THE DIGESTION OF FOOD 131 



184. Effect of Alcohol on the Liver. When alcohol is 

 taken up by the blood vessels of the stomach, it is carried 

 directly to the liver, and filtered through this largest and 

 most important organ before it reaches the heart. This, as 

 we shall learn, is a part of the portal circulation (Sec. 210). 

 Hence the poisonous effects of alcohol are strongly marked 

 in the liver, especially among hard drinkers. 



The blood vessels of the liver are overworked, and the 

 capillaries engorged with blood. This causes, first, an 

 enlargement of the liver, and then a shriveling of the sub- 

 stance of the organ, together with a rough and bunchy 

 surface. 



185. The Effect of Tobacco on Digestion. The use of 

 tobacco, either in smoking or chewing, causes the glands 

 of the mouth to secrete an unnatural amount of saliva ; 

 this, in time, weakens them and causes dryness of the 

 throat. It may also interfere with digestion. Very fre- 

 quently smoking leads to indigestion, which can only be 

 cured by abandoning tobacco. Physicians meet with numer- 

 ous cases of dyspepsia caused by the use of tobacco in 

 some one of its forms. 1 



186. Smoking Cigarettes. Cigarettes may seriously impair 

 general nutrition, causing loss of appetite, fullness of the 

 stomach, nausea, vomiting, and dyspepsia. In many cases 

 so marked are these symptoms of impaired nutrition that 

 they produce a typical condition known as "cigarette 

 cachexia." 



1 One of the more common effects of absorption of tobacco products is 

 to impair the appetite and weaken digestion. H. NEWELL MARTIN, M.D. 



