SECRETIONS AND EXCRETIONS. 233 



The time of vomiting is important, espe- 

 TiME. cially in relation to meals. It should be 

 noticed whether vomiting immediately fol- 

 lows the ingestion of food, or is delayed some minutes 

 or hours; also whether it apparently results from the 

 ingestion of some particular article of diet. Vomiting 

 may be frequent, as in the early months of pregnancy, 

 or it may be sporadic, as in dilatation of the stomach. 

 Sudden, unexpected, vomiting practically always marks 

 the onset of the eruptive fevers in children. 



Color is given to the vomit either by the 

 Color. foods ingested, or by foreign or patho- 

 logical constituents such as bile, blood, 

 mucus, etc. 



As a rule the vomit is green or golden in 

 Bile. color from admixture with bile, a secre- 

 tion which is always present in intense or 

 continuous vomiting. 



Red vomit usually results from admixture 

 Blood. with blood. If the blood has not been 

 acted upon by the digestive juices, it is 

 easily recognized ; but the gastric ferments may so alter 

 its appearance that the vomit may vary from a deep- 

 red to a coffee or black color. Black vomit, it will be 

 remembered, is a characteristic symptom in yellow 

 fever. Vomit may also be dark from the presence of 

 stercoraceous material (feces). Care should always 

 be taken not to mistake food for evidence of pathological 



