Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1856-01-23

teeth and nails-each separates from the
blood at some particular place just those pc
culiar ingredients which are necessary to
form 1t. Local attraction for chemical sui.
stances in the bodily sY stem is thus the finn
damental law by which the living mechan-
ism is perpetuated.
Local action Of Medicines in the System.
Now this physiological ordinance is not
confined to nutrive substances, it governs
also the destination of medicines. Every.
! body understands that, to combat diseases in
various parts of the fabric, different medi
cines are resorted to which will take effect
upon the different diseased parts Medicines
swallowed and absorbed into the circulation
or applied externally, and imbibed by the
I I tt.ttssna - enter the revolving stream. and are
Ineuoe urawn out ana 1Udged in parts which
n: Ia'c iof lnem special attraction. The
highest authority in Nateria lMsdico H.
Perlera, says: The specific operation of
medicines after their absorption on nart;cu-
lar organs is we'll known Indeed. eminent
medical authorities, as Eberle, Dunclison
and others, have made the action of remedies
upon different parts of the system the ba
Sis OF their classifcations. Thus. one proun
mas q SPECIFIC action on the intestinal canal
anotner upon the respiratory organs. and
others upon the circulatory muscular. and
nervous systems. Then there are spbdiv;s.
ions based upon the mode of action of each
part. One class of remedies acts unon the
blood, some upon its corpuscles, and others
upon Its plasma; some to thicken and 9th.
ers to thin 1t, and others to affect II in still
different ways. To such an extent is their
law OF localzation carried, that not onlv do |
mealclnes select particular organs, but (as |
Dr. Carpenter obServes) their action is often
limited to particular spots upon the organ.
Local action Of Poisons.
Now, precisely the same law of local a.
traction which governs nutriment and mod.
Iclnes, controls also the physiological action
OF poisons. Poisonous agents are drawn h.,
SPECIAL afhnlties to particular parts. unon
winch they produce their morbid, disorran.
iz'ng or fatal effects. An English writer ofl
hiSh authority in toxicology, DR.. Christi
son. says, Polsons are commonly. but con.
celve enormously, said to affect remotely the
general system. A few of them So indeed
appear to affect great number of the body.
Out much the larger proportion seem on tho
conIrary 10 act on one or moro organs only
ana not on the general system Thus for
example, arsenic in poisonous doses attack0
ana lnhames the mucus membrane of the
passages strichnine takes effect
upon the spinal cord, and lead fastens unon
the muscles of the wrist, paralyzing them,
ana producing what is known among main.
ters ana Whlte lead manufacturers as arrist
"cp 1he disturbance occasioned by the
POISONOUS agent may not be confined to
upon particular portiOns or ts5sc3ss.sl
which first and more directly suffers from
their action.
With this hasty analysis of the relative
values of various parts of mans constitution,
and of the law under which they are acted
upon by foreign agents, proceed to exam
inc the manner in which it is affected by al
cohol.
How LIQUORS AFFECT THE DIGESTION.
All alcoholic liquors, when drunk, pass
into the stomach as matter of necessity,
this being the route of introduction for Ii !
quids and solids to the general system. But
they do not long remain in this organ, for
their presence there would speedily and ut
terly arrest the digestive process. " 1t is a
remarkable fact" says DIR. Dundas Thomp-
" son, 'sthat alcohol, when added to the di-
' gestive fluid, produces white precipitate,
so that the fluid is no longer capable of
i" digesting animal or vegetable matter."-
This precipitation is the coagulation of the
pepsin, an essential element of the gastric
Juice. Those distinguished Psychologists,
Todd and Bowman in their late work, say ::
' The use of alcoholic stimulants also re-
: " tards digestion by coagulating the pepsin,
$ {" and thereby interfering with its action
!" Were it not that wine and spirits are rap
"idly absorbed, the introduction of these in
> ''to the stomach in any quantity would be a
complete bar to the digestion of the food
+ as the pepsin would be precipitated from
e " solution as quickly as it was formed by
= the stomach" Alcoholic mixtures arr
X therefore promptly absorbed +; they penetrate
v. the tissues of the stomach, and are quickl.
,s launched into the circulation.
80 To be Continued.