n6 HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY CHAP. 



seat of the disease known as appendicitis. The cause of 

 this disease, which is quite common, is unknown at 

 present. It was once thought that grape seeds and 

 other small, hard substances taken into the stomach 

 might lodge in the appendix and give rise to an in- 

 flammation, and so cause appendicitis. But such sub- 

 stances rarely cause the disease. 



91. Alcohol and Digestion. The delicate mucous 

 lining of the alimentary canal is greatly irritated 

 by coming in contact with alcohol. There are two 

 organs of digestion which seem to be especially vul- 

 nerable to the attacks of alcohol. The first of these 

 is the stomach. The blood capillaries of the stomach 

 enlarge, causing a congestion of the mucous membrane. 

 The glands secrete an excessive amount of gastric juice 

 when thus stimulated. In time the gastric juice be- 

 comes diminished both in quantity and in digestive 

 power. The stomach will not respond to an ordinary 

 natural stimulus if alcoholic beverages are habitually 

 used. This leads to a loss of appetite and dyspepsia. 



The second organ to be seriously affected by alco- 

 holic beverages is the liver. You will remember that 

 the foods which enter the capillaries of the stomach 

 are carried directly into the portal vein and to the liver. 

 All of the alcohol absorbed from the stomach must go 

 straight to this organ. The liver capillaries become 

 enlarged with blood, and the cells cannot do their work 

 as they should. This first enlargement may be fol- 

 lowed in time by fatty decay of the liver substance, 

 which causes an abnormal increase in size, or by a 



