ALCOHOL IN INFLAMMATION. 



421 



distended so as to produce bright redness, it will be 

 found that the occasional application of a drop of 

 alcohol to the affected part will in the course of a 

 single hour produce great changes. In and around 

 such a spot, it is quite clear that we have not 

 diminished, but increased action. Numerous small 

 particles of living bioplasm (" cells ") are receiving an 

 unusual quantity of soluble nutrient substances, and 

 are in consequence multiplying rapidly in the deep 

 layers of the cuticle. The bioplasm of the nerves, capil- 

 laries, and connective tissue of the cutis, are larger 

 than they were in the healthy state ; the living matter 

 is growing, dividing and subdividing into smaller 

 portions, which will grow and again divide and sub- 

 divide. In the capillaries, and just external to them, 

 are numerous white blood-corpuscles, varying in size 

 from small points to particles having tfye ordinary 

 dimensions of these bodies. These, like the living 

 bioplasts of the tissue, are rapidly increasing in size. 

 The capillaries are gorged with blood, and the thin 

 walls of many of them are stretched to the utmost. Now 

 what happens when a drop of alcohol is applied to 

 such a sore ? Momentary pain, followed in the course 

 of a few minutes by great relief, or complete cessation 

 of pain, and diminished vascularity. But how does 

 the alcohol bring about these striking changes ? If 

 alcohol be added to any serous fluid, as is well known, 

 the albumen is precipitated. If delicate masses of 

 bioplasm are placed in alcohol, and afterwards 



2 F 



