10 



PHYSIC 



points for its final disposal. The process itself consists 

 of a continuation in inverse order of the circulatory pheno- 

 mena which lead up to the metabolism of the ingesta by 

 the various tissues and organs of the body, and begins 

 with the first katabolic or disintegrative changes under- 

 gone by the organised or metabolised structural materials, 

 continues by the collection of these into definite excretory 

 vessels, glands, and hollow organs, and terminates by the 

 unlocking of the various eliminatory agencies, by relaxa- 

 tion of their proper sphincters, escape valves, or structural 

 safeguards. It follows axiomatically, therefore, from this 

 that any failure of these circulatory and eliminatory 

 agencies or media, or any stasis or arrest of the circulated 

 material must give rise to a condition of disease which, 

 if continued, must inevitably end in the production of a 

 more or less definite pathological condition, the remedy 

 for which must necessarily be, in all cases, primarily sought 

 for in the rectification of the circulatory and eliminatory 

 failure of the media involved, or in the overcoming of the 

 stasis, or arrest, of the circulated material ; hence, in what- 

 t ever part of the egestal, circulatory, and eliminatory 

 economy the diseased condition is to be found, there we 

 must bring to bear the use of the most appropriate means 

 which the particular pathological circumstances indicate, 

 and let us hope we shall be enabled more and more to do 

 so with a scientific security based upon physiological 

 law and data, and with a warranted feeling that we are 

 not absolutely "groping in the dark," nor "bowing to 

 the idol" of mere empiricism. 



Thus obstruction of the bowel or intestinal canal must 

 be met by carefully adapted means, according to the indi- 

 cations yielded by each particular case, retention or sup- 

 pression of the renal excretion, by the adoption of 

 appropriate means, based on diagnostic analysis of each 

 particular case ; pulmonary excretional stasis, by appro- 

 priate expectorant means ; closure of the sweat glands, 

 by diaphoresis^ secured by appropriate medicaments and 

 mechanical unlockment of the gland ducts, and the con- 

 sequent allowance of the escape of the imprisoned neural 

 and other fluid ; while retention of the septic results of 

 neural excretion, or the more solid ingredients of neural 



