ACTION OF ALCOHOL. 



249 



extractive matters. Preparations containing tannin, the 

 mineral salts, such as the sulphate and sesquichloride of 

 iron, nitric and hydrochloric acids, and a host of other 

 remedies that will occur to every one, possess this property, 

 and render solutions containing these and allied substances 

 less permeable, perhaps by increasing their viscidity. The 

 favourable action of such remedies is probably due to their 

 direct influence on the fluid constituents of the blood. 

 They, no doubt, also reduce the rate at which blood-corpus- 

 cles are disintegrated, and at the same time they tend to 

 render the walls of the blood-vessels less permeable to 

 fluids. 



Action of Alcohol But, of all remedies, I believe alcohol 

 acts most rapidly in this way, and in particular cases most 

 efficiently. The properties alcohol possesses of hardening 

 animal tissues, and of coagulating albuminous fluids, are 

 well known ; and these chemical changes must not be for- 

 gotten when its action in the animal body is discussed. Of 

 course, when absorbed by the blood, it does not actually 

 coagulate the albuminous matters ; but it probably renders 

 them less fluid, and reduces their permeating property. It 

 restricts or prevents the growth and multiplication of bio- 

 plasm, arid probably interferes with the multiplication of 

 white blood-corpuscles. Alcohol also tends to prevent the 

 disintegration of red blood-corpuscles ; and in cases where 

 this is going on very rapidly, and where fluid is passing 

 through the walls of the vessels in considerable quantity, in 

 consequence of the walls themselves being stretched and 

 too readily permeable to fluids, alcohol is likely to be of 

 service ; but where these changes are occurring very rapidly, 

 and the patient's strength is fast ebbing, it may save life. 



