156 Life and He a Ith 



disease, and many other circumstances. At birth the rate is 

 about 140 times a minute; in early infancy, 1 20 or upwards ; 

 in the healthy adult, between 65 and 75, the more common 

 number being 72. 



In the same individual the pulse is quicker when stand- 

 ing than when lying down, is quickened by excitement, is 

 faster in the morning, and is slowest at midnight. 



As the pulse varies much in its rate and character in 

 disease, it is to the skilled touch of the physician an invalu- 

 able help in the diagnosis of the physical condition of his 

 patient. 



Experiment 66. Press three fingers over the radius to find the 

 pulse in the wrist. Note by a watch the rate of the beat per minute. 

 Take a friend's pulse in the same way and compare the character, 

 istics of the two. 



Observe how the character and frequency of the pulse are altered 

 by posture, muscular exercise, a prolonged, sustained, deep inspiration, 

 prolonged expiration, and other conditions. 



237. Effect of Alcohol upon the Blood. Alcohol is rapidly 

 absorbed, unchanged by the capillaries of the stomach, and 

 is carried directly into the general circulation and dis- 

 tributed throughout the body. 



The red blood corpuscles, as we have just learned, are 

 the great oxygen carriers. Now alcohol has such a strong 

 affinity for oxygen that good authorities believe it plays 

 the part of a highwayman and robs the red corpuscles of 

 a portion of their oxygen. 



Again, it is claimed that the white blood corpuscles 

 have a certain germicidal power, but that they are so acted 

 upon by the presence of alcohol that they become less 

 active in defending the system against the germs of 

 disease. 



