294 PLAIN FACTS FOR OLD AND YOUNG 



In most cases, the patient need not ntter a word; for 

 the physician can read in his countenance his whole 

 history, as can most other people at all conversant with 

 the subject. 



In order to secure the greatest completeness con- 

 sistent with necessary brevity, we will describe the ef- 

 fects observed in males and those in females under 

 separate heads, noticing the symptoms of each mc'^bid 

 condition in connection with its description. 



EFFECTS IN MALES. 



We shall describe, first, the local effects, then the 

 general effects, physical and mental. 



Local Effects.— Excitement of the genital organs 

 produces the most intense congestion. No other organs 

 of the body are capable of such rapid and enormous 

 engorgement. When the act is frequently repeated, 

 this condition becomes permanent in some of the tis- 

 sues, particularly in the mucous membrane lining the 

 urethra. This same membrane continues into, and lines 

 throughout, the bladder, kidneys, and all the urinary 

 organs, together with the vesiculae seminales, the ejacu- 

 latory ducts, the vasa def erentia, and the testes. In con- 

 sequence of this continuity of tissue, any irritation af- 

 fecting one part is liable to extend to another, or to all 

 the rest. We mention this anatomical fact here as a 

 help to the understanding of the different morbid con- 

 ditions which will be noticed. 



Urethral Irritation. —The chronic congestion of 

 the urethra after a time becomes chronic irritability. 

 The tissue is unusually sensitive, this condition being 

 often indicated by a slight smarting in urination. It 

 often extends throughout the whole length of the ure- 



