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THE
PATHOLOGY OF DRUNKENNESS.
OR THE
PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOLIO DRINKS, ,
WITH
Drawings of the runkard's Stomach.
BY THOMAS SEWALL, M. D.

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CORRESPONDENCE, &c.
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BALLSTON CENTRE, SEPT. 10, 1842.
To the Hon. Samuel Young, Secretary of State, and Superintendent of
Common Schools:
DEAR SIR-I am making an effort to place a bound volume of Dr.
Sewall's work on the Pathology of Drunkenness," with drawings of
the human stomach as affected by the use of alcoholic drinks, in every
school district library in the State. You are aware that the plan was
submitted to the committee on education last winter and unanimously
approved. It is also my intention to furnish a complete set of the colos-
sal drawings, framed, to as many of our literary institutions as I can find
means to supply. As superintendent of common schools, I should be
pleased to receive your approbation of the measure, and to learn wheth-
er your department could assist me in the distribution of the bound
volume.
I am dear sir,
Yours with great respect,
EDWARD C. DELAVAN.
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SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE,
DEPARTMENT OF COMMON SCHOOLS,
Albany, 12th September, 1842.
DEAR SIR-I am informed by yours of the 10th inst., that you are
(making an effort to place a bound volume of Dr. Sewall's work on the
Pathology of Diunkenness," together with the plates, in every school
district library in the State. I am satisfied that the colored plates of
Dr. Sewall, exactly depicting the transitions of the human stomach from
perfect health to the last stages of cancerous, alcoholic disease, will
make a deeper and more lasting impression upon the minds of reflect-
ing individuals, and even upon the thoughtless and ignorant, than any
other work that has ever been published.
I wish the admirable lecture of Dr. Nott contained in the Enquirer
could be added to the work of Dr. Sewall. The teachers of youth would
then be able, by a display and explanation of the plates, and by reading
the two lectures to their pupils, to communicate an admonition to the six
hundred thousand children of this State, against the deadly poison of in-
ebriation, which would never be forgotten.
Whatever can be done to make the rising generation more wise, more
healthful, and consequently more happy than their predecessors, is wor-
thy of all commendation. You have my best wishes for the success of
your effort; and I will willingly aid in the distribution to the extent of
my ability
Very respectfully, yours, &c.
S. YOUNG,
E. C. DELAVAN, Esq.
Sup’t of Common Schools.
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The following letter is from the Editor of the New-York District
School Journal, the official organ of the State:
OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT SCHOOL JOURNAL,?
Albany, Sept. 23, 1842.
DEAR SIR-As an aid to moral and physical education, I wish the ad-
mirable illustrations of the progress of Intemperance by Dr. Sewall,
might hang in each of the eleven thousand school houses in our State
No more effectual appeal can be made to the mind, no more fearful warn-
ing can be given to the appetite, than these delineations of the ravage of
that fatal poison, which so long has mingled death in the cup of plea-
sure. Impressions thus silently and certainly made on the mind of
children, cannot readily be effaced ; and though the picture speak not,
its power will be felt, when other monitions are forgotten.
If in any way I can aid you in diffusing these means of good," believe
me, it will give much pleasure to
Yours very respectfully,
E. C. DELAVAN, Esq.
FRANCIS DWIGHT.
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TO TEACHERS.
I am anxious to place a copy of this volume in each School Distric-
Library in the State of New York. The plan has been fully approved
by the Hon. Samuel Young, State Superintendent of Common Schools.
May I request you to see to the preservation of the work, and as often
as thought best, to exhibit the Plates and read Dr. Sewalls description
of them to the scholars. It might be well also to permit the children to
take the volume home, so that each individual in the district might also
profit by it. This distribution will be an expensive one. The price of
the volume (75 cents,) is a small sum for each district; perhaps the
children might think the work of such value, as to feel willing to pay
for it; if so, such collection would enable me to send it to other Dis-
tricts in our country, where otherwise it might never reach. No claim
is made, but I take the liberty of adding the suggestion. Should Dis-
tricts unite in making collections to pay for the volume, remittances can
be made to Oliver Scovil, Agent, Albany, Post PAID.
EDWARD C. DELAVAN.






P1.1.
THE ENQUIRER GXTRA
Postage is hy direction of Postmaster Gentis / sheet Periodical under 100 miles / cents over 100 m 2 cents
Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Cardiac urifice
The inner surface of the stomach of the
temperate drinker and wine biber
-{Pylorie orifice
The intestine or passage mit
The inner surface of the stomach after
a debauch
of the stomach
THE STOMACH IN AHMAITHY STATE
From the dissections of TV.E. Horner M.D. Professor of Anatomy in the University of Pennsylvania,
Copyright secured,
Chromolithography by.). H.Hall Albany N. 7.
3 Edition

Fig. 1.
Cardiac orifice
The flesophagis or passage into
the stomach
Ulcerated stomach of
the drunkard
{Pylorie orifice
DURES
ino abyssnd.io
The inner surface of the stomach of
the drunkard.
Teintestine
Stomach.
of the
THE STOMACH OF THE DRUNKARD
From the dissections of Thomas Sewall M.D. Professor of Pathology and Practice of Med. in Columbian Coll.D.C.
Copyright secure



U
Fig. 2.
Pl.TIT.
lieg. l.
Cardine oritur
The Desophagus or passage
into the stomurch
Cancerus stomach of
the drunkard.
{Pylorie orifice
The intestine orpusstuge out
of the stomach.
The inner surface of the stomachafter
a debauch
THE STOMACH OF THE DRUNKARD ANTERADEBATCH.
From the dissections of Thomas Sewall M.D. Professor of Pathology and Practice of Med. in Columbian Coll.D.C.
Copyright secured.

Pl. IV:
The Desophagus or passage
into the stomach
Cardia orifice
Pylorie orifice
The inner surfinuo e oithe stomach after
death from delirumtrennens
1617 vel.70
Storiach
iriestine
out of the
The
THE STOMACH ON THIS DRUNIKARD AFTER DANH TROM DELIRIUM TREMENS
From the dissertions of Thorners Sewell M. D. Professor of Pathology and Practice of Med. in Columbian Coll. D.C.
Copyright secured.


THE
PATHOLOGY OF DRUNKENNESS,
OR THE
PHYSICAL
EFFECTS OF ALCOHOLIC DRINKS,
WITH
DRAWINGS OF THE DRUNKARD'S STOMACH.
A LETTER ADDRESSED TO EDWARD C. DELAVAN, ESQ.
BY THOMAS SEWALL, M. D.
Professor of Pathology and the Practice of Medicine in the Columbian College, District of Columbia.
ALBANY.
STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY C. VAN ENTHOTEX
1841.


