«i 4 A N A T 
ftarved to death. For, in fuch, we commonly obferve the 
breath fharp and fetid, the teeth locfe by the diffolving 
acrimony of the jukes, violent pains in the ftomach, acute 
fevers, and even madnefs. The frelh chyle, prepared, for 
the mod part, from acefcent vegetable food, is of a con¬ 
fidence always thinner than that of the blood itfelf; being 
received into the circulation, it temperates the putrefcent 
acrimony, dilutes the threatened coagulation, and reduces 
the whole mafs to that moderate degree of faline nature 
which is congenial to man : and finally, the chyle, but 
more efpecially that derived from animal food, and like- 
wife what is formed of farinaceous vegetables, being re- 
plenifhed with gelatinous lymph, ferves to repair the con- 
fumption or wade which is made from the body itfelf, to 
the vacuities of whole broken folids it is applied by the 
caufes which promote the growth of the body. The drink 
dilutes the cohefive diathefis of the blood, hinders its pu- 
trefa£lion, and carries off by the emunftories fuch parti¬ 
cles as are already putrid : and hence it is that a perfon 
may live for a long time without folid food, if he is 
fupplied with drink ; but, without drink, life fubfifts but 
a few days. 
We are folicited to take food, as well from the pain of 
hunger, as from the pleafnre received by the fade. The 
firft of thefe proceeds doubtlefs from the folds or plies of 
the ftomach, whofe fenlation is extremely acute, rubbing 
againft each other by the periftaltic motion, and from a 
preffure of the diaphragm and abdominal mufcles, by 
which the naked villi of the nerves on each fide of the fto- 
mach are made to grate againft thole of the other, pro¬ 
ducing, at the fame time, an intolerable fenfe of pain. 
Thus, w e are effectually admonifhed of the dangers enfu- 
ing from too long abftinence or fading, and excited to 
procure food or nourilhment by labour and induftry. The 
gaftric liquor, becoming acid from fading, may alfo per¬ 
haps conduce to excite the fenfe of hunger; but it will 
not produce any effect if it is putrefcent. Thirjl is per¬ 
ceived by the tongue, fauces, cefophagus, and domach. 
For, whenever thefe very fenfible parts, which are con- 
ftantly and naturally moiftened by mucous and falival jui¬ 
ces, grow dry from a deficiency of thefe humours, or are 
irritated by a redundancy of muriatic or alkalefcent falts, 
a fenfe called thirjl, which is much more intolerable and 
dangerous than the former, arifes; this difagreeable fen- 
fation continues until the proportion of diluting water in 
the blood, being recruited, reltores the neceffary moidure 
and free fecretion required in the parts before-mentioned. 
From hence we learn wdiy third attends labour, which 
exhales a greater proportion of the watery perfpiration ; 
and why it is a fymptom cf fevers, where there is an obftruc- 
tion of the exhaling velfels belonging to the tongue and 
fauces; and why (imple water is lefs efficacious in abating 
third than acid liquors, that not only moiden and render 
fluid, but alfo, by their mild irritation of the tongue and 
mouth, provoke forward the humours, and at the fame 
time correct their putrid tendency. 
Although there are many inftances of particular perfons, 
and even of whole nations, who have fupported life only 
with one kind of food, either vegetable or animal, or even 
from a final 1 clafs of either of them ; and, laftly, though 
fome have lived altogether upon milk, or its w'hey ; yet it 
feems to be neceffary, both from the nature and fabric of 
the human body itfelf, as well as from certain experi¬ 
ments, that w e ought to fupport life by the different kinds 
of food, fo intermixed, that none of them inay exceed 
their reafonable bounds; and this mediocrity w e are taught 
from the loathing which follows any one kind of food con¬ 
tinued for too long a time together. Animal food appears 
a neceffary part of our nouridunent, from the neceffary 
vigour which we require. It alone contains the gelatinous 
lymph ready prepared for the recruit both of our fluids 
and folids; and this lymph, extra&ed from the; broken 
veffels and fibres, eafily pafles in great abundance into the 
blood. An abftinence from animal food generally, caufes 
great weaknefs both to the body and ftomach, being per^. 
