HUNGER. 555 



it a true disease, as in bulimia, and pica; in the latter of which, the 

 appetite is, at times, irresistibly directed to substances, which the per- 

 son never before relished, or are not edible, as chalk, earth, slate- 

 pencil, &c. The appetite is also modified by exercise or inactivity, and 

 other circumstances extrinsic and intrinsic, regular exercise, and the 

 exhilarating passions; a cold and dry atmosphere, &c., augmenting it, 

 whilst it is blunted by opposite circumstances. Long continued exer- 

 tion, with a scanty supply of nourishment, if not continued so long as 

 to injure the tone of the stomach, produces, occasionally, in adults, a 

 voracious appetite and rapid digestion. Mr. Hunter has quoted, in 

 illustration of this point, the following extract from Admiral Byron's 

 narrative. After describing the privations he had suffered when ship- 

 wrecked on the coast of South America, the Admiral incidentally refers 

 to their effect upon his appetite. "The governor ordered a table to be 

 spread for us with cold ham and fowls, which only we three sat down 

 to, and in a short time despatched more than ten men with common 

 appetites would have done. It is amazing, that our eating to that excess 

 we had done from the time we first came among these kind Indians had 

 not killed us, as we were never satisfied, and used to take all opportu- 

 nities for some months after, of filling our pockets, when we were not 

 seen, that we might get up two or three times in the night to cram 

 ourselves." 1 



Authors have distinguished the local from the general phenomena 

 of hunger; but many of their assertions on these points appear ima- 

 ginative. We are told by M. Adelon 2 and others, 3 that the stomach 

 becomes contracted, and that this change is effected by the action of 

 its muscular coat alone; the mucous or lining membrane becoming 

 wrinkled, and the peritoneal coat, externally, permitting the organ to 

 retire between its laminae. Such, MM. Tiedemann and Gmelin 4 assert, 

 is the result of their observations. M. Magendie, 5 however, affirms, 

 that after twenty-four, forty-eight, and even sixty hours complete absti- 

 nence, he has never witnessed this contraction of the organ. It had 

 always considerable dimension, especially in its splenic portion; and 

 not until after the fourth or fifth day did it appear to him to close 

 upon itself, diminish greatly in capacity, and slightly change its posi- 

 tion; and these effects were not observed unless the fasting was rigor- 

 ously maintained. 



At the time that the stomach changes its shape and situation, the 

 duodenum is said to be drawn slightly towards it; its parietes appear 

 thicker, and the mucous follicles and nervous papillae project more into 

 the interior. Its cavity is void of food, and contains only a little saliva, 

 mixed with bubbles of air; a small quantity of mucus; and, according 

 to some, a little bile and pancreatic juice, which the traction of the 

 duodenum has caused to flow into it. 



Much dispute has arisen as to whether the circulation of the blood in 



1 Byron's Voyage, p. 181 ; and Hunter on the Animal Economy, p. 196. 

 3 Physiologic de 1'Homme, ii. 396. 



3 Rullier, Art. Faim, in Diet, de Medecine, torn, viii., Paris, 1823. 



4 Die Verdauung nach Versuchen, u. s. w.; or French translation, by A. J. L. Joardan, 

 Paris, 1827. 6 Op. citat., ii. 25. 



