AND ANIMAL LIFE. 413 



CCCCXCVIII. If we reason on the influence 

 of distention in the arteries themselves, it is dif- 

 ficult to conceive how this circumstance can pro- 

 duce a greater degree of tonicity or strength. 

 The distention of a vessel implies the enlarge- 

 ment of its cavity ; and whenever this condition 

 occurs, the circulation is retarded. 



CCCCXCIX. Instead of the veins becoming 

 the seat of hemorrhagy from the greater propor- 

 tional density of the arteries, they are thi.s cir- 

 cumstanced owing to the arteries , hem? elves hav- 

 ing their ncrmal action deranged. If the respira- 

 tions are less perfect, and the heart becomes less 

 able to propel its contents, the veins must partici- 

 pate in the deteriorated action. In advanced life, 

 when the symptoms of passive hemorrhagy oc- 

 cur, there are many proofs present, which indi- 

 cate that the abdominal congestions are in ac- 

 cordance with the diminished activity of the 

 thoracic functions. The pulse is generally slow, 

 full, and soft, and the individual does not possess 

 the disposition or ability to exert those physical 

 powers that act as stimuli to the sanguiferous 

 system. Agreeably to these principles, we per- 

 ceive, that many debilitating causes, even before 

 the age of 35, are known to occasion the ordi- 

 nary effects of old age, by acting in a similar 

 if not precisely in the same manner upon the ar- 

 terial and venous circulation. 



D. The explanation which Doctor CUL- 

 LEN gives of the preponderance of the venous 