O M Y. 
petually attended wdth a troublefome diarrhoea. The ufe 
of vegetables is likewife extremely neceffary in order to 
prevent a too great quantity of blood, and to hinder its 
putrefcency. Too much animal food produces, as we fee 
more particularly in Anthropophagi, the hot alkalefcent 
feurvy,.a fierce or favage temper, a peculiar fetor, and 
leprofy, with a lixivial corruption of all the juices; w hich 
are only to be cured by change of diet, in which a vege¬ 
table acidity abounds. Hence it is that we are furniflied 
but with few canine teetfo; and that our appetite in health, 
but more efpecially in difeafe, is ftronger for acidulous 
vegetables, in proportion to our warmer temperature of 
body, and greater heat of the country, or the feafon of 
the year. Hence we fee, that, in the hotted climates, 
people live either altogether upon vegetables, or ufe flefh 
meats but very rarely, and not without danger of acute 
difeafes; while, in the colder countries, flefh is eaten 
freely with lefs danger; and hence bread, or a farinaceous 
aliment fimilar to it, is made a ftanding part of our food 
throughout the world. 
The meafure of our food is determined by hunger, which 
is different in different circumftances. Animal and farina¬ 
ceous food nourifhes mod : other aliments ought to Tup- 
ply, by their quantity, what they want in their powers of 
nouridunent. In general, we are nourifhed bed by a fome. 
what fpare diet, unlefs we are fubjefled to much labour. 
During digeftion, the ftomach is perfeclly clofed, both at 
its fttperior and inferior orifice's; and, although the muf- 
cular fibres of the domach contradf, yet no food is pro¬ 
pelled into the intedines, until it has been thoroughly di- 
geded ; even milk itfelf is often retained in the ftomach 
of ftrong animals feveral hours after a meal, without paf- 
fing into the intedines. The aliments, either naturally 
containing air in themfelves, or mixed with air in mafii- 
cation, are macerated in the juices of the domach. In 
confequence of the heat, this included air is expanded, 
and, by an operation fomewhat fimilar to fermentation, 
breaks the cells in which it was included, and thus the 
contents of the ftomach are reduced to a pulpy date. The 
folidity of animal fubftances is occafioned folely by their 
being impregnated with air, and the air being extricated 
or fet free in the domach, thefe fubftances are reducible 
to a friable or foluble ftate. This lad faff is illuftrated 
by Papin’s digefter. This air, fet at liberty by the digef¬ 
tion, often, under the denomination of flatus, diftends the 
ftomach more than the food itfelf. During digeftion there 
is no fenfe of hunger, for the nervous plicae of the ftomach 
are kept from grating on each other by the interpofition of 
the food; and they are not affefted by the gaftric juice, 
which, in digeftion, afts on the aliment. 
Dr. Stevens, in an Inaugural Differtation concerning 
Digeftion, has publifhed feveral experiments upon a Ger¬ 
man, who gained a miferable livelihood by fwallowing 
ftones for the amufement of the people. He began this 
ftrange practice at the age of feven, and had at that time 
continued in it about twenty years. He fwalfowed fix or 
eight ftones at a time, fome of them as large as*: pigeeon’s 
egg, and paft'ed them in tire natural way. Dr. Stevens 
thought this poor man would be an excellent fubject for 
afeertaining the folvent power of the gaftric juice in the 
human ftomach. The dodlor, accordingly, made ufe of 
him for this purpofe. He made the German fwallow a 
hollow filver fphere, divided into tw r o cavities by a parti¬ 
tion, and perforated with a great number of holes,.capa¬ 
ble of admitting an ordinary needle. Into one of thefe 
cavities he put four fcruples and a half of raw beef, and 
into the other five fcruples of raw bleak. In twenty-one 
hours the fphere was voided, when the beef had loft a 
fcruple and a half, and the fifh two fcruples. A "few days 
afterwards, this German fwallowed the fame fphere, which 
contained, in one cavity, four fcruples and four grains of 
raw, and, in the other, four fcruples and eight grains of 
boiled, beef, The fphere was returned in forty-three hours: 
the raw flefh had loft one fcruple and two grains, and the 
boiled one fcruple andfixteen grains. Sufpeding that, if 
thefe 