REMARKS ON DR. SEWALL'S LETTER,
BY THE EDITOR OF THE ENQUIRER.
It appears to us quite impossible for an unprejudiced
mind to rise from the perusal of the admirable letter
of Dr. Sewall, without a lasting and deep conviction,
tion, that one of the greatest delusions that has ever held
possession of the human mind, causing an amount of
wretchedness and loss of wealth which the most fertile im-
agination finds it impossible to estimate, is about to be dis-
sipated; and, we trust, forever. Providence, in the case of
Alexis St. Martin, provided a subject to establish beyond
all contradiction, the great principle on which the tempe-
rance cause is now based, which is, that intoxicating drinks
are never beneficial, but always injurious to persons in health.
All can now understand why wine, intoxicating wine, is
declared to be a mocker-it will be seen, it at once dis-
turbs the healthful action of the stomach, and consequently
the mind feels the injurious influence. We recollect when
engaged in business, and while drinking two or three glass-
es of intoxicating wine at dinner, the bargains made in
the afternooon were frequently disapproved the following
morning ; at the time we were much mortified at this un-
accountable vacillation of mind within a few hours; the
reason never occurred to us, until we abandoned the use of
wine altogether. We then found that we had been“ mock-
ed,” and that our judgment had been impaired in propor-
tion to the alcohol we had indulged in. We found too,
that after drinking a glass or too of wine at dinner on the
Sabbath, we listened to the afternoon service with very
different feelings than to the morning service; and often
accused the preacher of stupidity, when it was our own
stupidity occasioned by that wine which “is a mock-
Until we abandoned the use of this “mocker," we
could never account for this difference of feeling between
the morning and afternoon service of the sanctuary; we then
made the discovery, that we were under the influence of
the mocker" in the house of God. For all the sin we
have committed, in times long passed, through ignorance
of the true nature of all intoxicating liquors, we have ask-
ed, and we trust we have obtained, pardon.
A friend recently informed us that he had frequently
watched the influence of a single glass of wine at dinner
parties on the eye, and that he had invariably noticed a
change, not only in the expression, but the pupil.
While in London, there was a grand procession of over
20,000 total abstainers; they traversed the great city for
several hours, every avenue poured forth its population,
every door and window was crowded to view a sight so
novel; it was supposed at least 500,000 persons witnessed
the spectacle; the procession terminated in one of the
largest squares, where stages were erected at convenient
distances, from whence the vast assemblage were addressed;
our station was upon one of them. An individual from
the crowd soon called out, “I wish to say a word to you ;"
on joining him, he enquired, “do you know me?" we
were obliged to reply in the negative, “well,” says he, “I
know you. I once lived in Albany, in Washington street,
in the same street with yourself, and by reading your tem-
perance papers, I was converted to total abstinence; since
then I have travelled over 40,000 miles, I have visited every
part of the world, preaching total abstinence as I have trav-
elled, and my drink has been confined to water. I have been
exposed to hardships and privation of the severest charac-
ter, but during the whole period I have enjoyed the most
uninterrupted health. For your encouragement to perse-
vere in this great work, I wished to communicate this fact
and the result of my experience.”
Doctor Sewall has our warmest thanks for furnishing his
important letter, as also for the drawings of the human sto-
mach. We believe all coming generations will hail him as
a great public benefactor. We are informed that it is the
first time the human stomach has been thus exhibited
through all its changes, from the use of alcohol. May God
in his mercy bless the effort made we well know, under
pressing professional duties and ill health; may it serve to
arrest the temperate drinker in his dangerous course; may
it bring to a full stand the poor diseased drunkard, and in-
duce him to flee at once to total abstinence from all that
can intoxicate--and in his case, as well at the communion
table as a medicine. We trust the press, now scattering its
hundreds of millions of sheets yearly, will sound the alarm,
and will not be backward in proclaiming the truth now so
clearly established by science, founded on the word of God;
and may the Church rejoice at these developments; they
are opening a bright day for her, and may she speedily cast
out from her sanctuary those fabricated and deleterious sub-
stances, and substitute in their place the “Fruit of the Vine”
--and may the time soon come, when not one of her mem-
bers shall be found making, vending, drinking, or giving
others to drink, that mocker, the use of which has so long
filled the world with pauperism and crime, and kept from
entering within her walls, millions of perishing beings.
May all classes, from the monarch to the beggar, be ad-
monished; let them remember that God has said, and that
too, without any qualification, that “wine is a mocker,"
AND THAT SCIENCE CONFIRMS IT. Let all know
that alcohol, whether in the purest wine, or in the most dis-
gusting beer or whiskey, is a poison-an enemy to health
and happiness—that to use it in health, is a species of sui-
cideman outrage on one's self, on the community, and
when its character is understood, as we understand it, its
use is a sin against the God of Heaven.
er.”

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.
PLATE I. -Fig. 1. Represents the internal or mucous coat
of the stomach in a healthy state, which in colour, is slight-
ly reddish, tinged with yellow. It was drawn from an in-
dividual who had lived an entirely temperate life, and who
died under circumstances which could not have changed the
appearance of the organ after death.
Fig. 2. Of the same plate, represents a portion of the
stomach of the Temperate Drinker-the man who takes
his grog daily, but moderately, or who sips his wine with
his meals. The blood vessels of the inner surface are so
far enlarged, as to be visible, and are distended with blood.
PLATE II.—Fig. 1. Represents the stomach of the habi-
tual drunkard, or hard drinker, and shews the mucous or in-
ternal coat, to be in a state of irritation, with its blood
vessels, which are invisible while in a healthy state, to be
enlarged and distended with blood. It was drawn from
the stomach of one who had been an habitual drunkard for
many years. It bears a strong resemblance in its vascular
structure, to what are denominated the rum blossoms,
seen upon the face of the hard drinker.
Fig. 2. Of the same plate, represents the inner coat of
the stomach, corroded with small ulcers, which are covered
with white crusts, with the margin of the ulcers elevated
and ragged.
PLATE III.-Fig. 1. Represents the mucous, or internal
surface of the stomach of the drunkard, after a debauch of
several days. It shows a high degree of inflammation, ex-
tending over the surface, changing its color to deep red, and
in some points exhibiting a livid appearance.
Fig. 2. Of the same plate, represents the appearance of
the cancerous stomach; and was taken from the case of a
sea captain, who had been an habitual drinker of ardent
spirits, and often in an undiluted state. The stomach is
thickened, and scirrhus, with a corroding cancer of the size
represented in the plate.
PLATE IV. Represents the state of the internal coat of
the stomach of a drunkard, who had died in a state of De-
lirium Tremens. It was covered by a dark brown flaky
substance, which on being removed, showed the stomach to
have been in a state of high inflammation before death.
In some points it was quite dark, as if in an incipient state
of mortification.

LETTER TO E. C. DELAVAN.
To EDWARD C. DELAVAN, Esq.:
Sir-From a consideration of the deep interest which
you have taken in the Temperance Reformation, and the
eminent services you have rendered to this and other coun-
tries, by a series of philanthropic efforts to eradicate one of
the greatest evils of the age, I am induced to comply with
your request, by furnishing the accompanying drawings of
the Drunkard's stomach, with a few remarks upon the pa-
thology of intemperance; delineating certain morbid chan-
ges produced by alcoholic drinks, as they have fallen under
my observation.
The following remarks will explain the circumstances un-
der which these cases occurred, and the phenomena attend-
ing them.
For upwards of thirty years, I have been more or less
engaged in pathological researches; during which I have
enjoyed many opportunities of inspecting the stomach of
the drunkard after death, in the various stages and degrees
of inebriation; and these drawings will be found to present
a pretty accurate delineation of the principal morbid chan-
ges produced upon that organ by intemperance; changes
which are eminently worthy of being brought to the view
of the unsuspecting sufferer, and which I should hope, might
have some effect in deterring the temperate from the use
of alcoholic poison.
If the morbid effects of intemperance are in some degree
various in different individuals; if they are not developed
with the same degree of power and rapidity in one case as
in another, it is nevertheless true that alcohol is a poison,
forever at war with man's nature, and in all its forms and
degrees of strength, produces irritation of the stomach, which
is liable to result in imflammation, ulceration and mortifica-
tion, a thickening and induration of its coats, and finally
scirrhus, cancer and other organic affections; and it may be
asserted with confidence, that no one who indulges habitu-
ally in the use of alcoholic drinks, whether in the form of
wine or the more ardent spirits, possesses a healthy sto-
mach.
In addition to the morbid specimens which I furnish, I
present you with one drawing of the healthy stomach, which
will enable you to institute a comparison, and the more
fully to appreciate the morbid changes produced by alcohol.
To enable the unprofessional reader the better to under-
stand the morbid effects of alcoholic drinks upon the sto-
mach, as represented in the drawings, I beg leave to call
your attention to a few remarks upon the anatomy and
physiology of the digestive canal.
Digestion is one of the most important of all the func-
tions of the animal economy; indeed it is indispensable to
the due performance of all the other functions; consequent-
ly whenever this becomes impaired, the whole system lan-
guishes, and all the other functions become sooner or later
affected also. The object of digestion is to convert the
food into nutriment fitted to sustain and renovate the sys-
tem, and to supply the waste that continually takes place
in every part.
As food is seldom found in a state fit for nutrition, it has
necessarily to undergo various changes in the digestive or-
gans; changes which require that these organs should be ex-
tensive and complicated in their structure, and healthy in
their action.
The digestive canal is divided, according to its physiolo-
gical arrangement, into, 1st, the mouth; 2d, the pharynx
and esophagus; 3, the stomach; 4th, the small intestines,
and 5th, the large intestines.
The mouth is the part concerned in masticating or grind-
ing the food; by the pharynx and csophagus, it is swal-
lowed and conveyed to the stomach, where it undergoes a
most important change, commonly called digestion, by which
it is converted into a substance denominated chyme.
The stomach is situated in the cavity of the abdomen, oc-
cupying the epigastric, and a portion of the left hypochon-
driac region. It is a hollow organ, somewhat conoidal in
its figure, and has been compared in its form to a bag-pipe.
It is capable of containing in the adult, when moderately
distended, about one quart. The left half of the organ is
much larger than the right. It has two curvatures, the
greater and the less. It has two openings; the first is
called the cardiac, and the second the pyloric orifice. The
cardiac orifice is situated in the lesser curvature, near the
left extremity of the organ, communicates with the æso-
phagus, and is the passage by which the food is received
into the stomach. The lower or pyloric orifice is situated
at the right extremity, communicates with the intestines,
and forms the passage by which the food, after the process
of digestion, is completed, is conveyed out of the stomach.
This latter opening is garnished by a circular band of mus-
cular fibres, by which it is capable of becoming completely
closed during the process of digestion. The stomach is com-
posed of three coats. The first is the peritoneal or serous
coat; which is extremely thin, and forms the outer cover-
ing. The second is the muscular coat, and is composed of
muscular fibres running in different directions, and is that
coat upon which the contraction of the organ depends when
it is empty. The third is the mucous or internal coat, and
is about a line in thickness. It presents, when the stomach
is contracted to its smallest dimensions, a corrugated or
wrinkled appearance, which disappears as soon as the organ

