The Grenada sentinel., 1888-06-23
TEMPERANCE.
DRINKING IN MODERATION.
Its PernicIous Effects ON the Liver, Kid
news and Heart.

49,
neys and Heart.
A medical writer in the London
Lancet, after giving some comparative
death-rate statistics of drinkers and
non-drinkers, makes the following
statements respecting the evil effects
of alcohol on the human system:
EXPECTS on THE LIVER.
Notwithstanding the familiarity of med
ical men with the fact that many cases OF
hepatitis, chronically enlarged liver and
cirrhoss are directly tracoable to inebriety,
few, | fancy, can have been prepared,
without some special acquaintance with
the subject, for the information furnished
by the foregoing mortality tables OF tho
potent action of alcohol on the liver, when
only taken in small quantities at time.
And, although it may at first sight appear
strange that the liver, of all the organs OF the
body, should be most potently affected by
moderate drinking, ] think one can scarce
ly be surprised at this if he is acquainted
with the peculiar action Of alcohol intro
duced into the liver by the portal vein.
For it requires | think, but small amount
of reflection on the part of those acqualnt-
ed with the mechanism of digestion to un-
derstand how alcohol, when taken into the
stomach, even in small quantities at a tlme,
is a powerful agent in the production OF
hepatic disease. Seeing that most OF the
LIQUID products of our food is carried 'dl-
rectly from the intestineS to the liver by
the portal vein, it consequently follows that
almost every drop of the alcohol, be
it small or be it great, taken into the
stomach must be directly conveyed by the
portal vein TO the liver, and compelled TO
filter through its tissues before it can pos
sibly get into the general circulation and
reach any of the other organs of the body
The knowledge of the fact that all the i'm
bibed alcohol is directly conveyed to the
liver by the portal circulation not only
gives clew to why alcoholic stimulants
are so prone 20 induce hepatitis, as well as
to increase the formation of sugar and ag-
gravate diabetes, but to bring about an at
| tack of gout, seeing that the liver is re-
gardcd as the main source of both sugar
and uric acid-the supposed gout-tormlng
material In addition to which, the direct
| conveyance of alcohol to the liver affords
us reasonable explanation of why alcohol
taken along with the food is so much less
detrimental to the constitution than when
| it is taken on an empty stomach More
over, it is now well-known fact that the
| continuous excitement of the liver, kept up
| by habitual "nipping," is far more injuri-
| Gus to its functions than an occasional out
| burst of drunkenness followed by intervals
| of strict sobriety. 1t equally accounts for
| the fact that the liver is not alone the first
| organ of the body that becomes affected,
! Int is at the same time the one most seri-
| ousIv disordered by moderate drinking
rrpprr or THE ErDyrys
o,o offncts nm tha kidnevs of moderate
d,inl,ers arc far loss annarnnt than upon
tbo 1i,or. nnvartha,ess thev are sufficient
l., no,.l,od 70 merit attention. The reason
,ybv tho l,idnnvs sufrnr so much less from
tho ;mbihn5 alcohol when If is taken in only
snail ouontitiae at a time is sufficiently OBJ
yions scrinp that a large quantity of what
masses through the liver never reaches the
! ti1nevs o+ all from a considerable mart of
Il haying heen eliminated bv the breath
| drrinr its nassape in the blood through the
! 1rnrs That intamnerance is a fruitful
source NJ Rr;oht,s disease has long been
l,rou,n and the reason of this is not far to
soel, seeing that IL is the special duty of
the kidnevs to eliminate alcohol from the
general circulation, as they do all other
Soreiqn materials And the more work
tbot il thrown nnon an organ. the more
nrone are its tissues to become degenerated.
Mt onIy however do we know that kid.
navs eliminate the imbibed alcohol (from
Ho being met with in urine). but
r,o lil,n1yise l,now that alcohol as
a,oohoI satrratos the renal tissue to such
an oy,tart that and others have been able
| r