300 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY FOR NURSES 



The perspirable fluid, or sweat, is excreted from the 

 blood, which later, through this process, is kept in a state 

 of purity (see, in a previous chapter, the section devoted 

 to the appendages of the skin). As has been said else- 

 where, the organs that separate the perspirable fluid from 

 the blood are the sudorific glands; these absorb the watery 

 poison of the blood from the capillaries or interstices of 

 the tissues. 



The perspiratory process, as has been said, is one of 

 immense importance to the living body. Its principal 

 uses are: 



First: To moisten the external surfaces of the body. 

 Every part of the system the internal surfaces, even the 

 very substance of the organs themselves, and the exter- 

 nal skin requires a certain degree of moisture to lubri- 

 cate, soften, and qualify it for the performance of its func- 

 tions. Too great a dryness of the skin injures the epider- 

 mis, or scarf-skin, and the termination of the papillae 

 or ends of the nerves, which impairs, and ultimately 

 injures, the true skin and diverts sensation. 



Second: To remove the worn-out material from the system. 

 By this process the effete substances and those which are 

 no longer useful are removed, thereby cleansing and puri- 

 fying the living tissue; relieving it of a mass of morbid 

 putrefactive matter, which, if retained in the system, would 

 eventually interrupt the play of the organs, prove a source 

 of irritation to their structure, and undoubtedly cause 

 disease. By this process the blood and all the other fluids 

 are purified, and kept in a condition most conducive to 

 sound health. The perspiratory organs may justly be 

 regarded as the principal natural outlets or emunctories 

 for the surplus matter that is continually accumulating 

 in the blood. 



Third : To remove poisonous or other irritating, extraneous 

 matter from the body. We have previously pointed out 



