Digestion and Health 413 



investigations it may be used quite freely during meals without 

 harm, provided it is not used to wash down food and thus retard 

 the action of saliva. A large glass of water taken just before 

 going to bed and another before breakfast in the morning will often 

 aid in the prevention of constipation. 



Effect of Alcohol on the Mouth, the Stomach and the 

 Liver. The whole alimentary canal has a lining of mucous 

 membrane. This membrane is an internal skin, far more sensi- 

 tive to contact with objects than the external skin. You may 

 easily convince yourself of this by applying an irritant to your 

 skin and at the same time applying it to the mucous membrane 

 by placing a small amount in your mouth. In the latter case, it 

 will produce a painful sensation owing to its contact with the 

 delicate protoplasm of the cells that compose the mucous mem- 

 brane. 



Alcohol is an irritant and affects the mucous membrane of 

 the mouth in a way similar to that of the irritating substance 

 placed on the tongue. It affects the protoplasm of the cells, 

 absorbs the moisture and, if its use becomes habitual, it causes 

 the cells to shrink. It irritates the mucous membrane in the 

 stomach and injures its delicate structure, thus interfering with 

 the normal digestive process. It lessens the peristalsis of the 

 stomach and hinders the digestive action of the pepsin. 



Experiments that have been made on the amoeba and other 

 forms of single-cell life show that alcohol is injurious to them. 

 Since the mucous membrane is composed of large numbers of 

 minute cells, each of which has the same composition, structure 

 and functions as an amoeba, it seems reasonable to conclude that 

 alcohol has a similar effect on these cells massed in tissue that it 

 has on a single cell. Nor does the fact that only a small amount 

 of the drug reaches them affect the force of the argument, 

 since the effect of alcohol, like that of other drugs, is cumula- 

 tive. 



The liver, like other organs, is composed of a vast number of 

 cells. If the contact of alcoholic poison with the liver continues 

 long enough, it may destroy the usefulness of the cells, and cause 

 hardening of the tissues. 