6
is distended. This coat exhibits to the eye somewhat of a
mottled appearance; of a reddish complexion, slightly ting-
ed with yellow. Its surface resembles velvet, from which
the term villous coat has been applied to it. In its texture
it is soft, loose and easily lacerated. It has opening upon
its surface a multitude of minute orifices, which lead to
small glands designed to secrete mucus.
These three coats
are connected to each other by the intervention of cellular
substance, but are separable by maceration and dissection.
The stomach is very largely supplied with blood-vessels,
nerves, and absorbents. Indeed the nervous texture of the
organ is so largely supplied and fully expanded between the
mucous and the muscular coats as to form, apparently, a
fourth covering, sometimes denominated the nervous coat.
The digestion of the food in the stomach is performed by
the action of the gastric juice, a fluid secreted by the mu-
cous or internal coat; or by some small glands seated in this
coat, and which possesses the extraordinary power of dis-
solving animal and vegetable substances, which are first de-
prived of the principle of life; but upon living bodies it has
no action, as shewn by the experiments of Spallanzani and
others. For example, if the legs and feet of a living frog
be thrust down into the stomach of a lizard, and be confin-
ed in that situation, the gastric juice has no action upon
them, so long as the frog lives; but if the frog be killed and
be replaced in this situation, they are digested to a pulp in
a few hours. The gastric fluid has even the power of dis-
solving the stomach itself when the organ is deprived of
life; and consequently in some persons who die suddenly
and in a state of full health, the stomach is found a few
hours after death, softened, broken or dissolved.
There are some substances, however, though destitute
of vitality upon which the gastric juice has no action, or if
any, it has not the power of converting them into nutri-
ment; and alcohol is one of this number.
The small intestines, while they form numerous convolu-
tions, constitute one continuous tube, extending from the
pyloric orifice, or right extremity of the stomach, and ter-
minating abruptly in the large intestines. This portion of
the digestive tube gradually diminishes in size as it descends.
The food having been digested by the stomach and con-
verted into chyme, passes out at the pyloric orifice into the
small intestines, when the nutritious is separated from the
innutritious portion, as it mingles with the bile and pan-
creatic juice; two fluids which are poured into the intes-
tines near their upper extremity. - The nutritious portion
is absorbed by a set of vessels denominated lacteals, which
open their numerous mouths upon the inner surface of the
canal. By these it is transported under the name of chyle,
to the blood-vessels, and there unites with the blood in a
state prepared to renovate this fluid, and render it fit to
sustain and nourish the system, and supply the waste con-
tinually going on; while the innutritious part of the food
passes on to the large intestines.
The large intestines from the lower portion of the diges-
tive canal, and though much greater in diameter than the
small intestines, are far shorter. They form a mere reser-
voir for the innutritious portion of the chyme. The small
and large intestines together, constitute one continuous tube,
which is nearly six times the length of the body. Except
in two small sections, they have three coats, corresponding
with those of the stomach, and like that also are supplied
with blood-vessels, nerves and absorbents.
Having thus briefly described the anatomical and physi-
ological arrangement of the digestive canal, I will now pro-
ceed to notice some of the morbid effects of alcoholic drinks
upon it, as they have been presented to my notice.
In PLATE 1. Fig. Ist, we have a representation of the in-
ternal surface of the stomach in a healthy state, taken from
an individual who was entirely temperate, which is copied
from a sketch furnished by Professor Horner, of Philadel-
phia, one of the ablest anatomists of the country or age.
The subject from which it was originally drawn, came un-
der Professor Horner's own observation, and the dissection
was made by his own hand; and he says that the individual
was not only healthy, but remarkably temperate and regular
in all his habits; he therefore considers the case invaluable,
as furnishing a standard of observation. It is of a color
slightly reddish, tinged with yellow, and exhibits something
of a mottled appearance; although supplied with a multitude
of blood vessels, none of them are so large as to be visible
to the naked eye. This healthy and natural appearance of
the stomach would doubtless continue from the period of
childhood to that of old age, if it were acted upon only by
appropriate food and drink.
In Fig. 2d of the same plate, we have exhibited the in-
ternal surface of the stomach of the temperate drinker, the
man who takes his glass of mint sling in the morning, and
his toddy on going to bed; or of him who takes his two or
three glasses of Madeira at his dinner. And here the work
of destruction begins. That beautiful network of blood-
vessels which was invisible in the healthy stomach, being
excited by the stimulus of alcohol, becomes dilated and dis-
tended with blood, visible and distinct. This effect is pro-
duced upon the well known law of the animal economy,
that an irritant applied to a sensitive texture of the body,
induces an increased flow of blood to the part, The mu-
cous or inner coat of the stomach is a sensitive membrane,
and is subject to this law. A practical illustration of this
principle is shewn by reference to the human eye.
If a few
drops of alcohol or any other irritating substance, be brought
in contact with the delicate coats of the eye, the network of
fine vessels which were before invisible, becomes distended
with blood and are easily seen. If this operation be repeat-
ed daily, as the temperate drinker takes his alcohol, the ves-
sels become habitually increased in size and distended with
blood. Besides this injected and dilated state of the vessels
of the stomach, the mucous coat of the organ always be-
comes thickened and softened; and these changes occur in
the temperate drinker as well as in the confirmed drunkard.
It is by this temperate drinking that the appetite of the
inebriate is first acquired; for by nature man has no taste

7
or desire for alcohol; it is as unnatural and averse to his
constitution as to that of the horse or the ox; nor is there
ha с. е.
any apology for its use by man, that does not equally ap-
ply to the brute.
PLATE II. Fig. 1st, of this series, represents the stomach
of the confirmed drunkard; the man who has become habi-
tually accustomed to the use of alcoholic drinks. And here
we find the blood-vessels of the inner coat, which in the
temperate drinker were only slightly enlarged, so fully de-
veloped as to render the most minute branches visible to the
eye, like the rum blossoms on the drunkard's face; and this
enlargement does not depend upon the perpetual presence
of alcohol, as in the temperate drinker, but it has become so
permanent and fixed, that they maintain their unnatural size
even after death; unless indeed the inebriate has for some
time previous to this event abandoned the use of alcohol, and
given nature time to restore them to their natural size.
The mucous coat becomes thickened and softened, which
often results in ulceration. It sometimes happens, after this
state has continued for some time, that all the coats of the
stomach become implicated, and are found in a very thick-
ened and indurated condition, and thus the way is prepar-
ed for scirrhus, cancer and other organic affections. In this
state, the inebriate is never easy or satisfied, unless his sto-
mach is excited by the presence of this or some other nar-
cotic poison. Whenever these are withheld, he is afflicted
with loss of appetite, nausea, gnawing pain and a sinking
sensation at the stomach, lassitude, debility and temporary
disturbance of all the functions of the body.
It is under these circumstances, and in this condition of
the stomach, that the drunkard finds it so difficult to resist
the cravings of his appetite, and to reform his habits. Dif
ficult but not impossible. Thousands thus far sunk to ruin
have reformed, and thousands are now undergoing the ex-
periment. But it is only by total abstinence, that reforma-
tion can be accomplished. No one may hope to reform by
degrees, or to be cured by substituting one form of alcohol
for that of another. So long as he indulges in the smallest
degree, so long will his propensity to drink be perpetuated,
and his stomach exhibit traces of disease.
What takes place in the stomach of the reformed drunk-
ard, the individual who abandons the use of all intoxicating
drinks? The stomach by that extraordinary power of self-
restoration with which it is endowed, gradually resumes its
natural appearance. Its engorged blood-vessels, become re-
duced to their original size, and its natural color and healthy
sensibility return. A few weeks or months, according to
the observation I have made, will accomplish this renova-
tion; after which the individual has no longer any suffering
or desire for alcohol. This process however is greatly faci-
litated, and rendered more easy to the sufferer, by cupping,
blistering and other counter irritation over the region of the
stomach; by the use of cooling medicines and vegetable
diet. It is nevertheless true, and should be ever borne in
mind, that such is the susceptibility of the stomach of the
reformed drunkard, that a repetition of the use of alcohol in
the slightest degree, and in any form, under any circumstances,
or in any place, revives the appetite; the blood-vessels again
become dilated, and the morbid sensibility of the organ is
re produced. Abstinence, therefore, total abstinence, at once
and forever, must be the pledge of him who means to stand.
PLATE II. Fig. 2d, presents a view of the ulcerated or
apthous condition of the drunkard's stomach; a state which .
frequently exists, but is not readily apprehended on account
of the obscurity of the attendant symptoms. It consists in
numerous small ulcerations extending over the internal coat,
and which are usually covered with a white crust, produc-
ing the apthous appearance. Upon wiping off the crust,
the mucous surface is found broken and covered with small
corroding sores, of greater or less size and depth, with rag-
ged and inflamed edges; and sometimes the inflammation
extends over the intervening spaces. These ulcerations are
produced by the irritating effects of alcoholic drinks. I can-
not better give you an account of this affection, than by a
reference to the observations of Dr. Beaumont, a gentleman
who has produced one of the most rare and interesting works
ever published upon the powers of the gastric juice and the
functions of the stomach. You will recollect that while
these experiments and observations bear with peculiar force
upon the subject of alcoholic drinks, they were instituted
prior to the commencement of the temperance enterprise,
and were made without the slightest reference to this sub-
ject. Dr. Beaumont cannot, therefore, be suspected of hav-
ing his mind prejudiced, or of a desire to adapt the results
of his researches to the opinions of the present time, or to
promote the cause for which they are here introduced.
The following account will explain the occasion of his re-
searches, and show the authority upon which his observa-
tions are based.
In the year 1822, Alexis St. Martin, a Canadian boy, of
French descent, aged 18, of robust and healthy constitu-
tion, received a shot from a musket in the left side, by
which the integuments, muscles and a part of one rib were
carried away, and the stomach perforated. In this state, he
fell into the hands of Dr. Beaumont, then a distinguished
army surgeon of the United States, stationed upon our
northern frontier. The boy was cured, but the edges of
the wound in the stomach became adherent to the wound
in the side of the chest, and the opening from without into
the stomach remained unclosed; being two and a half inches
in circumference; so that the food and drink could only be
retained by the use of a pad, and subsequently by the pro-
trusion of a fold of the inner coat of the stomach. This
state of the aperture afforded Dr. Beaumont an opportunity
of making important observations and experiments upon the
digestion of food, and of ascertaining by ocular inspection,
the condition of the interior of the stomach, the state of its
mucous coat, and the iufluence of various agents upon it,
particularly the effect of different kinds of food and drink.
At length St. Martin was brought to the city of Washing-
ton, where I had many opportunities of witnessing the Doc-
tor's experiments, and can testify to the accuracy with
which they were made and are detailed. Commencing
with the 237th page of his work, I find the following record :

