Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1858-03-04

There is not, among the whole catalogue of Chronic
Diseases, concerning which am Of ten written to,
aud consulted from every section Of the United States and
called to prescribe for, as Constipation OF the Bowels
1t would he the disease o. the country; and like
most other Chronic Diseases, find has been treated IN
der total Misrepresentation regards the true cause Of
the Disease. will in my advertisement Of this week,
give what conceive to be correct view OF the
view that is opposed bythe great mass OF
the profession but which is strenuousy advocated by
few, and those few o their research and close study,
stand at the head of his profession, and from whom am
indebted to having been converted from the old beaten
track laid down in the books and led to embrace my
present belief With view to making the matter intel
gibe to the general reader, (Which is very difficult
thing to do) shall endeavor to simplify the matter as
much as possible in the hope that 1 may be followed
without difficulty.
Constipation of two kinds or perhaps ought rather
to say that it arises from two and entirely dssimilar
states Of the system, viz in those that are lean and
spare habit and in those of robust and healthy appear
auee We willrst take into consideration the formers
and the first question to he propounded and ans Tered is
Why the bowels irregular regards their action
why do they not with more regularity and ffe
ed3
For the very good reason that the natural stimulus to
action, the eontracons of the particles of the bowels
upon their c0nteuts is absentey do not ac' because
that which sets them in moon-that which stimulates
them to contraction and the consequent expeng Of their
contents is not present excite bring about this ac
ton or contraction.
What this natural stimulus or exeter OF the action
Of the bowels?
Their contents-the focal matter and which must be
of certain bulk ounces in weight, before
can become EXETER of the contraction Of the bowels
The reason then, why evacuation takes piace-why
the bowels irregular is because there is no foe al mat
ter there be expelled and of if there is moth
ing to be expelled, nothing be expelled Focal mat
ter cannot be Of the bowels, because it is not in
them; it is not because the bowels unable to dis
charge their contents but because thy have contents
to discharge -
said there nothing, no focal ter th.re; there
may be small quantity, and but small quaatity not
enough at any rate from its bulk or weight to excite
contraction, but soon ounces are pres
en in the bowels, their muscular coats will just so GER
atny, by the weight Of their conte tsbe stimulated and
forced into contraction and the expeing of their con-
tents, the womb WILL at the end Of nine months from
the weight of its centents expe the fGu+, as the
blad Ter will expel its contents wheu cert lin quantity
shall have been secreted there. 1t is lac Of the
my and until there is sufficient weight buk within the
intestnes, sufficient to stimulate them to contract, there
vii be no evacuation and of course no evacuation is
needed.
At this point will take occasion to remark that un-
der this view Of the Of reguarity of the bowels
one can readily see how perfectly ridiculous and
sensical, and how erely useless is the administration
of purgatve medicines in Constipation You take pur
gative and laxative medicinesand fol whatfwhy
pefrom the bowels that which is not theretoforce them
to contract and expe when there is nothing to expe
Purgatve medicines in Constipation not only useless,
hutvery injurious, shall and their admnisra
ton is the height Of empyrcism. Let the bowels alone
until the proper time arrives for their evacuation
til they need to be evacusted and assured that they
Let them alone, and when the eces shall have accumuat
ed to the amount Of some ounces, they,wh most
certainly contract upon and eEpel their contents.
The next question in order is
Why is not fecal matter present-why hiss it not been
whmore regularity and with more frequency deposited
become an EXETER to contraction of the bowels and
the consequent expulsion of their contents?
