THE NON-CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 199 



suit in inflammation and enlargement, or may be fol- 

 lowed by liver abscess, fatty degeneration, cancer, etc. 

 The kidneys are small organs, yet they contain a com- 

 paratively large amount of blood, hence poor digestion 

 and a disordered system may produce a low form of 

 inflammation and Bright's disease. 



Passing through the circulatory system the septic 

 blood affects the arteries, producing chronic inflamma- 

 tion. The arteries first thicken and then become soft 

 and flabby, the result of degenerative changes. The 

 arteries lose their elasticity, and there results a lack of 

 nourishment in the tissues or organs supplied by the 

 diseased vessels, or the vessels may rupture. The small 

 arteries are most liable to rupture, as they are thinner 

 and more easily destroyed. A blood-clot may form at 

 the point and prevent hemorrhage. This clot is called 

 a thrombus. It would stop the circulation, and the 

 part or tissues supplied by this artery would lack nour- 

 ishment, degenerate and soften, or an abscess may form. 

 If in the stomach it would cause ulcer. The diseased 

 arteries may gradually narrow without a blood-clot un- 

 til the nutrition is so far shut off that softening may 

 occur. 



Some of the changes in the arteries are naturally the 

 result of old age, yet as a result of septic blood and a 

 disordered system, they may be, and are frequently, 

 met in the young and those of middle life. Any condi- 

 tion that interferes with digestion or lessens oxidation 

 may produce fatty degeneration of the heart, kidneys, 

 liver, brain or other organs. 



