The Drink Problem in Its Medico-Sociological Aspects (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1907 Excerpt: ... Ill THE PATHOLOGY OF ALCOHOLISM BY G. SIMS WOODHBAD, M.A., M.D., F.R.S.E. PBOFESSOB OP PATHOLOGY IN THB UNIVEBSITY FELLOW OF TBINITY HALL, CAMBEIDQE CONSULTINQ MEDICAL OFFICEB OF HEALTH FOB CAMBBIDGE The Pathological Action Of Alcohol IT has long been known that alcohol damages various kinds of animal and vegetable protoplasm. It is of course pointed out, very justly, that the action of alcohol upon "naked " protoplasm can scarcely be the same as is its action upon the protected and protecting cells of the alimentary tract. At the same time it must be evident that if we can obtain even a small amount of proof that alcohol acts on the tissues of the human body as it does on other protoplasm, we are justified in assuming that these tissues react to, and are injured by alcohol, much as are the tissues that we can study directly, the difference being one of degree merely, rather than of kind. It is sometimes contended that the methods of the study of the action of alcohol on the protoplasm or tissues of growing animals and plants is unscientific; but against this it may be urged that if we are to study the effect of alcohol on the tissues and organs of the body, we must in the first instance determine, if possible, the action of alcohol in various doses and dilutions upon normal tissues over the condition of which we can exert some control during the course of the experiment. Indeed, whilst it would be unreasonable to assume that certain substances, alcohol amongst them, which act as poisons to a single kind of protoplasm necessarily act in the same way upon another, it may be accepted, generally, that should these substances affect, deleteriously, many kinds of tissue and various forms of protoplasm other than those of the human subject, they will probably be ...