Vital

(vi'-tal). Pertaining to life. V. Capacity, the volume of air that can be expelled jafter a full inspiration. V. Knot, a term applied by IFlourens to the respiratory center in the oblong at a. V. Principle, the energizing principle on which individual life depends. V. Statistics, the statistics of vital facts, the science of numbers as applied to the life-history of communities and nations, italism iie. In biology, the doctrine that ascribes the phenomena exhibited by living organisms to the action of a super sensuous vital force,