RESISTANCE OF THE BODY 



Yet this safety is not always complete, because somtf 

 persons have recurring attacks of infectious diseases. 

 This is especially true in diphtheria. 



There seems to be some power in the robust, healthy, 

 strong body which is absent in the weak and "ailing" 

 or in the body "below par," as the physicians say. 

 Whatever this power is it may well be referred to as 

 "vital resistance." 



Dr. William Sedgwick says, "There is, however, no 

 quantitative measure of vital resistance; but when it 

 is regarded as small or altogether wanting, the term 

 is no longer used, and the organism is said to be not 

 vitally resistant, but "susceptible" or "vulnerable" to 

 disease. * * * When the vital resistance is com- 

 plete * * * the organism is said to be immune." 



At present no one perhaps knows all the factors 

 which go to make up this "vital resistance" which pro- 

 tects one person and is absent in another, but accord- 

 ing to Sedgwick, "We may, it is true, safely consider 

 that it is bound up with chemical and physical pro- 

 cesses which result in favorable chemical and physical 

 conditions." 



In this connection it should be noted that the hy- 

 drochloric acid in the gastric juices of the adult is 

 fatal to nearly all of the ordinary bacteria present 

 in uncooked food and to many disease germs. The 

 secretions of the intestines are alkaline and would prove 

 a favorable condition for many kinds did they escape 

 from the stomach. Water passes quickly through the 



Vital 

 Resistance 



Gastric 

 Juices 



