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found many capillaries. From the blood in these capillaries, cells lining the wall of the gland take water, and with it a little carbon dioxide, urea, and some salts (common salt among others). This forms the excretion known as sweat. The combined secretions from these glands amount normally to a little over a pint during twenty-four hours. At all times, a small amount of sweat is given off, but this is evaporated or is absorbed by the underwear; as this passes off unnoticed it is called insensible perspiration. In hot weather or after hard manual labor the amount of perspiration is greatly increased.

The bodily tem

Relation of Bodily Heat to Work Performed. perature of a person engaged in manual labor will be found to be but little higher than the temperature of the same person at rest. When a man works, he releases energy by oxidizing food material or tissue in the body. Thus we know from our previous experiments that heat is released. Muscles, nearly one half the weight of the body, release about five sixths of their energy as heat. At all times they are giving up some heat. How is it that the bodily temperature does not differ greatly at such times?

Regulation of Heat of the Body. The temperature of the body is largely regulated by means of the activity of the sweat glands. The blood carries much of the heat, liberated in the various parts of the body by the oxidation of food, to the surface of the body, where it is lost in the evaporation of sweat. In hot weather the blood vessels of the skin are dilated; in cold weather they are made smaller by the action of the nervous system. The blood thus loses water in the skin, the water evaporates, and we are cooled off. The object of increased perspiration, then, is to remove heat from the body. With a large amount of blood present in the skin, perspiration is increased; with a small amount, it is diminished. Hence, we have in the skin an automatic regulator of bodily temperature.

Sweat Glands under Nervous Control. The sweat glands, like the other glands in the body, are under the control of the sympathetic nervous system. Frequently the nerves dilate the blood vessels of the skin, thus helping the sweat glands to secrete, by giving them more blood.

"Thus regulation is carried out by the nervous system determining, on the one hand, the loss by governing the supply of blood to the skin and the

action of the sweat glands; and on the other, the production by diminishing or increasing the oxidation of the tissues." Foster and Shore, Physiology.

We have seen the bodily

Comparison with Cold-blooded Animals. temperature of a frog remain nearly that of the surrounding medium. Fishes, all amphibious animals, and reptiles are alike in this respect. This change in the bodily temperature is due to the absence of regulation by the nervous system. A sort of regulation is exerted, however, by outside forces, for the cold in winter causes the cold-blooded animals to become inactive. Warm weather, on the other hand, stimulates them to greater activity and to increased oxidation. This is naturally followed by a rise in bodily temperature.

Problem LIV. A final study of changes in the composition of blood in various parts of the body. (Laboratory Manual, Prob. LIV.)

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Summary of Changes in Blood within the Body. We have already seen that red corpuscles in the lungs lose part of their load of carbon dioxide that they have taken from the tissues, replacing it with oxygen. This is accompanied by a change of color from purple (in blood which is poor in oxygen) to that of bright red (in richly oxygenated blood). Other changes take place in other parts of the body. In the walls of the food tube, especially in the small intestine, the blood receives its load of fluid food. In the muscles and other working tissues the blood gives up food and oxygen, receiving carbon dioxide and organic waste in return. In the liver, the blood gives up its sugar, and the worn-out red corpuscles which break down are removed (as they are in the spleen) from the circulation. In glands, it gives up materials used by the gland cells in their manufacture of secretions. In the kidneys, it loses water and nitrogenous wastes (urea). In the skin, it also loses some waste materials, salts, and water.

Hygiene of the Skin. The skin as an organ of excretion is of importance. It is of even greater importance as a regulator of bodily temperature. The mouths of the sweat glands must not be allowed to become clogged with dirt. The skin of the entire body should, if possible, be bathed daily. For those who can stand it, a cold sponge bath is best. Soap should be used daily on parts exposed to dirt. Exercise in the open air is important to all who desire a good complexion. The body should be kept at an even

temperature by the use of proper underclothing. Wool, a poor conductor of heat, should be used in winter, and cotton, which allows of a free escape of heat, in summer.

Cuts, Bruises, and Burns. In case the skin is badly broken it is necessary to prevent the entrance and growth of bacteria. This may be done by washing the wound with weak antiseptic solutions, such as 3% carbolic acid, 3% lysol, peroxide of hydrogen (full strength), or a 1% solution of bichloride of mercury. handful should be applied immediately.

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A

A burn or scald should be covered at once with a paste of baking soda, which tends to lessen the pain by keeping out the air and reducing

B

A, blood vessels in skin normal; B, when congested.

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Colds and Fevers.-The regulation of blood passing through the blood vessels is under control of the nervous system. If this mechanism is interfered with in any way, the sweat glands may not do their work, perspiration may be stopped, and the heat from oxidation held within the body. The body temperature goes up, and a fever results.

If the blood vessels in the skin are suddenly cooled when full of blood, they contract and send the blood elsewhere. As a result a congestion or cold may follow. Colds are,

in reality, a congestion of membranes lining certain parts of the body, as the nose, throat, windpipe, or lungs.

