420 



ACTION OF ALCOHOL ON BIOPLASM. 



cases most efficiently. The properties alcohol pos- 

 sesses of hardening animal tissues, and of coagulating 

 albuminous fluids, are well known ; and these pro- 

 perties must not be forgotten when its effects in 

 the animal body are discussed. Of course, when 

 absorbed by the blood of a living person, alcohol 

 does not actually coagulate the albuminous matter ; 

 but it probably renders it less fluid, and reduces its 

 permeating property. Alcohol interferes with the 

 disintegration of blood-corpuscles ; and in cases where 

 this is going on very rapidly, and where fluid is 

 passing thfough the vessels in considerable quantity, 

 in consequence of the thin vascular walls themselves 

 being stretched and rendered too readily permeable 

 to fluids, alcohol is likely to be of service ; but where 

 these changes are proceeding very rapidly, and the 

 patient's strength is fast ebbing, it may save life. 



We may, therefore, explain the beneficial action of 

 alcohol without assuming that it is a food, or con- 

 tributes directly to the ordinary process of nutrition. 

 Nay, if it merely filtered through the blood-vessels, 

 and left the body by different emunctories as fast 

 as it was introduced, we could account reasonably 

 for the good effects we frequently observe when 

 alcohol is given in certain forms of disease. 



Action of alcohol upon growing bioplasm. If there 

 be a little abrasion of the cuticle, around which 

 the skin looks red and angry, the neighbouring 

 tissue being hot, swollen, and painful, the capillaries 



