Touch.--In animals having a hard outside covering, such as certain worms,
insects, and crustaceans, minute hairs, which are sensitive to touch, are
found growing out from the body covering. At the base of these hairs are
found neurones which send axons inward to the central nervous system.
[Illustration: Nerves in the skin: _a_, nerve fiber; _b_, tactile papillae,
containing a tactile corpuscle; _c_, papillae containing blood vessels.
(After Benda.)]
Organs of Touch.--In man, the nervous mechanism which governs touch is
located in the folds of the dermis or in the skin. Special nerve endings,
called the _tactile corpuscles_, are found there, each inclosed in a sheath
or capsule of connective tissue. Inside is a complicated nerve ending, and
axons pass inward to the central nervous system. The number of tactile
corpuscles present in a given area of the skin determines the accuracy and
ease with which objects may be known by touch.
If you test the different parts of the body, as the back of the hand, the
neck, the skin of the arm, of the back, or the tip of the tongue, with a
pair of open dividers, a vast difference in the accuracy with which the two
points may be distinguished is noticed. On the tip of the tongue, the two
points need only be separated by 1/24 of an inch to be so distinguished. In
the small of the back, a distance of 2 inches may be reached before the
dividers feel like two points.
Temperature, Pressure, Pain.--The feeling of temperature, pressure, and
pain is determined by different end organs in the skin. Two kinds of nerve
fibers exist in the skin, which give distinct sensations of heat and cold.
These nerve endings can be located by careful experimentation. There are
also areas of nerve endings which are sensitive to pressure, and still
others, most numerous of all, sensitive to pain.
Taste Organs.--The surface of the tongue is folded into a number of little
projections known as papillae. These may be more easily found on your own
tongue if a drop of vinegar is placed on its broad surface. In the folds,
between these projections on the top and back part of the tongue, are
located the organs of taste. These organs are called _taste buds_.
[Illustration: _A_, isolated taste bud, from whose upper free end project
the ends of the taste cells; _B_, supporting or protecting cell; _C_,
sensory cell.]
Each taste bud consists of a collection of spindle-shaped neurones, each
cell tipped at its outer end with a hairlike projection. These cells send
inward fibers to other cells, the fibers from which ultimately reach the
brain. The sensory cells are surrounded by a number of projecting cells
which are arranged in layers about them. Thus the organ in longitudinal
section looks somewhat like an onion cut lengthwise.
How we Taste.--Four kinds of substances may be distinguished by the sense
of taste. These are sweet, sour, bitter, and salt. Certain taste cells
located near the back of the tongue are stimulated only by a bitter taste.
Sweet substances are perceived by cells near the tip of the tongue, sour
substances along the sides, and salt about equally all over the surface. A
substance must be dissolved in fluid in order to be tasted. Many things
which we believe we taste are in reality perceived by the sense of smell.
Such are spicy sauces and flavors of meats and vegetables. This may easily
be proved by holding the nose and chewing, with closed eyes, several
different substances, such as an apple, an onion, and a raw potato.
Smell.--The sense of smell is located in the membrane lining the upper
part of the nose. Here are found a large number of rod-shaped cells which
are connected with the brain by means of the olfactory nerve. In order
to perceive odors, it is necessary to have them diffused in the air; hence
we sniff so as to draw in more air over the olfactory cells.
The Organ of Hearing.--The organ of hearing is the ear. The outer
ear consists of a funnel-like organ composed largely of cartilage which is
of use in collecting sound waves. This part of the ear incloses the auditory
canal, which is closed at the inner end by a tightly stretched membrane,
the _tympanic membrane_ or ear drum. The function of the tympanic
membrane is to receive sound waves, for all sound is caused by
vibrations in the air, these vibrations being transmitted, by the means
of a complicated apparatus found in the middle ear, to the real organ of
hearing located in the inner ear.
[Illustration: Section of ear: _E.M._, auditory canal; _Ty.M._, tympanic
membrane; _Eu._, Eustachian tube; _Ty_, middle ear; _Coc._, _A.S.C._,
_E.S.C._, etc., internal ear.]
