ON THERAPEUTICS. 
377 
alcohol, this substance could be found in the ventricles of the brain, as well 
as in the brain-matter itself; and we are all aware of the fact, that fumes of 
alcohol are exhaled from the lungs even when only a small quantity of the 
fluid has been swallowed. The chief points that are new, which have been 
brought to light by the investigations of our authors, are the elimination of 
the alcohol unchanged through the medium of the skin, the kidneys, &c.; 
aud its deposit in the tissues generally. It is true that Klenke had demon¬ 
strated the presence of alcohol in the urine and bile; but with this exception, 
physiologists had advanced the opinion that the secreting organs did not 
eliminate the substance. 
“There cannot be a doubt of the great importance and value of the 
researches of M. Lallemand and his coadjutors ; for, supposing their results 
to be trustworthy—and we believe them to be so—they establish beyond a 
doubt the fact that, at any rate, a portion of all ingested alcohol may go the 
round of the circulation, traverse the various capillaries of the body, and, 
without undergoing any oxidation whatever, be ejected from the system in 
the different secretions. This portion, therefore, cannot be concerned in 
building up the fabric of the body, nor can it by its combustion contribute 
to the maintenance of animal heat. This is surely an important conclusion 
to have arrived at. The weak point, however, in the arguments adduced 
against the value of alcohol as a respiratory food, is the small quantity of it 
which the experimenters have been able to extract from the various secre¬ 
tions. It is possible that, by more delicate modes of investigation, and by 
the use of more subtle tests, a much larger proportion may be detected ; but 
we are inclined to think that, until some such result is obtained, physiologists 
will not be disposed to abandon their views as to the oxidizable nature of the 
substance.” 
ON THERAPEUTICS. 
By Professor Brown, M.R.C.V.S., 
Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. 
{Continuedfrom2)- 319.) 
ASTRINGENTS. 
The similarity of the actions of tonics and astringents 
renders it necessary to distinguish clearly between the two 
classes, in order to anticipate the objections that may be 
raised against placing astringents in the second group, while 
tonics are allowed to remain in the first. Tonics, we have 
endeavoured to show, are opposed to the element 44 defect; ” 
they restore the weakened energies, stimulate the digestive 
functions, and improve the secretions; locally, many tonic 
agents produce astringent effects upon secreting surfaces, 
but their characteristic action is excitant. Astringents, on 
the contrary, are distinguished by their power of decreasing 
