Dodge City times., 1888-06-21
TEMPERANCE READING.
MODERATE DRINKING.
Its Pernicious Effects on the Liver, Hi
nAYs and Hart.

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:
I 49, - S-ErFRCTs ON THE LIVER
Notwithstanding the familiarity of med
ical men with the fact that many cases of
hepatitis. chronically enlarged liver and
cirrhosis are directly traceable to inebriety,
few, l fancy. can have been prepared,
without some special acquaintance with
the subject, for the Information furnished
by the foregoing mortality tables of the
| potent action Of alcohol on the liver when
| only taken in small quantities at a 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 acquaint-
ed with the mechanism of digestion to un-
der,tand how alcohol, when taken into the
stomach, even in small quantities at time,
is a powerful agent in the production of
hepatic disease Seeing that most of the
liquid products Of our food is carried di-
rectly from the intestines to the liver by
the portal vein, it consequently follows that
almost every drop of the alcohol be
1t 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 It's 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
arc so prone to 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-
garded as the main source of both sugar
and uric acid-the supposed forming
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 wel[known fact that the
continuous excitement OF the liver, kept up
by habitual "nipping," is far more injuri-
GUS to it's 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,
but is at the same time the one most seri-
ously disordered by moderate drinking.
EFFECT ON THE KIDNEYS.
The effects on the kidneys of moderate
6,.ip L. 70.
the liver; nevertheless, they are sufficient
ly marked to merit attention. The reason
why the kidneys suffer so much less from
the imbibed alcohol when it is taken in only
small quantities at time is sufficiently OBJ
viOus. seeing that Il large quantity Of what
passes through the liver never reaches the
kidneys at all, from 4 considerable part of
it having been eliminated by the breath
during its passage in the blood through the
lungs. That intemperance is a fruitful
source OF Bright's disease has long been
known. and the reason of this is not far to
seek, seeing that it is the special duty of
the kidneys to eliminate alcohol from the
general circulation, as they do all other
foreign materials. And the more work
that is thrown upon an organ, the more
prone are its tissues to become degenerated.
Not only, however, do we know that kid
neys eliminate the im5ibed alcohol Cfrom
its being met with in urine,, but
we likewise know that alcohol as
alcohol saturates the renal tissue to such
an extent that l and others have been able
to obtain pure alcohol from the kidneys of
persons who have died intoxicated by the
simple process Of distillation. Besides all
this. however, there is special reason
why the kidneys should become diseased
in so-called moderate drinking, and that
is on account of the circulation being in
cessantly increased in them. as it is else
where. from the accelerated hearts action
induced by the repeated imbibatiOn of
stimulants in small quantities. For no
doubt the diameter of the renal blood
vessels is augmented by their engagement,
and consequently they exert deleterious
pressure on the Intcrvascular tissues,
which will interfere with their proper nour-
ishment. While, further, this engorge-
ment of the renal vessels will render the
kidneys more liable to the injurious
effects Of chills: and chiils are, as
is well known. the most fruitful cause
of liindney disease. This view of
the case appears to me to give not only the
clew to the reason why Bright's disease is
50 particularly common among the inc
briate, but likewise why transient attacks
of albuminuria are so frequently met with
in moderate drinkers. among both men and
women. Spirit-drinking is said to be main
" instrumental in inducing the variety of
renal disease named glanular kidney;
while beer drinking is, on the other hand,
thought to be most potent In bringing
about fatty degeneration of the renal It's
cues. Be hat as it may. well know from
of,r hot
even small quantities OF alcohol habitually
INDUCED in sometimes bring on most
troublesome forms of albuminuria with
ont there being any well marked symptoms
Of the existence of either granular or fatty
degeneration of the tissues of the kidneys.
ALCOHOL. AND THE HEARTS ACTION.
Alcohol, when taken in small quantity, |
is in general said to act as direct cardiac |
stimulant. and its stimulating effect is |
supposed to be due to its possessing the |;
faculty OF increasing the muscular power !
Of the heart. take an entirely dif1eren: |
view Of the matter. and shall now endeavor !
to show now the increase in the force of |
the hearts movements. the quickening OF !
the pulse. the flushing of the face, the cor
gestion of the retnal blood vessels as well |
as all the other visible appearances of &C !
celerated cardiac functional activity, are |
in reality in no wise due to the stimulating |
action OF alcohol, either on the hearts |
tissue or the nerves supplying it. |.
but actually to the very reverse, viz: It's |
effect on the cardiac nerve |
This may appear strange !
idea to those unfamiliar with the advanced |
theories regarding the accelerating !
and restraining hearts nerve forces. .
it is quite ccnsonant with !
the results of modern physiological in
vestigations. which go far to prove that j
every function Of organic life-no matter
sx.hifha,. ba thu a,-z lsinn Of the urine,