378 THE HUMAN BODY. 



cient excitant. When food is taken it is a further stimulus 

 and may be enough ; in such cases " appetite comes with eat- 

 ing." A bitter before a meal is useful as an appetizer to 

 patients of this sort. On the other hand,, the stomach may 

 be too sensitive, and a voracious appetite be felt before a, 

 meal, which is replaced by nausea, or even vomiting, as soon 

 as a few mouthfuls have been swallowed; the extra stimulus 

 of the food then overstimulates the too irritable stomach, 

 just as a draught of mustard and warm water will a healthy 

 one. The proper treatment in such cases is a soothing one. 

 When food is taken it ought to stimulate the sensory gastric 

 nerves, so as to excite the reflex centres for the secretory 

 nerves, and for the dilatation of the blood-vessels of the 

 organ; if it does not, the gastric juice will be imperfectly 

 secreted. In such cases one may stimulate the secretory 

 nerves by weak alkalies, as certain mineral waters or a little 

 carbonate of soda, before meals; or give drugs, as strychnine, 

 which increase the irritability of reflex nerve-centres. The 

 vascular dilatation may be helped by warm drinks, and this is 

 probably the rationale of the glass of hot water after eating 

 which has often been found useful; the usual small cup of 

 hot coffee after dinner is a more agreeable form of the same 

 aid to digestion. In states of general debility, when the 

 stomach is too feeble to secrete under any stimulation, the 

 administration of weak acids and artificially prepared pepsin 

 is needed, to supply gastric juice from outside, until the im- 

 proved digestion strengthens the stomach up to the point of 

 being able to do its own work. 



Enough has probably been said to show that dyspepsia is 

 not a disease, but a symptom accompanying many pathologi- 

 cal conditions, requiring special knowledge for their treat- 

 ment. From its nature depriving the Body of its proper 

 nourishment it tends to intensify itself, and so should never 

 be neglected; a stitch in time saves nine. 



The Movements of the Intestines. When the abdomen 

 of a living anaesthetized animal is opened, especially during 

 digestion, contractions are seen slowly travelling along the 

 bowels, which have in consequence somewhat the appearance 

 of a writhing mass of worms, hence the name vermicular 

 often given to these movements: they are also called peri- 

 staltic. On observing a portion of the gut a narrowing due 

 to contraction of its circular muscular coat will be seen to 