For the reason that the feces true secretion
from the blood, and the patient from his lean an Ian
tern jawed appearance shows very plainly that he has
but very little blood inside Of him. and what there is
of the thnegt 20 rest and meanest quality it very
easy to imagine that there will be much secretion; it
is an impossbity that there should be much for the
blood there out which
manufacturers the manufacturers are ready to do the
workthey are ready to acure the fecal matter,
but they are short of maeria they have nothing ork
with no material to work into eca matter Like the
ton factory where every thing is ready do work
all the hauds employed, all the machinery good order
and ready Tor action, but the spun thread is wautingt
is MT to be had AMI be got and the
is no homspun made, there is nothing make it
out So it is with the colon and rectum the lower bow
els; they ready to manufacture and depose the fe
cal secretion, but good, rich blood and plenty oft be-
ing wanting, they left without any material
with and of course not having this all important mate
ra-the blood they cannot manufacture the secretion
Now that this dOstrne of feef ation is at
variance with large mass of the profession, and not
only the profession but those out of it, and the latter,
well as large majority Of tt former regard the as
the esiduum of the food that portion Of the food
which up by the circulation and not needed
for The purposes of nourishing the body the
of the food after all the nutritious part of has been
extracted but this is entirely idea for the feces
secret on from the membrane of the
colon, as is the gastric juice from the membrane
of the stomach the saliva the mucous braue
of the glands thu mouth or the tears from the mucous
membrane of the achrymal glands; and the amount Of
secretion from either, depends upon the quantity and
quality Of blood distributed them; ana so Of the colon
the amount Of secretion from its membrane that
is the qusDy of leces that is deposited in the bowels
depends upon the quantity of blood distributed to that
membrane The books, awure. teach yerv differ
ent doctrine, but because DR. this one Dr. that one
says so in his book Is no reason OF its being Other
Doctors in their books say differently ard when Doctors
disagree, who shall decide? The books saw and is the
generally received opinion among the profession that
he NOD int the
cular action of the stomach rolled ana umbled till
it becomes soft, homogeneous mass and then il ia
pressed forward into the upper portion of the bowels
called the duodenum, where portion or part is
traeted separated for purposes of nutrition called
chte and which taken by the small tubular vessels
called iGcteas and carried into the circulation for the
purposes of Dourishing the body; the other portion
becoming USELESS after the chile is extracted from it, it
is sent forward through the bowels and expelled Now
instead part only of this mass, being prepared and
taken into the circulation, the l0h0le of it in health
taken up. Now let about this-let see if part
only is taken and carried into the circulation How
much in weight does person in health eat at meall
| Say two pOunds-three meals day, would make six
pounds that he has taken into his stomach Now ac.
cordi1g to the books, part this oneha taken
up and carried into the circulation; the other half then
according to calculation, would be pound LETT
the bowels after each meal three pounds lay to be
carried forward and expelled at the lower portion Of the
bowels. Now bear in mind that there each day three
pounds Of dross residuum Of the food that is not
needed for the nutrition Of the body, and carried on
through the bowels to be expelled Now suppose this
happened to be troubled with constpat Of the
bowels, and should have discharge from bowels
Tor week. avery frequent occurrence with dyspeptics
and others troubled with Constipation. have known
person to go three weeks without having any operation
Of the bowels, and there record where pa
tents have gone six and twelve months without having
had stool. Nov, at the end Of week, this consti-
pated gatent would, according TO calculation, be
carrying about him, in his bowels, 81 pounds of eeAl
material the end of two weeks he would carry about
with him AZ poundsat the end OF three weeks So pounds
and the OF those have alluded 10 as going six
and twelve months without STOOL would carry $40
pounds, and the other 1892 pounds What an absurd
idea, that person should carry about with him thou
sand pounds the half it, OF focal matter or even 49,
AZ the q pounds Suppose the patient the end
Of the first week. who is supposed to have 81 pounds
store, is weighed how much more will he actually weight
will he weigh II more9 No. Win no weigh the half of
IL, pounds, l poundl MOI not oae half ounce
more; ami the great probability is that he will not even
| weigh as much as he did week previous. What has
become OF the Il pounds Of refuse matter! That's u
question much easier asked than answered. If we stok TO
the old doctrine as laid down in the books III tell you
what become OF II; The whole the food was
up and carried into the circulation, and good portion
has passed through the BIZ oder Ia the form Of urine and
through the pores Of the skin in the form nsensibe
| preparation
II has under the observation Of almost every
that patient laboring under disease where no
solid food has been taken for weeks yet the stools are
well formed and copous as everj and In fact this same
patient may have at the commencement q his disease,
taken strong and purgative medicine, which expelled
| every pa tice Of iecal matter, and before taking
any nourshment, with the exception perhaps Of a little
tei he had other stools almost ropious OF
much consstence the first This OF course could not
have been the residuum Of the food, for patient had
taken none. Patients with oeka where Il i'm.
| possibility for them TO take anything for days and
weeks in the shape Of noufshment except liquid, and
that Of the thinnest kind, yet have daily evacuation
Of the usual consstence Patients suffering from cancer
In the mouth that preuded the possibility taking any
kind Of nourshment by the mouth, have been noushed
and kept alive by eneas yet they have stools OF more