8
66
“July 28, 9 o'clock A. M. Weather clear. Wind N.
west, brisk. Thermometer 66°. Stomach empty-not
healthy—some erythema (inflammation) and apthous patch-
es on the mucous surface. St. Martin has been drinking
ardent spirits, pretty freely for eight or ten days past-com-
plains of no pain, nor shews symptoms of any general indis-
position-says he feels well and has a good appetite.
August 1, 8 o'clock A. M. Examined stomach before
eating anything—inner membrane morbid--considerable
erythema and some apthous patches on the exposed surface
--secretions vitiated-extracted about half an ounce of gas-
tric juice-not clear and pure as in health-quite viscid.
August 2, 8 o'clock A. M. Circumstances and appear-
ances very similar to those of yesterday morning. Extract-
ed one ounce of gastric fluids, consisting of unusual propor-
tions of vitiated mucus, saliva and some bile, tinged slight-
ly with blood, appearing to exude from the surface of the
erythema and apthous patches, which were tenderer and more
irritable than usual. St. Martin complains of no sense of
pain, symptoms of indisposition, or even of impaired appe-
tite. Temperature of stomach 101°.
“August 3, 7 o'clock A. M. Inner membrane of sto-
mach unusually morbid—the erythematous appearance more
extensive, and spots more livid than usual; from the sur-
face of some of which exuded small drops of grumous blood
--the apthous patches larger and more numerous—the mu-
cus covering thicker than common, and the gastric secre-
tions much more vitiated. The gastric fluids extracted this
morning were mixed with a large proportion of thick ropy
mucus, and considerable muco- purulent matter, slightly
tinged with blood, resembling the discharge from the bow-
els in some cases of chronic dysentery. Notwithstanding
this diseased appearance of the stomach, no very essential
aberration of its function was manifested. St. Martin com-
plains of no symptoms indicating any general derangement
of the system, except an uneasy sensation, and a tender-
ness at the pit of the stomach, and some vertigo with dim-
ness and yellowness of vision, on stooping down and rising
again-has a thin yellowish brown coat on his tongue, and
his countenance is rather sallow-pulse uniform and regu-
lar; appetite good; rests quietly, and sleeps as well as
usual.
“ August 4, 8 o'clock A. M. Stomach empty; less of
those apthous patches than yesterday; erythematous ap-
pearance more extensively diffused over the inner coats,
and the surface inclined to bleed; secretions vitiated. Ex-
tracted about an ounce of gastric fluids consisting of ropy
mucus, some bile, and less of the muco-purulent matter than
yesterday; flavor peculiarly fætid and disagreeable; alka-
lescent and insipid; no perceptible acid; appetite good;
rests well and no indications of general disease or indispo-
sition.
"August 5, 8 o'clock A. M. Stomach empty; coats less
morbid than yesterday; apthous patches mostly disappear-
ed; mucous surface more uniform, soft, and nearly of the
natural, healthy color; secretions less vitiated. Extracted
two ounces of gastric juice, more clear and pure than that
taken for four or five days last past, and slightly acid; but
containing a larger proportion of mucus, and more opaque
than usual in a healthy condition.
August 6, 8 o'clock A. M. Stomach empty; coats
clean and healthy as usual; secretions less vitiated, Ex-
tracted two ounces gastric juice, of more natural and healthy
appearance, with the usual gastric acid flavor; complains
of no uneasy sensations, or the slightest symptom of indis-
position; says he feels perfectly well, and has a voracious
appetite; but not permitted to indulge it to satiety. He
has been restricted from full and confined to low diet, and
simple, diluent drinks for the last few days, and has not
been allowed to taste of any stimulating liquors, or to in-
dulge in excesses of any kind.
“ Diseased appearances, similar to those mentioned above,
have frequently presented themselves in the course of my
experiments, and examinations, as the reader will have per-
ceived. They have generally, but not always succeeded to
some appreciable cause. Improper indulgence in eating and
drinking has been the most common precursor of these dis-
eased conditions of the coats of the stomach. The free use
of ardent spirits, wine, beer, or any intoxicating liquor, when
continued for some days, has invariably produced these mor-
bid changes. Eating voraciously or to excess; swallowing
food coarsely masticated or too fast; the introduction of
solid pieces of meat, suspended by cords into the stomach,
or of muslin bags of aliment secured in the same way, al-
most invariably produce similar effects if repeated a number
of times in close succession.
“ These morbid changes and conditions are, however,
seldom indicated by any ordinary symptoms or particular
sensations described or complained of, unless when in con-
siderable excess, or when there have been corresponding
symptoms of a general affection of the system. They
could not, in fact, in most cases, have been anticipated from
any external symptoms, and their existence was only as-
certained by actual occular demonstration.
“It is interesting to observe to what extent the stomach,
perhaps the most important organ of the animal system,
may become diseased without manifesting any external
symptoms of such disease, or any evident signs of func-
tional abberation. Vitiated secretions may also take place,
and continue for some time without affecting the health in
any sensible degree.
“Extensive, active or chronic disease may exist in the
membranous tissues of the stomach and bowels, more fre-
quently than has been generally believed; and it is possible
that there are good grounds for the opinion advanced by
celebrated teacher of medicine, that most febrile complaints
are the effects of gastric and enteric inflammations
case of the subject of these experiments, inflammation cer-
tainly does exist to a considerable extent, even in an appa-
rent state of health-greater than could have been believed
to comport with the due operations of the gastric functions.”
We cannot place too high a value upon the observations
and experiments of Dr. Beaumont, as they are the result
of occular demonstration, an actual looking into the interi-
In the

