ABSORPTION. 



165 



the air; CO, C0 2 , vapor of chloroform, and ether may also be 

 absorbed. 



In dysphagia, when the condition is so severe that even fluids 

 cannot be taken into the stomach, immersion of the patient into a 

 bath of warm water or water and milk may quench the thirst. It 

 is well known that sailors, when destitute of fresh water, assuage 

 their thirst by wetting their clothing with salt water and wearing 

 them until dry. It is very probable that the effects produced are, 

 in a great measure, attributed to hindrance to the evaporation of 

 water from the skin. 



Through the Lungs. It is interesting to note that not only do 

 gases pass through the epithelium of the pulmonary air- vesicles, but 

 that fluids, such as water, may be absorbed when they have found 

 their way into the air-passages. The presence of particles of car- 

 bon in the bronchial glands and other tissues of the respiratory 

 apparatus is accounted for only by reason of the open pores: one 

 of the origins of the lymphatic system. 



