INFECTIONS OF THE DIGESTIVE TRACT 259 



powers of the organism for oxidizing and pairing indol. 

 It is certain that the oxidizing powers of the cells in 

 early life are greater than in later life and that on this 

 account organisms are likely to suffer more from the 

 absorption of equal amounts of indol between the fiftieth 

 and seventieth years of life than between the fifteenth 

 and thirtieth. This is doubtless true quite aside from the 

 degenerations that occur in organs which have been sub- 

 jected to the action of disease. In cases where the ele- 

 ment of disease has entered to injure the liver, kidney, 

 intestinal epithelium, muscles, and other structures, 

 the organism naturally becomes more sensitive to the 

 action of indol than before its powers of oxidization and 

 synthesis have become impaired. There are very many 

 conditions in which the liver undergoes cirrhotic or 

 fatty changes or in which both of these processes are 

 marked or in which there are well-defined parenchyma- 

 tous changes. It is certain that such persons will be 

 especially sensitive to the action of all kinds of poisons, 

 including that of indol. We have therefore in judging 

 of the significance of any case of pronounced indican- 

 uria to consider whether it occurs in a young person or in 

 an older one ; in a healthy individual or in one whose cells 

 have been damaged by disease. In youth it is com- 

 paratively easy to find a diet and mode of living under 

 which the indican can be made to disappear largely from 

 the urine. In aged persons the task is usually more 

 difficult, especially if the indicanuria has been of long 

 duration. 

 Aside from cases of indol absorption from the presence 



