e of the lungs
to do their work, but proper action of the kidneys is none the less
important. If the poisons which are normally eradicated from the system
in this way are allowed to remain or to accumulate, they poison the
body as truly as any external toxic element that could be introduced.
Insufficient activity of the kidneys leads to the accumulation of those
poisons, bringing on convulsions of the most serious nature, and unless
the condition is relieved there will be fatal results. The requirements
of health, therefore, demand that the kidneys should be strong and
active, and that their functional capacity should be maintained at the
highest degree of efficiency.

In supplementing the work of the kidneys and the lungs, the excretory
function of the skin is only secondary in importance. The skin has
various functions. It is one of our chief organs of sense, the sense of
touch being hardly second to those of sight and hearing. It is
likewise a wonderful protective structure, and at the same time is a
channel of elimination which cannot be ignored with impunity. To
interfere with the eliminative function of the skin by absolutely
clogging the pores for a period of several hours means death. One may
say that we really breathe through the skin.

The importance of all these functions of elimination is vital. Pure
blood depends upon the perfect and continuous excretion of the wastes
formed in the body through the processes of life, and without keeping
the blood pure in this manner the body rapidly becomes poisoned by its
own waste products, with the result that health, vitality and even life
are lost. Health is entirely a question of pure blood, and, while
the blood depends first upon the building material supplied through the
digestive system, it also depends equally as much upon functional
activity in the matter of elimination.

The liver, which enjoys the distinction of being the largest organ in
the body, is designed for the performance of a multiplicity of
functions. It not only produces the bile, which has such an important
part to play in the work of digestion, but it has a very important
work in the changing of foods absorbed into such material as may be
assimilated or used by the cells of the various tissues throughout
the body. For instance, it is part of the function of the liver to
bring about chemical changes in albuminous foods which make it possible
for the tissues