RESPIRATION OF THE TISSUES 21$ 



364. Drowning. Drowning is a form of death by 

 asphyxia, but is complicated by the entrance of water into 

 the lungs. 



The treatment of drowning is simply to perform artifi- 

 cial respiration. In order to do it, it will be necessary to 

 remove the water from the lungs. This can be done by 

 turning the person upon his face and forcibly compressing 

 his back. It will be still better to suspend him head down- 

 wards for a few seconds, or standing astride him to raise 

 him up and down about twenty times a minute by grasp- 

 ing him about the lower part of the chest. This performs 

 artificial respiration and lets out the water at the same time. 



The person's limbs should be rubbed vigorously toward 

 the heart and kept warm by hot water bottles. No time 

 should be lost by carrying him to a building, but artificial 

 respiration should be done on the spot. Even if the per- 

 son has been in the water half an hour or more, it is 

 possible to restore life. 



365. Electric shock. A shock of electricity kills by 

 overwhelming the nervous mechanism which controls the 

 heart and lungs. A shocked person is unconscious, and 

 apparently lifeless, and yet life may be restored by artifi- 

 cial respiration. It should be done at once, and continued 

 for a long time if life is not quickly restored. 



366. Effect of alcohol upon the lungs. Alcohol partially 

 paralyzes the arteries of the body so that they dilate and 

 permit a larger quantity of blood to pass through. Thus, 

 the capillaries of the lungs may be distended with the rest. 

 Then they may partly fill the air sacs so that less air can 

 enter. If the distension continues for some time, the walls 

 of the capillaries may thicken so that oxygen will pass 

 through them less readily. The walls of the air sacs 

 themselves may become thickened, and the exchange of 



