346 RESPIRATION AND EXCRETION 



body rises during digestion of food, it is lowered for some hours 

 when alcohol is taken. The flush which is felt upon the skin after 

 a drink of wine or spirits is due in part to an increase of heat in 

 the body, but also to the paralyzing effect of the alcohol upon the 

 capillary walls, allowing them to dilate, and so permitting more of 

 the warm blood of the interior of the body to reach the surface. 

 There it is cooled by radiation, and the general temperature is 

 lowered." — Macy, Physiology. 



Effect of Alcohol on Respiration. — Alcohol tends to congest 

 the membrane of the throat and lungs. It does this by paralyzing 

 the nerves which take care of the tiny blood vessels in the walls of 

 the air tubes and air sacs. The capillaries become full of blood, 

 the air spaces are lessened, and breathing is interfered with. The 

 use of alcohol is believed by many physicians to predispose a 

 person to tuberculosis. Certainly this disease attacks drinkers 

 more readily than those who do not drink. Alcohol interferes 

 with the respiration of the cells because it is oxidized very quickly 

 within "the body as it is quickly absorbed and sent to the cells. 

 So rapid is this oxidation that it interferes with the oxidation of 

 other substances. Using alcohol has been likened to burning kero- 

 sene in a stove ; the operation is a dangerous one. 



Effects of Tobacco on Respiration. — Tobacco smoke contains 

 the same kind of poisons as the tobacco, with other irritating sub- 

 stances added. It is extremely irritating to the throat ; it often 

 causes a cough, and renders it more liable to inflammation. If 

 the smoke is inhaled more deeply, the vaporized nicotine is still 

 more readily absorbed and may thus produce greater irritation in 

 the bronchi and lungs. Cigarettes are worse than other forms 

 of tobacco, for they contain the same poisons with others in addi- 

 tion. 



Effect of Alcohol on the Kidneys. — It is said that alcohol is one 

 of the greatest causes of disease in the kidneys. The forms of 

 disease known as " fatty degeneration of the kidney " and 

 " Bright's disease " are both frequently due to this cause. The 

 kidneys are the most important organs for the removal of nitrog- 

 enous waste. 



Alcohol unites more easily with oxygen than most other food 



