SENSES OF SMELL, TASTE, HUNGER AND THIRST 755 



also become dry when the general water content of the body is depreci- 

 ated, because water is constantly transferred by them to the respira- 

 tory air. While a local moistening also gives relief in this case, it is 

 not lasting and can only be made so by taking water into the stomach. 

 When water is long withheld, all the tissues become water-starved so 

 that the simple sensation of pharyngeal thirst becomes augmented by 

 more distressing symptoms, such as pain and a bodily and mental an- 

 guish and discomfort. It is conceivable that these sensations arise in 

 the receptors allotted to the different tissues. If this assumption is 

 correct, a second variety of thirst must be recognized which may be 

 designated as general or tissue thirst. The testimony of those persons, 

 however, who have been without food and water for long periods of 

 time, tends to show that these symptoms of extreme discomfort and 

 pain disappear in the course of time, so that death by starvation need 

 not necessarily be accompanied by extreme suffering. 1 



1 Hertz, The Sensibility of the Alimentary Canal, London, 1911; Sven Hedin, 

 in his travels through Thibet, alludes to many cases of self-imposed abstinence by 

 the Holy Men of Brahma. 



