CHti<PTER VI. 

 DISEASES EFFECTING 



THE 



DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 



Indigestion. 



A large proportion of the disturbances of the stomach and intestines 

 relates to digestion. In every attack of indigestion the processes involved 

 in the changes which the food undergoes before absorption, are not only- 

 retarded, but also accompanied by numerous local and general difficulties. 

 Indigestion, or as termed by some authors dyspepsia, was formerly sup- 

 posed to be a purely functional affection, existing without any morbid 

 changes ha the gastric mucous membrane. This theory is not generally 

 accepted at the present time. 



The name indigestion as herein used does not apply to disorders inci- 

 dent to fevers, inflammatory affections, or structural diseases of the 

 digestive organs. 



Causation . —The influences which induce this disease may act directly 

 or indirectly. Food if irregularly given in excess or of an unwholesome 

 quality, too long fasts, and weakness of the digestive organs following 

 inflammations are among the direct causes. 



The indirect agencies involved are far more numerous. Want of suffi- 

 cient exei'cise, over exertion, poverty of the blood, and disarrangements 

 of the system are among the more prominent causes. 



Symptoms. — Probably the most constant sign of indigestion is impair- 

 ment of the appetite, which is at least capricious if not entirely absent. 



The food taken into the stomach digests very slowly, and gases are 

 generated, producing distension or bloating. Vomiting occurs; masses of 

 mucus and food are rejected in a more or less altered condition. 



The matters vomited are occasionally mixed with bile, which is an unfav- 

 orable complication, as its presence in the stomach additionally disturbs 

 digestion. The appearance of streaks of blood at times has no significance 



