86 Physiology. 



Hypodermic Injections. When it is desirable that a 

 medicine act on the body very quickly, it is sometimes 

 introduced under the skin. This is done by means of a 

 hypodermic syringe, which is a syringe with a slender, 

 needle-shaped nozzle. By means of this the medicine is 

 injected into the tissues under the skin. Here it is taken 

 up by the lymph and is quickly carried through the system 

 and acts on the cells of the body. If the same medicine 

 were taken into the stomach, it would require some time 

 for it to be absorbed and carried into the tissues. Hence 

 time is gained. We can see how much advantage there is 

 in this way of giving medicine when the physician wishes 

 to stop severe pain. 



The Spleen. The spleen is a flattish red body at the 

 left end of the stomach. There is an active circulation of 

 blood in it, and it is supposed to form the colored blood 

 corpuscles. It is often called a blood gland. 



Effect of Alcohol on the Blood. Experimenters have 

 reported finding various changes in the blood as a result 

 of the action of alcohol. Some have found that alcohol 

 diminishes the hemoglobin of the blood ; others have found 

 that it diminishes the alkalinity of the blood. The effect 

 of reducing the hemoglobin would render the blood less 

 capable of taking up oxygen. The effect of making the 

 blood less alkaline would be to make it less able to feed 

 the tissues and remove waste. In this state there is an 

 increase in the amount of uric acid found circulating in 

 the blood. It is thought that the oxygen used in oxidizing 

 the alcohol leaves not enough for the necessary oxidations 

 by which harmful waste substances like uric acid are 

 changed to others less harmful before they are thrown 

 out. 