9
or of the stomach from hour to hour, and from day to day,
for a number of successive years; accurately noting the
different states of the organ in health and disease, and the
effect of the various kinds of food, drinks and other agents
upon it.
It con-
I beg you to mark his words. “The free use of ardent
spirits, wine, beer or any of the intoxicating liquors,” says
he, “when continued for some days has invariably produced
these morbid changes.”
Here we find that wine and beer produce these morbid
changes as well as ardent spirits; and well they may, since
they contain alcohol as their basis, as well as rum, brandy,
whiskey and gin, though in rather smaller proportion.
There is another fact stated by Dr. Beaumont, to which
I wish to call your special attention. Having spoken of
the effects of intemperance in producing the morbid appear-
ances referred to in the stomach of St. Martin, he says,
"These morbid changes and conditions are, however, sel-
dom indicated by any ordinary symptoms or particular sen-
sations described or complained of unless when in conside-
rable excess. They could not, in fact, have been anticipated
by any external symptoms, and their existence was only as-
certained by actual occular demonstration.”
Here is a most important pathological fact brought to
view and established by occular demonstration, and one
which should be ever present to the mind of him who uses
alcohol. It is this:—that the stomach may become exten-
sively diseased from the influence of alcoholic drinks, with-
out there being present any general constitutional derange-
ment, or other obvious manifestations of its morbid state.
This fact is particularly applicable to the temperate drinker,
for in his case the narcotic poison of alcohol so blunts and
deranges the healthy sensibility of the stomach, that it
holds out no signal of its sufferings. But though the man-
ifestations of disease may be absent, he should be aware
that morbid changes, extensive and fatal may exist; and
that while he is sipping his wine, or regaling himself upon
his brandy and water, he is laying the foundation of a broken
constitution, and premature decay and death. And this is
what doubtless takes place with the temperate drinker, and
is the true cause of the marked difference between his con-
stitution, when prostrated by disease, and that of the man
who leads a life of total abstinence; a difference seen and
appreciated by every practitioner of medicine. In the one
case disease is easily vanquished, the system re-acts, and the
patient soon recovers his wonted energy:-in the other case,
if he does not sink under the disease, he lingers, and every
attack leaves him in a more broken and enfeebled state; a
consequence inevitable since all the other functions of the
body are intimately connected with, and dependant upon,
that of the stomach. Whenever this organ fails to perform
its office, all the other functions become deranged, and the
whole system languishes.
From a careful observation of this subject during many
years of practice, I am persuaded that tens of thousands of
temperate drinkers, die annually of diseases, through which
the abstemious would pass in safety.
PLATE III. Fig. Ist represents the state of the drunk-
ard's stomach after a debauch. It was drawn from the
case of one who had been for several days in a state
of inebriation, but who came to his death suddenly from
another cause. It shews the internal coat of the organ
to have been in a state of high inflammation, and presents
several livid spots, with dark grumous blood oozing from
the surface.
I have had several opportunities of inspecting the stom-
ach under similar circumstances, and I believe this plate
presents about the ordinary appearance of the organ when
excited to a state of inflammation by excessive indulgence
in the use of alcoholic drinks. It has been remarked, that
the symptoms attendant upon the ulcerated state of the
stomach, and especially if unaccompanied by much in-
flammation, are often obscure, and such as not to denote
much constitutional derangement. But in this condition of
the organ the whole system suffers. There is loss of appe-
tite, nausea, vomiting, ardent thirst, pain in the head, red
eyes, bloated face, coated or red tongue, frequent pulse and
symptomatic fever. These symptoms are more or less in-
tense, according to the duration of the debauch, the quan-
tity of liquor drank, being modified in some degree, by the
constitution and habits of the individual. They are, in
some respects, such as attend the ordinary inflammation of
the stomach, produced by other causes, and the appropriate
treatment in both is found to be nearly the same.
sists in total abstinence from all stimulating drinks, general
bleeding, cupping, leeching and blistering over the stomach,
cooling and mucilaginous drinks, and general perspiration
with entire rest.
The following case so fully confirms the principles here
laid down, and at the same time furnishes so valuable an
admonition, that I must beg leave to present you with the
outlines of its history:
A gentleman equally distinguished for the powers of his
mind, and the great influence which he wielded in the coun-
sels of the nation, unfortunately acquired in early life, the
habit of intemperance; but it was not that intemperance
which is perpetual, it only came over him at distant peri-
ods, not oftener than once or twice in the year. In the in-
tervals he practiced entire abstinence, while at these peri-
ods he wholly abandoned himself to his propensity, and
would continue drinking until his stomach was wrought up
to a high state of inflammation. I was called to attend
him in at least twelve of these paroxysms, during as many
years, and conducted him each time, safely through the
storm. It was done upon the principle of withholding at
once all stimulus, and allowing the free use of iced water,
with other cooling drinks, with cupping and blistering over
the stomach.
In ten or twelve days he was usually well and able to
attend to his business. Unfortunately, in his last paroxysm,
he came under the care of those who advised that he should
not abandon his cup at once, but wind off his debauch by
degrees. The advice was followed, and he fell a victim to
the experiment. He died suddenly, in the vigor of his

10
days, and the height of his usefulness; lamented and wept the stomach, unless when masticated very finely and swal-
by all who knew him.
lowed in small portions. As he expressed himself, there
No one may hope to be weaned from the love of alcoho- appeared to be an obstruction in the passage near the sto-
lic drinks, or to be cured of a fit of intoxication by dimin- mach. His case was examined by several physicians, who
ishing the quantity alone, or by substituting one form of pronounced it to be a stricture in the lower part of the eso-
the poison for another. As well might the culprit who re- phagus. But the obstruction did not yield to the reme-
ceives his fifty lashes to-day, expect a palliation of his dies for that disease, and the difficulty increased until noth-
sufferings by the infliction of forty lashes to-morrow, and ing but liquids would pass, and finally even liquids were
thirty the day after, or by substituting the cow-hide for the returned after reaching the point of obstruction. He suf-
cat of nine tails. The practice is opposed to all experi- ferred from gnawing and lancinating pains in the region
ence, and to every principle of man's constitution.
of the stomach, as well as from extreme hunger and thirst.
The stomach is inflamed, and must be cured like inflam- I have known him to swallow two gallons of water in suc-
mation produced by other causes, by withholding stimulants, cessive mouthfuls in a single night, which would pass to
and instituting a cooling antiphlogistic treatment.
the point of obstruction, and then be regurgated, affording
Fig. 2d of the same plate presents a specimen of the only momentary relief; and this was his condition for se-
cancerous stomach. It was drawn from the stomach of a veral weeks previous to his dissolution.
gentleman who had for many years followed a sea-faring Upon opening the body after death, about three inches
life. He was not regarded as intemperate, but used his of the lower portion of the esophagus was found in a
grog daily, and was much in the habit of taking a glass of thickened and scirrhus state, the disease extending to the
brandy in the morning, undiluted, to excite an appetite stomach and so involving the cardiac orifice, as nearly to
for breakfast. At length dyspepsia came on, with pain and obliterate the opening and prevent the passage of food and
a burning sensation in the region of the stomach, vomiting drink. The mucous coat of the stomach exhibited strong
of his food an hour or two after his meals, followed by traces of the effects of intemperance, and the pyloric por-
extreme emaciation and death. Upon examination of the tion of the organ was found in a scirrhus state.
body, the whole of the stomach, except a small portion at the PLATE IV. represents the appearance of the stomach of
left extremity, was found in a scirrhus state, its coats thick- the drunkard who dies in a state of mania a potu, or deli-
ened to the extent of about two inches, and the cavity of rium tremens.
the organ so far obliterated as scarcely to admit the passage The history of the case from which this drawing was
of a probe from the left to the right extremity; so that for made, and which occured in my practice some years since,
a considerable time before death, none of the nutriment de-
will illustrate the character of the disease, and the morbid
rived from food and drink could have passed into the intes- condition of the stomach.
tines. Near the right extremity of the stomach was a can- The subject was a man, amiable in disposition, courteous
cerous ulcer of the size and appearance represented in the
in manners, high in public life. By degrees he became in-
drawing.
temperate, and although he drank daily, his excessive in-
Since the foregoing case occurred, two others of the same
dulgence was confined to paroxysms of greater or less du-
character, and produced by the same cause, have fallen ration. Several times during the continuance of these pa-
under my observation. In both these, the one male and
roxysms, he was thrown into a state of delirium tremens,
the other a female, the stomach was thickened, scirrhus, and but from which he soon recovered. At length one of his pa-
cancerous, and so extensively disorganized as not to admit
roxysms of drinking came upon him, which was of longer con-
of the passage of the chyme out at the pyloric orifice. The
tinuance than usual, and of greater severity. For more than
prominent symptoms in these two cases also, were excru- a week his mind was entirely deranged, and it required two
ciating pain, a vomiting of the food in a half digested state,
persons to confine him to his room.
He imagined that his
followed by extreme emaciation. These subjects had indulg- nearest friends were his greatest enemies and persecutors, and
ed freely in the use of alcoholic drinks for years, and con-
were constantly laying plans for his destruction. He fancied
tinued the habit till the stomach would no longer receive it.
that he saw spectres and devils, and files of armed soldiers
In these cases of induration, scirrhus and cancer, the
py-
entering his apartment, deadly serpents crawling over his
loric portion of the stomach, is more frequently the seat of bed, and wild beasts ready to devour him. There was one
disease than the left or cardiac portion, but the cardiac por- individual in particular, a certain man who had often won
tion of the organ does not always escape, as the following his money at the billiard table, whom he imagined he saw
case which occurred in my practice several years since, will grinning and skulking round the chamber, waiting an op-
show.
portunity to rob him of his money. His bodily functions
Mr. C., a sea-faring man of forty-five, belonged for became more and more disturbed, accompanied with great
many years to the class of temperate drinkers, but as he
debility; a cold, profuse, clammy sweat, and small and sink-
lived on he became a regular hard drinker, though never a ing pulse. These symptoms were followed by general
sot. At length he began to complain of occasional fits of spasms, which soon closed the scene.
dyspepsia, heart burn and acid eructations; and these symp- After death the body was examined. Upon laying open
toms were followed by a difficulty in passing solid food into the stomach it presented the appearance exhibited in

