can he detected by a keen and practised ob server. Thus a person who is told to think steadily, hearing in mind a certain number, un consciously says that number over and over to himself, making thereby very minute muscular formations of the lips and muscles of the face These can be seen and read by a skilled person, and thus is explained the common trick of many so-called clairvoyants. This tendency of motor expression of mental images is very pro nounced in some people. They involuntarily go toward or away from a hidden object, and a blindfold person can often find these objects by carefully noting the degree of muscular re sistance or acquiescence in their search for such objects. This parlor trick takes much practice, a quick sense and much concentration, but does not involve any "thought-trans ference," or "mind-reading." Some people be come very skilful in this type of observation, and all may acquire a certain amount of skill by careful watching. Much of the so-called in tuition of women is in reality muscle-reading. They are on the lookout for certain forms of muscular reaction, and can thus guess at what is going on in the minds of others. Their con stant contact with small children, who character istically show what they are thinking about, through their muscles of expression, is a school of experience for them. Man oozes his secrets at his finger tips. The popular song which says "Every little feeling has a movement of its own" contains more truth than fiction. (See EMOTION). Consult Jastrow, American Jour nal of Psychology (Vol. IV, p. 398) ; Preyer, 'Die Erklarung des Gedankenlesens) (1886), and 'Fact and Fancy in Psychology' (1900); Kempf, 'Autonomic Functions of the Person ality' (1919); Freud, 'Psychopathology of Every-Day Life.>
a loose and vague phrase, otherwise muscle-sense, to express the sum of sensations that come from the joints, skin, muscles and tendons in the act of making muscular movements. It is also applied to a generalized dull sensation which results from the stimulation of a muscle, either from elec trical discharge or from fatigue following the long-continued stimulation of either a volun tary or involuntary muscle. The perceptions of muscular sense are usually grouped under (1) those of posture, the sensations occurring while standing, sitting or maintaining some un usual position being characteristic and recog nizably different for each relative position of limbs; (2) those of the passive movement, in which a limb is moved by another person; (3) those of the active movement; (4) those of resistance to movement. The case of passive muscular sense is not to be confused with that of the so-called static sense, which is a sensa tion of change of direction, which one gets while being transported through space, or turned or inverted, and is mediated through the semi-circular canals of the ear. The muscle sense is of much importance in imparting in formation concerning the relative position of the different members of the body, and its loss in this particular (asterognosis) constitutes a valuable symptom in the diagnosis of certain nerve disorders. The muscle-sense is all important in maintaining bodily equilibrium. Each joint in the body possesses a varying de gree of delicacy in this function of equilibrium. Thus the shoulder-joint is considered to be 40 times as delicate in this respect as the joints of the fingers. Angle of bending and speed of movement are both important in the interpreta tion of these joint-sensations. Muscle-sense in all its bearings has dose relations to accuracy and skill in all limb-movements, as seen in musical performances, marksmanship, ball-play ing, billiards, golf, etc., in all sports and games requiring delicate muscular adaptations. The muscle-sensations may become a seat of a great deal of autoerotic pleasure, even exclusive of merely genital masturbation, as may be seen in certain forms of dancing. In persons who take an unaue interest in athletics there is fre quently in addition to the exhibitionistic mo tive a large factor of gratification of the lebido (q.v.) through merely muscular contractions, the development of muscular strength feeding the unconscious desire for power and superiority in a sphere which frequently excludes real social aims. Consult Henri, 'Annie Psychologique' (Vol. V, 1899, with full bibliography) ; Bald win, 'Dictionary of Philosophy and Psychol ogy' ; Schafer, Physiology' (1900) ; Kempf, The Autonomic System and the Personality> (New York 1919).