1 94 PHYSIOLOGY. 



of the disease which embitters the middle and latter part 

 of life is due to avoidable errors of diet ; and that more 

 mischief, in the form of actual disease, of impaired vigor, 

 and of shortened life, accrues to civilized man from 

 erroneous habits of eating than from the habitual use of 

 alcoholic drink, considerable as I know that evil to be." 



Effects of Alcohol on the Digestive Organs. While it is 

 a popular delusion that alcoholic drinks aid digestion, careful 

 experiments show that alcohol retards this process ; the fact 

 is that alcoholic dyspepsia is one of the most common effects 

 of moderate drinking. The stomach is first acted upon by 

 alcohol; it usually becomes inflamed, and this condition may 

 become chronic. The liver, under the influence of alcohol, 

 develops an abnormal growth of connective tissue, and takes 

 on the characteristic appearance by which it is designated 

 as the " hob-nailed liver." 



READING. Disorders of Digestion, Brunton ; Indiges- 

 tion arid Biliousness, Fothergill ; A Plea for a Simpler 

 Life, Keith. 



Summary. i. The hairlike villi lining the small intestine absorb 

 the liquefied food. 



2. Sugars and peptones are carried away by the blood capillaries 

 and pass through the liver, but the fats are taken by the lacteals into 

 the lymph stream to join the blood in the subclavian vein. 



3. Digestion is greatly influenced by the condition of the nervous 

 system. 



4. Mastication should be thorough. 



5. Chat at meals is hygienic. 



6. Rest after meals. 



7. Soups and desserts have a physiological justification, though the 

 latter often become harmful. 



8. There is a great amount of suffering from intemperance in eating 

 as well as in drinking. 