11
the plate. It contained a considerable quantity of dark
fluid resembling coffee grounds; the inner surface was co-
vered with a dark brown flaky substance, upon removing
which, it exhibited marks of having been in a high state
of inflammation; some portions appearing of a deep red or
mahogany color, and others quite black, as if in a state of
incipient mortification. It was obvious that the dark flaky
matter which lined the inner coat, as well as that lying
losely in the cavity of the organ, was blood which had ex-
uded from the vessels of the inflamed surface, and had been
acted upon by gastric juice, converting it into the black
vomit.
I have had several opportunities of inspecting the body
after death of those who have fallen by intemperance in a
state of Delirium Tremens; and have found not only the
symptoms attending the affection, but the morbid appear-
ance upon dissection to be extremely uniform, and my ob-
servations fully confirm the opinion entertained by most
modern pathologists, that the disease has its seat originally
in the stomach, and that the affection of the brain is pure-
ly sympathetic, and secondary: an opinion sustained also
by the course found most successful in the treatment of the
disease.
Having thus spoken of intemperance as affecting the
condition of the stomach, you will naturally inquire whe-
ther these effects can be produced by no other cause than
alcoholic drinks? To such inquiry, I answer that they can.
There are various abuses of the stomach which may cause
them. They may be produced by excess in eating, by the
use of gross stimulating and luxurious diet, by too much
animal food, and especially if improperly masticated, by
rich and indigestible sauces and gravies, by stimulating
condiments in great abundance, such as cayenne pepper,
mustard and the different spices, the habitual use of opium
in large doses. With regard to this latter article, although
the investigations upon this subject are too limited to au-
thorize me to speak with entire confidence, yet from cer-
tain facts which have come to my knowledge, I have little
doubt, could an opportunity be afforded for inspecting the
stomach of the opium eater and smoker, of the Chinese
and Turkish empires, that we should find this organ in a
very diseased condition.
In a communication just received from the Rev. Peter
Parker, M. D., an eminent surgeon, who has resided for se-
veral years in China, as a medical missionary from this
country, he says “while the prejudices and superstitions of
the Chinese, do not admit of post mortem examinations
for the benefit of science, I have the best evidence next to
that of pathological anatomy, that the primary effects of
opium, are upon the nervous system. Yet the digestive or-
gans, as well as the whole of the chylopoietic viscera, are
early involved in the ruin to which the entire fabric of body
and mind is precipitated. This is apparent by the early
loss of appetite, habitual and long protracted constipation
of the bowels, and the consequent wasting of the adipose
and muscular tissues. As the work of destruction advan-
ces, haemoptisis and pulmonary consumption supervene, or
the individual is affected with osdema of the lower extre-
mities, general anasarca and ascites, which are soon follow-
ed by death. In other cases the effects are more specific
and violent upon the brain and nervous system, producing
violent and permanent mania, so that it becomes necessary
to restrain the patient from acts of violence upon his near-
est and best friends. Sometimes idiocy is the consequence;
the victim loses the power of speech, the eyes roll in the
most fearful manner, the evacuations become involuntary,
and his apparent sufferings are indescribable.”
The striking similarity in the effects produced upon the
body and mind, by the habitual use of opium among the
Chinese and those which follow the use of inioxicating
drinks among other nations, affords a fair inference, that
the stomach in both cases suffers from the same morbid
changes, and would exhibit upon dissection, the same pa-
thological conditions.
It should be borne in mind that while alcoholic drinks
make their first and strongest impression upon the stomach,
their morbid effects are not limited to this organ; the whole of
the intestinal canal, and more especially the small intestines,
participate more or less in their influence. The internal coat
becomes irritated, inflamed, softened and ulcerated, and oc-
casionally affected with those other organic changes delineat-
ed in the drawings of the stomach. Nor are the consequences
of intemperance confined to the digestive canal alone. The
distant parts of the body become in time affected also. The
liver, the brain, the heart, the lungs and the kidneys be-
come the seat of alcoholic influence, an influence which is
transmitted to them in two ways. The first is upon the
principle of sympathy; the second is through the medium
of the circulation, and the immediate action of the alcoho-
lic principle upon the organs as it passes through them,
mingled with blood. Both may be illustrated by familiar
examples. The individual who has become exhausted by
labor and fasting, finds his muscular power diminished and
his whole system enfeebled. Upon partaking of his food, his
strength is immediately restored—restored long before his
food is digested, or any nourishment can have been derived
from it. This effect is produced by the stimulus of the food
upon the stomach, which impression is transmitted to all the
other organs of the body through the medium of the nervous
system, upon the principle of sympathy. The second,
through the medium of the circulation, may be shown by two
facts. The odour of the drunkards breath, furnishes us with
one of the earliest indications of intemperance. This is occa-
sioned by the exhalation of the alcoholic principle from the
bronchial vessels and air cells of the lungs; not of pure al-
cohol, as taken into the stomach, but as it has been absorb-
ed and become mingled with the blood and subjected to the
action of the different organs of the body, and not contain-
ing any principle which contributes to the nourishment or
renovation of the system, is cast out with other excretions
as poisonous and hurtful. Magendie long since ascertained
by experiment, that diluted alcohol when subjected to the
absorbing power of the veins, is taken up by them, is min-
gled with the blood, and afterwards passes off by the pul-

