ACTION OF ALCOHOL ' 317 



rium. In relation to the spinal cord, primary stimulation of the reflex 

 centres is more marked in animals than in man, as has been pointed 

 out. In animals this stimulation causes motor excitement, so that the 

 patient trembles, jumps about, or strikes out with the feet. Depression 

 of the reflex centres occurs in the latter stage of poisoning, and is ex- 

 hibited by involuntary defecation and micturition; sensation and voluntary 

 motion are lost. The motor nerves and muscles are not generally para- 

 lyzed, except by the local action of alcohol. The medulla finally be- 

 comes depressed and paralyzed so that respiration, which is first stim- 

 ulated, now fails, and the heart muscle becomes paralyzed and its action 

 ceases. 



The action of alcohol upon the nervous system may be summarized 

 with a fair degree of accuracy, as momentary stimulation and then per- 

 sistent and marked depression of- the parts enumerated below, and in the 

 following order: 



Cerebral psychical centres. Spinal centres. 



Cerebral sensory centres. Sensory, reflex and motor. 



Cerebral motor centres. Medullary centres. 



Cerebellum. Vasomotor (early depression). 



Respiratory. 



Horses and dogs are comparatively susceptible to alcohol, ruminants 

 slightly so. An amount of alcohol equivalent to a pint of whisky has 

 killed a sound horse, while four ounces of whisky will cause death in 

 dogs if vomition be prevented by ligature of the esophagus. 



Primary motor excitement is followed by unsteady, staggering gait, 

 and coma in fatal cases. 



Skin. — Alcohol dilates the peripheral vessels, and therefore brings 

 more blood to the sudoriparous glands, and excites their functional ac- 

 tivity. It is thus a diaphoretic. 



Kidneys. — ^Alcohol acts as a diuretic. The exact mode of this action 

 is unknown. 



Nutrition. — ^Alcohol is a food, and, like other non-nitrogenous foods, 

 supplies force and energy in its oxidation, takes the place of fats and 

 carbohydrates, and may form fat in the body. It also protects food 

 and tissue proteids from combustion. We are ignorant of the fate of 

 alcohol after absorption, but we do know that the greater portion is 

 decomposed and is not eliminated. Alcohol is most advantageous as a 

 food in fever, or in conditions associated with weak digestion, since it is 

 readily absorbed and assimilated. Alcohol causes dulness and lessened 

 power for mental or physical work in man, and in normal conditions is 

 not a desirable food as it is narcotic, locally irritant, and destroys the 

 body tissues. In acting as a substitute for fat and carbohydrates, alco- 

 hol assists the accumulation of fat. 



Elimination. — When alcohol is ingested in ordinary doses it is prac- 

 tically all consumed, and none but the most trivial amount is eliminated, 

 i. e., five to ten per cent. The greater the quantity absorbed the larger 

 the amount eliminated by the urine, breath, sweat and feces, both rela- 



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