suse of alcohol as a remedy in disease. In this chapter the same may
be briefly hinted at, while others, some the results of quite recent
research, will be added.

In the _Bulletin of the A. M. T. A._, for January 1898, Dr. N. S. Davis
says:--

"The supposed effects of alcohol as a medicine were originally
based solely on the sensations and actions of the patients
taking it. The first appreciable effect of the alcohol after
entering the blood is that of an anaesthetic; that is, it
diminishes the sensibility of the brain and nerve structures, in
the same direction as ether and chloroform. And, as the brain is
the material seat of man's consciousness, the alcohol renders
him less conscious of cold or heat, of weariness or pain, and
less conscious of his own weight or of any external resistance.
Consequently, when under the influence of small doses, he feels
lighter and less conscious of any external impressions, and
thinks he could do more than without it. It was these effects
that led both the patient and his physician to regard the
alcohol as a general stimulant or tonic, notwithstanding the
fact that by simply increasing the doses of alcohol the
sensibility soon became entirely suspended, and the patient
helpless and altogether unconscious. * * * * *

"Simple increased frequency of the heart action is no evidence
of either increased force or efficiency in promoting the
circulation of the blood. Indeed, it may be stated as a
physiological law, that the more frequent the heart action above
the normal standard, the less efficiently does it promote the
circulation and strength of the living system. But the effect of
a moderate dose of alcohol in increasing the frequency of the
heart-beat and of blood pressure is so temporary that the doses
must be repeated so often that the alcohol accumulates in the
blood and tissues, and extends its paralyzing effects to all the
vasomotor, cardiac and respiratory nerves. Indeed, all the
investigators agree that alcohol in any dose capable of
producing an appreciable effect, diminishes the function of the
lungs in direct proportion to the quantity taken; and as the
lungs are the only channel through which free oxygen reaches the
blood, and such oxygen is the natural exciter of all vital
activities in the living body, it is not possible to explain how