12
monary exhalents. The case of a drunkard is mentioned
who used to amuse his comrades by passing his breath
through a narrow tube and setting it on fire as it issued
from it.
The perspirable matter which passes off from the skin,
becomes charged with the odor of alcohol in the drunkard,
and in some cases furnishes evidence of the kind of spirit
drank. Two cases are related by Dr. McNish, the one in
a claret and the other in a port drinker, in which the moist-
ure exhaled from their bodies had a ruddy complexion, sim-
ilar to the wine upon which they had commmitted their
debauch. These facts show us that alcoholic drinks are
absorbed, mingle and circulate with blood, and therefore
act immediately upon the different organs of the body.
It is upon these two principles that alcoholic drinks pro-
duce thcir morbid effects upon the different organs.
The liver. Alcohol in every form and proportion produ-
ces a strong and speedy effect upon this organ when used
internally. Its first effect usually is to increase the action
of the liver, and sometimes to such a degree as to result in
inflammation. Its secretion often becomes changed from
a bright yellow to a green or black, and from a thin fluid
to a substance resembling tar in its consistence; and this
change not unfrequently leads to the formation of billiary
calculi, or gall stones. There often follows an enlarge-
ment of the organ, and a change in its structure. Aware
of this fact, the poultry dealers of England are in the ha-
bit of mixing a quantity of spirit with the food of their
fowls, in order to increase the size of the liver; that they
may be enabled to supply the epicure with a greater abun-
dance of that part of the animal which he regards as the
most delicious. I have met with cases in which the liver
has become so far enlarged from intemperance as to weigh
from eight to twelve pounds, instead of four or five, its
usual weight. The inflammation of the organ not unfre-
quently terminates in suppuration and the formation of ex-
tensive abcesses. The liver sometimes, however, even
when it manifests upon dissection great organic change in
its structure, is found rather diminished in volume. This
was the case in the person of the celebrated tragedian,
George Frederick Cooke, who died several years since in
the city of New-York. This extraordinary man was long
distinguished for the profligacy of his life, as well as the na-
tive vigor of his mind and body. At the time of his death,
his body was opened by Dr. Hosack, who found that the liver
while it was rather diminished in size, was in a state of
induration, and surprisingly hard, so as to make considera-
ble resistance to the knife; and it was of a lighter color
than natural. The whole substance of the organ was
studded with tubercles, and the blood vessels, which are
numerous and large in the healthy state, were nearly obli-
terated; shewing that the circulation had nearly ceased long
before death. I have met with several cases in the course
of my dissections in which the liver had become shriveled
and indurated; its blood vessels diminished and the organ
greatly changed in its structure; the evident consequence
of long continued habitsof intemperance.
The brain. This organ also suffers from intemperance.
Inflammation and engorgement are frequent consequences of
the use of alchoholic drinks, and may take place at the time
of a debauch, or arise sometime afterwards, during the stage
of debility from a loss of the healthy balance of action in
the system. Inflammation of the organ, when it is acute,
is usually attended by furious delirium and other indications
of high cerebial excitement. It may arise from sympathy
with an inflamed or irritated stomach, or it may take place
from the immediate action of alcohol upon it as it is trans-
fused into the system. In the following case the affection
of the brain seems to have arisen from the latter cause. А
man was taken up dead in the streets of London, soon after
having drank a quart of gin upon a wager.
He was carried
to the Westminster Hospital and dissected. In the ventri-
cles of the brain there was found a considerable quantity of
limpid fluid, distinctly impregnated with gin, sensible to the
taste, the smell and to the test of inflammability. The
liquid was supposed to be about one third gin.
Dr. Armstrong, an eminent physician of England, who
possessed ample opportunities for investigating this subject,
says that he has found the free use of intoxicating liquors,
a frequent cause of chronic inflammation and engorgement
of the brain and its membranes.
It is a fact familiar to anatomists, that alcohol has the ef-
fect of hardening the brain and other organs which contain
albumen, when subjected to the action; and it is a common
practice to immerse the brain in ardent spirits for a few
days, in order to render it firmer for dissection; and upon
examining the brain after death, of such as have long been
accustomed to the use of ardent spirit, it is said that the
organ is generally found harder and less elastic and yielding,
than in temperate persons.
The heart. It has generally been supposed that the heart
is less frequently affected by intemperance than most of the
other vital organs; but from several cases which have fall-
en under my observation, and from the fact that it sympa-
thises strongly with the stomach, and is thrown into a state
of unnatural excitement by the use of alcoholic drinks, the
very effect produced by the violent agitation of the pas-
sions, the influence of which upon this organ is found so
injurious, I am inclined to think that it seldom escapes un-
injured in the habitual drunkard.
The following case came under my notice several win-
ters since. A large, athletic man, long accustomed to the
use of ardent spirit, on drinking a glass of raw whiskey
dropped instantly dead. On carefully dissecting the body,
no adequate cause of the sudden cessation of life could be
found in any part except the heart. This organ was free
from blood, hard and firmly contracted, as if affected by
spasm.
A few years since I saw an individual while engaged in
public debate, drop instantly dead from an affection of the
heart, being at the time highly stimulated by alcohol, and
under a strong excitement of his passions. I am convinced
that many of those cases of sudden death which take place
with intemperate persons, are the result of a spasmodic ac-

13
tion of the heart from sympathy with the stomach, or some
other part of the system. The use of ardent spirit no
doubt tends to produce an enlargement of the organ, pro-
motes the ossification of its valves, as well as the develop-
ment of other organic affections.
The lungs. Respiration in the inebriate is generally op-
pressed and laborious, especially after eating or violent ex-
ercise; and he is teased with a cough attended by copious
expectoration in the morning, and especially after his reco-
very
from a fit of intoxication; and these symptoms go on
increasing, and, unless arrested in their progress, often ter-
minate in fatal bronchitis and consumption.
This affection of the lungs is produced in two ways:
first, by the immediate action of the alcoholic principle
upon the highly sensitive membrane which lines the trachea,
bronchial vessels and air-cells of the lungs, as it is poured
out by the exhalents; and second, by the sympathy which
is called into action between the lungs and other organs, al-
ready in a state of disease, and more especially that of the
stomach and liver.
I have met with many cases in the course of my prac-
tice, of cough and difficult breathing, which could be re-
lieved only by regulating the functions of the stomach, and
which soon yielded on the patient's ceasing to irritate this
organ with ardent spirit. I have found the liver still more
frequently the source of this affection, and on restoring the
organ to its healthy condition by laying aside the use of al-
choholic drinks, all the pulmonary symptoms have subsi-
ded.
On examining the lungs of the drunkard after death, they
are frequently found adhering to the walls of the chest hep-
atized, or affected with tubercles.
The kidneys. These organs and others immediately asso-
ciated with them, are seldom found in a healthy state after
death in the inebriate. The kidneys become enlarged,
softened, granulated and of a pale color; and these effects
are always found, to exist in a greater or less degree even
in the temperate drinker. And the use of alcoholic drinks,
even in a temperate degree, lead to some of the most har-
rassing and fatal affections to be found in the whole cata-
logue of diseases. But though an important subject, and
upon which much might be said in reference to intemper-
ance, I pass on to notice an affection, which, though com-
mon, seems scarcely to have attracted the attention of those
who have written upon the effects of alcoholic drinks.
Paralysis of the lower extremeties. This disease which I
shall here describe is not that paralysis which takes place
suddenly from an affection of the brain, or spinal marrow,
but a gradual diminution of the power of sensation and of
motion. Several of these cases have occurred to me with-
in the last twenty years, three of which I will state.
The first was in an active business man of forty-five,
who gradually acquired the habit of tippling, though he
never drank to intoxication. His practice was to take
small quantities of brandy, gin, wine, &c., at short intervals.
He at length began to complain of debility, a sense of numb-
ness in his lower limbs, and an inability to walk with his
accustomed activity. These symptoms gradually increased,
and were soon followed by other mortifying indications of
imbecility. The complaint increased till he could neither
walk nor stand, and for months before his death, he was lift-
ed from his bed to his chair. Several times during the pro-
gress of the case he partially recovered, but it was only in
proportion as he suspended the use of alcoholic drinks.
Upon examination after death, the mucous coat of his
stomach was found in a state of irritation, such as is usual-
ly met with in the case of the confirmed drunkard, and as
represented in the second plate, figure first. The small
intestines through the greater part of their extent, seemed
to have participated in the irritation of the stomach.
The second case was that of a highly respectable man,
who made shipwreck of fair prospects and a good character,
by contracting the habits of intemperance upon entering
public life. I was frequently called to attend him, on ac-
count of indisposition produced by paroxysms of inebriation,
and yet so assiduously did he conceal his intemperance, that
it was long before any one but myself suspected the cause.
He seldom drank any ardent spirit, but kept his demijohn
of old Madeira, which he used profusely. He first complain-
ed of weakness and want of sensibility in the lower extrem-
ities, and an inability to walk, especially to ascend long
flights of steps. Upon a full representation of his situation,
and the consequences that must ensue, he was induced to
abandon his wine, and almost immediately recovered all his
powers; but upon returning to it sometime afterwards, he
relapsed into all his former weakness, and if now living is
lost to his family and country.
The third case is that of a Mr. a man of thirty,
of fine, robust constitution. He gradually acquired the
habit of tippling, but it was not upon ardent spirit. He
was never drunk, and no one suspected him of intempe-
rance but his family. He had not exactly the drunkard's
breath, nor much of his demeanor or aspect. He consult-
ed me several times on account of a numbness and loss of
power in his lower limbs. It was not for a considerable
time that I came at the real cause of the difficulty, so care-
fully did he conceal his habits. At length I discovered that
he kept in his grocery a pipe of wine for his own use, of
which he drank frequently through the day, and would
often visit his store at an early hour in the morning and
late at night to renew his potations. I informed him that
wine was the cause of all his complaints, upon which he
abadoned the traffic and his habit of drinking together.
His limbs almost immediately regained their accustomed
energy. He is now, after six years, in good health and a
sober man.
It had been asserted by physicians of eminence, who
have enjoyed ample opportunity for observation, that in-
temperance in the parents confers upon the offspring, not
only a predisposition to their own vice, but entails upon
them a liability to diseases, both mental and physical.
One writer upon this subject observes, the free use of

