This is the reason why liquid nourishment, more speedily than solid
food, restores from exhaustion. The minute vessels of the stomach
absorb its fluids, which are carried into the blood, just as the minute
extremities of the arteries open upon the inner surface of the stomach,
and there exude the gastric juice from the blood.
When food is chiefly liquid, (soup, for example,) the fluid part is
rapidly absorbed. The solid parts remain, to be acted on by the gastric
juice. In the case of St. Martin, [Footnote: The individual here
referred to--Alexis St. Martin--was a young Canadian, eighteen years
of age, of a good constitution and robust health, who, in 1822, was
accidentally wounded by the discharge of a musket which: carried away
a part of the ribs, lacerated one of two lobes of the lungs, and
perforated the stomach, making a large aperture, which never closed;
and which enabled Dr. Beaumont (a surgeon of the American army,
stationed at Michilimackanac, under whose care the patient was placed)
to witness all the processes of digestion and other functions of the
body for several years.] in fifty minutes after taking soup, the fluids
were absorbed, and the remainder was even thicker than is usual after
eating solid food.
Pages:
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192