feet. XXVIII. 2. PARALYSIS OF ABSORBENTS. 347 



loft their appetite to animal food. 3. They became 

 fuddenly emaciated to a great degree. 4. Their 

 fkins were dry and rough. 5. They coughed and 

 expectorated with difficulty a vifcid phlegm. 6- The 

 membrane of the tongue was dry and red, and lia- 

 ble to become ulcerous. 



The inability to digeft animal food, and the con- 

 fequent diftafte to it, generally precedes the dropfy, 

 and other difeafes, which originate from fpirituous 

 potation. I fuppofe when the ftomach becomes in- 

 irritable, that there is at the fame time a deficiency 

 of gaftric acid ; hence milk feldom agrees with thefe 

 patients, unlefs it be previoufly curdled, as they 

 have not fufficient gaftric acid to curdle it; and 

 hence vegetable food, which is itfelf acefcent, will 

 agree with their flomachs longer than animal food, 

 which requires more of the gaftric acid for its 

 digeftion. 



In this difeafe the fkiii is dry from the increafed 

 abforption of the cutaneous lymphatics, the fat is. 

 abforbed from the increafed abforption of the cellu- 

 lar lymphatics, the mucus of the lungs is too vifcid 

 to be eafily fpit up by the increafed abforption. of 

 the thinner parts of it, the membrana fneideriana 

 becomes dry, covered with hardened mucus, and 

 at length becomes inflamed and full of apthas, and 

 either thefe floughs, or pulmonary ulcers, terminate 

 the fcene. 



II. The immediate caufe of dropfy is the para- 

 lyfis of fome other branches of the abforbent fyftem, 

 which are called lymphatics, and which open into 

 the larger cavities of the body, or into the cells of 

 the cellular membrane ; whence thofe cavities or 

 cells become diftended with the fluid, which is 

 hourly fecreted into them for the purpofe of lubri- 

 cating their furfaces. As is more fully explained 

 in No. 5. of the next Section, 



VOL. I. A a As 



