CHAPTER XVI. 



EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 



" Oh, that man should put an enemy into his mouth to steal away his brains !" 



The Effects of Alcohol on Nervous Tissue. The physi- 

 ological effects of alcohol which have been considered in 

 connection with the muscles, circulation, digestion, etc., are 

 quite subsidiary to its effects oh the central nervous system. 



It is difficult to understand the extreme delicacy of 

 organization of the nervous system. We can readily see 

 how thoroughly nature has guarded this tissue by placing 

 it in the most protected places in the body. But even 

 after we have considered this point, we are not yet ready 

 to comprehend the fine texture and sensitiveness of this 

 tissue above all others. It is this high degree of suscep- 

 tibility of the nervous system that renders it peculiarly 

 subject to the effects of alcohol. The injury done to the 

 brain by alcohol may not be readily discernible ; but as it 

 is so delicate we cannot expect to trace the changes in 

 structure as we might in some of the coarser organs of 

 the body. For instance, the rupture of a small blood-tube 

 in most of the tissues of the body results in a small clot, 

 which ordinarily is a matter of no special consequence ; it 

 forms a " black-and-blue spot," which is hardly more than 

 a temporary inconvenience, for it does not ordinarily inter- 

 fere with the function of the organ. It is soon absorbed, 

 and all traces of it pass away. Not so with the brain : a 

 clot produces pressure on the delicate nervous tissue, which 

 results in paralysis more or less complete or death. 



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