14
But I pass on to notice one state of the system produced
by alcoholic drinks, too important and interesting to leave
unexamined. It is that predisposition to disease and death
which so strongly characterizes the drunkard in every situ-
ation of life.
intoxicating drinks by the parents, produces a predisposition
in the children to intemperance, insanity, and various diseas-
es of both body and mind, and if the cause be continued,
becomes hereditary and is transmitted from generation to
generation; occasioning a diminution in size, strength and
energy, a feebleness of vision, a feebleness and imbecility
of purpose, an obtuseness of intellect, a deprivation of
moral taste, a premature old age, and a general deteriora-
tion of the whole character. This is the case in every
country and in every age. Another says instances are
known, where the first children of a family who were born
when their parents were temperate, have been healthy, in-
telligent and active, while the last children who were born
after the parents had become intemperate, were dwarfish
and idiotic. Another medical gentleman writes, I have no
doubt that a disposition to nervous diseases of a peculiar
character, is transmitted by drunken parents to their off-
spring. There are numerous other recorded facts upon
this subject, which together with several cases that have
fallen under my own observation, leave no doubt upon my
mind, that the effects of intemperance are liable to be trans-
mitted from parent to child; and I have long been in the
habit of admonishing mothers, not to poison tlieir system
or contaminate their milk during the period of gestation
and nursing, by the use of intoxicating drinks.
In answer to the question which I propounded to Dr.
Parker, is it apparent from the observations which you
have made upon the Chinese, that the effects of opium de-
scend from parent to child as affecting either the intellec-
tual or physical constitution of their offspring ? He replies,
“I do not recollect at this time a solitary instance in which
the confirmed victim of the use of opium, has become a pa-
rent, and this fact often forced itself upon my attention,
that the free use of this narcotic poison, incapacitates them
to perpetuate their species ; and indeed this imbecility is
often complained of by them, when they apply for medical
advice.” That the free and habitual use of intoxicating
drinks often leads to the same consequences, but more es-
pecially the habitual use of wines, is a fact known to every
experienced observer, from the days of Shakespeare to the
present time.
But time would fail me, were I to attempt an account of
half the pathology of drunkenness. Dyspepsia, jaundice,
emaciation, corpulence, dropsy, ulcers, rheumatism, gout, tre-
mors, palpitation, hysteria, epilepsy, palsy, lethargy, appo-
plexy, melancholy, madness, delirium tremens and premature
old age, compose but a small part of the catalogue of dis-
eases produced by alcoholic drinks. Indeed there is scarco-
ly a morbid affection to which the human body is liable,
that has not, in one way or another, been produced by
them; there is not a disease but they have aggravated, nor
á predisposition to disease which they have not called into
action; and although their effects are in some degree mo-
dified by age and temperament, by habit and occupation,
by climate and season of the year, and even by the intoxi-
cating agent itself; yet the general and ultimate consequen-
ces are the same.
It is unquestionably true, that many of the surrounding
objects in nature are constantly tending to man's destruc-
tion. The excess of heat and cold, humidity and dryness,
noxious exhalations from the earth, the floating atoms in
in the atmosphere, the poisonous vapors from decomposed
animal and vegetable matter, with many other invisible
agents, are exerting their deadly influence; and were it
not that every part of his system is endowed with a self-
preserving power, a principle of excitability, or in other
words, a vital principle, the operations of the economy
would cease, and a dissolution of his organic structure take
place. But this principle being implanted in the sys-
tem, reaction takes place, and thereby a vigorous con-
test is maintained with the warring elements without, as
well as with the principle of decay within.
It is thus that man is enabled to endure from year to
year, the toils and fatigues of life, the variations of heat
and cold, and the vicissitudes of the seasons that he is
enabled to traverse every region of the globe, and to live
with almost equal ease under the equator, and in the fro-
zen regions of the north. It is by this power that all his
functions are performed from the commencement to the
close of his life.
The principle of excitability exists in the highest degree
in the infant, and diminishes at every succeeding period of
life; and if man is not cut down by disease or violence, he
struggles on, and finally dies a natural death; a death oc-
casioned by the exhaustion of the principle of excitability.
In order to prevent the too rapid exhaustion of this princi-
ple, nature has especially provided for its restoration by es-
tablishing a period of sleep. After being awake for sixteen
or eighteen hours, a sensation of fatigue ensues, and all the
functions are performed with diminished precision and en-
ergy. Locomotion becomes feeble and tottering, the voice
harsh, the intellect obtuse and powerless, and all the senses
blunted. In this state the individual anxiously retires from
the light, and from the noise and bustle of business, seeks
that position which requires the least effort to sustain it,
and abandons himself to rest. The will ceases to act, and he
loses in succession all the senses; the muscles unbend them-
selves and permit the limbs to fall into the most easy and
natural position; digestion, respiration, circulation, secretion
and the other functions, go on with diminished power and
activity; and consequently the wasted excitability is grad-
ually restored. After a repose of six or eight hours, this
principle becomes accumulated to its full measure, and the
individual awakes and finds his system invigorated and re-
freshed. His muscular power is augmented, his senses are
acute and discriminating, his intellect active and eager for
labor, and all his functions move on with renewed energy.
But if the stomach be oppressed by food, or the system

15
excited by stimulating drinks, the sleep, though it may be
profound, is never tranquil and refreshing.
The system being raised to a state of feverish excitement,
and its healthy balance disturbed, its exhausted excitability
is not restored. The individual awakes, but finds himself fa-
tigued rather than invigorated. His muscles are relaxed,
his senses obtuse, his intellect impaired, and his whole sys-
tem disordered; and it is not till he is again under the influ-
ence of food and stimulus that he is fit for the occupations
of life. And thus he loses the benefits of this wise provis-
ion of repose designed for his own preservation.
Nothing, probably, tends more powerfully to produce
premature old age than disturbed and unrefreshing sleep.
It is also true, that artificial stimulus, in whatever way
applied, tends constantly to exhaust the principle of excita-
bility of the system, and this in proportion to its itensity,
and the freedom with which it is applied.
But there is still another principle on which the use of
alcohol predisposes the drunkard to disease and death. It
acts on the blood, impairs its vitality, deprives it of its red
color, and thereby renders it unfit to stimulate the heart,
and other organs through which it circulates ; unfit, also,
to supply the materials for the different secretions, and
to renovate the different tissues of the body, as well
as to sustain the energy of the brain; offices which
it can perform only while it retains the vermillion color,
and other arterial properties. The blood of the drunkard
is several shades darker in its color than that of tem-
perate persons, and also coagulates less readily and firmly,
and is loaded with serum ; appearances which indicate that
it has exchanged its arterial properties for those of venous
blood. This is the cause of the livid complexion of the in-
ebriate, which so strongly marks him at the advanced stage
of intemperance. Hence, too, all the functions of his body
are sluggish, irregular, and the whole system loses its tone
and energy. If alcohol, when taken into the system, ex-
hausts the vital principle of the solids, it destroys the vital
principle of the blood also ; and if taken in large quantities
produces sudden death; in which case the blood, as in death
produced by lightning, by opium, or by violent and long
continued exertion, does not coagulate.
The principles laid down are plain, and of easy applica-
tion to the case before us.
The inebriate having, by the habitual use of alcoholic
drinks, exhausted to greater or less extent the principle of
excitability in the solids, the power of reaction, and the
blood having become incapable of performing its offices also,
he is alike predisposed to every disease, and rendered
liable to the inroads of every invading foe. So far, there-
fore, from protecting the system against disease, intemper-
ance ever constitutes one of its strongest predisposing causes.
Superadded to this, whenever disease does lay its grasp
upon the drunkard, the powers of life being already enfee-
bled by the stimulus of alcohol, he unexpectedly sinks in
the contest, but too frequently to the mortification of his
physician, and the surprise and grief of his friends. Indeed,
inebriation so enfeebles the powers of life, so modifies the
character of disease, and so changes the operation of medi-
cal agents, that unless the young physician has studied
thoroughly the constitution of the drunkard, he has but par-
tially learned his profession, and is not fit for a practitioner
of the present age.
These are the reasons why the drunkard dies so easily,
and from such slight causes.
A sudden cold, a pleurisy, a fever, a fractured limb, or a
slight wound of the skin, is often more than his shattered
powers can endure.
Even a little excess of exertion, an ex-
posure to heat or cold, a hearty repast or slight emotion of
the mind, not unfrequently extinguishes the small remains
of the vital principle.
The fearful epidemic, the Asiatic Cholera, which so lately
spread consternation and dismay over more than half the civi-
lized world, wherever it appeared, singled out the intemper-
ate for its victims, in a marked and most extraordinary man-
If in some instances the sober and temperate were
borne off in the common ruin, it was seldom, except when
some powerful predisposing or exciting cause, overwhelmed
the system.
I have thus endeavored, according to your request, to fur-
nish a few remarks upon the pathology of drunkenness.
The sketch I have given you is brief and imperfect, and
forms a mere outline of this important subject, but so
far as it extends, it is based upon facts, which I have no fear
will bear the test of future observation. You will perceive
that a few passages are extracted from my address, already
before the public, but they are here introduced as applicable
to the oceasion.
Allow me in conclusion, to congratulate you, and your
co-laborers, upon the good already achieved by your efforts. .
Multitudes have been emancipated from a state of the most
degrading servitude; disease has been arrested in its rava-
ges; enterprise brought back in a thousand instances, fresh
and vigorous to the great purposes of the age; banished
happiness restored to the social circle ; and new worship-
pers called around the altar of God. For the universal con-
summation of such blessings, every philanthropist will pray,
and every patriot extend the helping hand.
ner.

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