DIGESTION OF FOOD: THE INTESTINE 109 



considerable checking action upon digestion, greater than 

 that of pure alcohol. The effect is due in these cases to other 

 substances in the wines as well as to the alcohol. 



In short, it is an established fact that alcoholic drinks are, 

 at least to healthy persons, of no use in digestion and rarely 

 if ever of value in illness. On the contrary they are usually, 

 and perhaps always, a direct detriment. It is not strange, 

 however, that persons who have used wine for a long time 

 think that it aids digestion since they have by its use brought 

 their bodies into a condition in which the digestive glands 

 will not act normally without it. 



DISEASES OF THE INTESTINAL TRACT 



Summer Complaint. Very often something one has eaten 

 produces a quick and rather violent disturbance of the 

 digestive organs; a feeling of nausea, followed by vomiting, 

 frequently by pain in the stomach and bowels, occurs, and 

 perhaps also diarrhea. The cause is often hard to determine 

 exactly, but the trouble is practically always due to improper 

 food or drink. It is common in hot weather and therefore 

 has been called summer complaint. While sometimes violent, 

 it is usually not serious, and under ordinary conditions will 

 pass away in a day or two if the person remains comparatively 

 quiet and is careful as to what he eats. 



Peritonitis. We have noted that the abdominal cavity is 

 lined with a very delicate membrane in a fold of which the 

 intestine is held. These tissues sometimes become inflamed, 

 the many blood vessels in them becoming distended. At the 

 same time the sensitiveness of the parts becomes very great, 

 and much pain is felt in the abdomen. The condition is known 

 as peritonitis, a word derived from peritoneum, the name 

 of the abdominal lining. Peritonitis may be very serious and 

 even fatal; for in its severe form the blood vessels may burst, 

 causing exudation into the abdomen and other serious com- 

 plications. It is characterized by continued pain in the 



