RESPIRATION 389 



interfere with the drawing of air into the lungs. They may also 

 result in permanent distortion of parts of the skeleton directly under 

 the pressure. Other organs of the body cavity, as the stomach and 

 intestines, may be forced downward, out of place, and in conse- 

 quence do not perform their work properly. 



Relation of Exercise. — We have already seen that exercise re- 

 sults in the need of greater food supply, and hence a more rapid 

 pumping of blood from the heart. With this, comes need of more 

 oxygen to allow the oxidations which supply the greater energy 

 used. Hence deeper breathing during time of exercise is a prime 

 necessity in order to increase the absorbing surface of the lungs. 



Suffocation and Artificial Respiration. — Suffocation results from the 

 shutting off of the supply of oxygen from the lungs. It may be brought 

 about by an obstruction in the windpipe, by a lack of oxygen in the air, by 

 inhaling some other gas in quantity, or by drowning. A severe electric 

 shock may paralyze the nervous centers which control respiration, thus 

 causing a kind of suffocation. In all the above cases, death may be pre- 

 vented by recourse, in time, to artificial respiration. To accomplish this 

 place the patient on his back with the head lower than the body; grasp the 

 arms near the elbows and draw them upward and outward until they are 

 stretched above the head, on a line with the body. By this means, the 

 chest cavity is enlarged and an inspiration produced. To produce an ex- 

 piration, carry the arms downward, and press them against the chest, thus 

 forcing the air out of the lungs. This exercise, regularly repeated every few 

 seconds, if necessary for hours, has been the source of saving many lives. 



Effect of Alcohol and Tobacco on Respiration. — It has been 

 shown that alcohol tends to congest the membranes of the 

 organs of respiration. This it does by relaxing the membranes 

 of the throat and lungs. 



" Those who have injured themselves with alcohol show less 

 power of resistance against influences unfavorable to health, 

 and are carried off by diseases which other people of the same age 

 pass through safely, especially in cases of inflammation of the 



lungs.'' BiRCH-HlRSCHFELD. 



'* The action of alcohol upon the muscular walls of the arteries, 

 which has been already more than once referred to, is especially 

 important in the capillaries of the lungs. When they are dilated 

 by the paralyzing effect of alcohol, their expansion reduces the 



