CHAPTER XXVII. 

 TfiE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON THE SENSES. 



Alcohol a Narcotic. Alcohol is not only an irritant 

 poison, but is also a narcotic poison. Its narcotic effect 

 is shown in the general deadening of the senses. In small 

 doses alcohol seems at first to have a stimulating effect. 

 But this is also true of opium, which is perhaps the best 

 example of a narcotic. 



Alcohol dulls the Senses. " Alcohol, after a most care, 

 ful physiological investigation, has been declared to be not 

 a stimulant but an anesthetic, a depressing and paralyzing 

 agent under all circumstances. It lowers the temperature 

 and the pulse rate, diminishes the senses, lessens the mus- 

 cular strength, impairs the memory, slows all the brain 

 functions, and brings them below their normal acuteness. 

 It diminishes the power of reason and judgment." /. D. 

 Mishoff, M.D. 



Alcohol and the Sense of Touch. Alcohol blunts the 

 sense of touch. It is said that the drunkard sometimes is 

 unable to tell whether or not the glass is touching his lips. 

 Under the influence of alcohol no one would be capable of 

 exercising the fine sense of touch that is necessary in many 

 kinds of skilled work, such as watch-making. Here, of 

 course, steadiness of the muscles is necessary. But the 

 sense of touch must also be delicate or else the workman 

 cannot tell whether or not he is holding his instruments 

 properly. Any such expert work as judging of fabrics like 

 cloth by the sense of feeling, or judging of the quality or 



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