When suffering from a cold, it is therefore important not to chill the skin, as a full blood supply should be kept in it and so kept

from the seat of the congestion. For this reason hot baths (which call the blood to the skin), the avoiding of drafts (which chill the skin), and warm clothing are useful factors in the care of colds.

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The Bodily Heat as affected by Alcohol. - Alcohol lowers the temperature of the body by dilating the blood vessels of the skin. It does this by means of its influence on the nervous system. It is, therefore, a mistake to drink alcoholic beverages when one is extremely cold, because by means of this more bodily heat is allowed to escape.

"Because alcohol is quickly oxidized, and because heat is produced in the process, it was long believed to be of value in maintaining the heat of the body. A different view now prevails as the result of much observation and experiment. Physiologists show by careful experiments that though the temperature of the body rises during digestion of food, it is lowered for some hours when alcohol is taken. The flush which is felt upon the skin after a drink of wine or spirits is due in part to an increase of heat in the body, but also to the paralyzing effect of the alcohol upon the capillary walls, allowing them to dilate, and so permitting more of the warm blood of the interior of the body to reach the surface. There it is cooled by radiation, and the general temperature is lowered." - Macy, Physiology.

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Effect of Alcohol on Respiration. It has been shown that alcohol tends to congest the membranes of the organs of respiration. This it does by relaxing the membranes of the throat and lungs.

"Those who have injured themselves with alcohol show less power of resistance against influences unfavorable to health, and are carried off by diseases which other people of the same age pass through safely, especially in cases of inflammation of the lungs.' Birch-Hirschfeld.

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"The action of alcohol upon the muscular walls of the arteries, which has been already more than once referred to, is especially important in the capillaries of the lungs. When they are dilated by the paralyzing effect of alcohol, their expansion reduces the size of the air cells in the lungs and leaves less room for the air which the lungs need, so that less oxygen is supplied to the blood. When the capillaries are often or continuously distended in this way, their walls are likely to become permanently thickened, and the interchange of gases which normally takes place there, by which carbon dioxide passes from the blood while the purifying oxygen is taken into the blood, is impeded. Serious disease even may result, such as a peculiar and quickly fatal form of consumption found only among drinkers of alcoholic fluids.

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Dr. Legendre, a Paris physician, has recently published, for public distribution, a leaflet, in which he says: 'Alcohol is a frequent cause of consumption by its power of weakening the lungs. Every year we see patients who attend the hospital for alcoholism come back after a period to be treated for consumption.'' - London Lancet.

"An American medical writer (Journal of American Medical Association) points out the reason why the use of alcohol makes one liable to consumption. He mentions the use of alcohol among various other things which cause the natural vital resistance of the healthy body to be impaired. Among those other things mentioned with alcohol, which produce this impairment of vital resistance, are: Living in overcrowded, ill-ventilated houses, on damp soils, or insufficient clothing and outdoor exercise.' Hall, Elementary Physiology.

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Alcohol interferes with the Respiration of the Cells. Alcohol is quickly absorbed from the stomach and intestine and as quickly disappears. After it is taken, little or no alcohol, or any substance like alcohol, or any substance containing so little oxygen as alcohol, can be found in any waste of the body. Hence the inference is that it must be oxidized, although the exact point and the manner of its oxidation may not be known. But the evidence for its oxidation is the same as that for the oxidation of sugar.

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Every ounce of alcohol requires nearly two ounces of oxygen to oxidize it fully. Taking twenty-five ounces of oxygen gas as the amount used in a day, there will be only one ounce used in an hour. So to oxidize an ounce of alcohol takes an amount of oxygen equal to the whole supply of the body for two hours. Three or four drinks of whisky contain this ounce of alcohol. If this amount is drunk, there will soon be a lessened action and a narcotic effect throughout the body, due mainly to the lack of oxygen. A noticeable degree of uncertain action is called intoxi

cation.

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Using alcohol in the body is like burning kerosene in a coal stove. By taking great care a little kerosene can be made to give out some heat from the stove, but the operation is dangerous. Some people seem to oxidize alcohol within the body with but little harm; but they run great risks of doing themselves harm, and the result is not nearly so good as if they had used proper food.

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'Effects of Tobacco on Respiration. Tobacco smoke contains the same kind of poisons as the tobacco, with other irritating substances added. It is usually sucked into the mouth and at once blown out again, but cigarette smoke is commonly drawn into the lungs and afterwards blown out through the nose. It is irritating to the throat, causing a cough and rendering it more liable to inflammation. If inhaled into the bronchi, it produces still greater irritation, and the vaporized nicotine is more readily absorbed if the smoke is inhaled the more deeply. Cigarettes contain the same poisons as other forms of tobacco, and often contain other poisons which are added to flavor them." - Overton, Applied Physiology.

"The throat, bronchial tubes, and lungs of a tobacco smoker are all liable to irritation by the poisonous smoke, and chronic inflammation is often caused. The nicotine of tobacco is a deadly poison, and in cigarettes

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