OF HUNGER AND THIRST. STARVATION. 393 



those of hunger. This sense is not referred, however, to the stomach, but to 

 the fauces. It is generally considered that it immediately results from an im- 

 pression on the nerves of the stomach ; since, if liquids are introduced into the 

 stomach through an oesophagus-tube, they are just as effectual in allaying thirst, 

 as they are if swallowed in the ordinary manner. It may, however, be doubted 

 whether the sense of thirst is not even more immediately connected with the 

 state of the general system, than that of hunger; for the immediate relief 

 afforded by the introduction of liquid into the stomach is fully accounted for, 

 by the instantaneous absorption of the fluid into the veins, which is known to 

 take place, when there is a demand for it, not only from Dr. Beaumont's obser- 

 vations, but from many experiments made with reference to this particular 

 question. This demand is increased with almost equal rapidity, by an excess 

 in the amount of the fluid excretions; and it may be satisfied, or at least alle- 

 viated, without the introduction of water into the stomach, this having been 

 one of the results observed after the use of saline injections into the veins in 

 cases of Asiatic Cholera, as well as after the immersion in a warm bath in cases 

 of extreme dysphagia. Thirst may also be produced, however, by the impres- 

 sion made by peculiar kinds of food or drink upon the walls of the alimentary 

 canal; thus, salted or highly-spiced meat, fermented liquors when too little 

 diluted, and other similarly irritating agents, excite thirst; the purpose of which 

 is obviously to cause ingestion of fluid, by which they may be diluted. 



416. The results of an entire deficiency of Food, or of its supply in a measure 

 inadequate for the wants of the system, constitute the phenomena of Inanition 

 or Starvation. These have been experimentally studied by M. Chossat 1 on 

 Birds and Mammals ; and the information thence gained leads us to a better 

 comprehension of what is (unfortunately) too frequently exhibited in the Human 

 subject. The following were the general symptoms noted by M. Chossat. The 

 animals usually remain calm during the first half or two-thirds of the period ; 

 but they then become more or less agitated ; and this state continues as long as 

 their temperature remains elevated. On the last day of life, however, whilst 

 the temperature rapidly falls, this restlessness ceases, and gives place to a state 

 of stupor. The animal, when set at liberty, sometimes looks round with astonish- 

 ment, without attempting to fly; and sometimes closes the eyes, as if in a state 

 of sleep. Gradually the extremities become cold, and the limbs so weak as no 

 longer to be able to sustain the animal in a standing posture ; it falls over on 

 one side, and remains- in any position in which it may be placed, without attempt- 

 ing to move. The respiration becomes slower and slower ; the general weakness 

 increases, and the insensibility becomes more profound; the pupil dilates; and 

 life becomes extinct, sometimes in a calm and tranquil manner, sometimes after 

 convulsive actions producing opisthotonic rigidity of the body. After the first 

 day, in which the faeces contain the residue of the food previously taken, their 

 amount is very small ; and they seem to consist principally of grass-green biliary 

 matter. Towards the close of life, they contain a much larger quantity of water, 

 even when none has been ingested by the animal ; and include much saline matter 

 in addition to the biliary. The average loss of weight in the warm-blooded 

 animals, experimented on by M. Chossat, between the commencement of the 

 period of Inanition and its termination by death, was 40 per cent. ; but he met 

 with a considerable variation in the extremes, which seemed to depend chiefly 

 on the amount of fat previously accumulated in the body; those animals losing 

 most weight, in which the fat had been most abundant, which were also those 

 that lived the longest. 3 Taking 40 per cent, as the mean, M. Chossat obtained 



1 " Recherches Experim en tales sur 1' Inanition," Paris, 1843. 



2 There is a well-known case of a fat pig, which was buried in its sty for 160 days, 

 under thirty feet of the chalk of Dover cliff ; and which was dug out alive at the end of 