Middle Ear.--The middle ear in man is a cavity inclosed by the temporal
bone, and separated from the outer ear by the tympanic membrane. A little
tube called the _Eustachian tube_ connects the inner ear with the mouth
cavity. By allowing air to enter from the mouth, the air pressure is
equalized on the ear drum. For this reason, we open the mouth at the time
of a heavy concussion and thus prevent the rupture of the delicate tympanic
membrane. Placed directly against the tympanic membrane and connecting it
with the inner ear is a chain of three tiny bones, the smallest bones of
the body. The outermost is called the _hammer_; the next the _anvil_; the
third the _stirrup_. All three bones are so called from their resemblances
in shape to the articles for which they are named. These bones are held in
place by very small muscles which are delicately adjusted so as to tighten
or relax the membranes guarding the middle and inner ear.
The Inner Ear.--The inner ear is one of the most complicated, as well as
one of the most delicate, organs of the body. Deep within the temporal bone
there are found two parts, one of which is called, collectively, the
_semicircular canal region_, the other the _cochlea_, or organ of hearing.
It has been discovered by experimenting with fish, in which the
semicircular canal region forms the chief part of the ear, that this region
has to do with the equilibrium or balancing of the body. We gain in part
our knowledge of our position and movements in space by means of the
_semicircular canals_.
That part of the ear which receives sound waves is known as the _cochlea_,
or snail shell, because of its shape. This very complicated organ is lined
with sensory cells provided with cilia. The cavity of the cochlea is filled
with a fluid. It is believed that somewhat as a stone thrown into water
causes ripples to emanate from the spot where it strikes, so sound waves
are transmitted by means of the fluid filling the cavity to the sensory
cells of the cochlea (collectively known as the _organ of Corti_) and
thence to the brain by means of the auditory nerve.
The Character of Sound.--When vibrations which are received by the ear
follow each other at regular intervals, the sound is said to be musical. If
the vibrations come irregularly, we call the sound a noise. If the
vibrations come slowly, the pitch of the sound is low; if they come
rapidly, the pitch is high. The ear is able to perceive as low as thirty
vibrations per second and as high as almost thirty thousand. The ear can be
trained to recognize sounds which are unnoticed in untrained ears.
[Illustration: Longitudinal section through the eye.]
The Eye.--The eye or organ of vision is an almost spherical body which fits
into a socket of bone, the _orbit_. A stalklike structure, the _optic
nerve_, connects the eye with the brain. Free movement is obtained by means
of six little muscles which are attached to the outer coat, the _eyeball_,
and to the bony socket around the eye.
The wall of the eyeball is made up of three coats. An outer tough white
coat, of connective tissue, is called the _sclerotic coat_. Under the
sclerotic coat, in front, the eye bulges outward a little. Here the outer
coat is continuous with a transparent tough layer called the _cornea_. A
second coat, the _choroid_, is supplied with blood vessels and cells which
bear pigments. It is a part of this coat which we see through the cornea as
the colored part of the eye (the _iris_). In the center of the iris is a
small circular hole (the _pupil_). The iris is under the control of
muscles, and may be adjusted to varying amounts of light, the hole becoming
larger in dim light, and smaller in bright light. The inmost layer of the
eye is called the _retina_. This is, perhaps, the most delicate layer in
the entire body. Despite the fact that the retina is less than 1/80 of an
inch in thickness, there are several layers of cells in its composition.
The optic nerve enters the eye from behind and spreads out to form the
surface of the retina. Its finest fibers are ultimately connected with
numerous elongated cells which are stimulated by light. The retina is dark
purple in color, this color being caused by a layer of cells next to the
choroid coat. This accounts for the black appearance of the pupil of the
eye, when we look through the pupil into the darkened space within the
eyeball. The retina acts as the sensitized plate in the camera, for on it
are received the impressions which are transformed and sent to the brain as
sensations of sight. The eye, like the camera, has a lens. This lens is
formed of transparent, elastic material. It is found directly behind the
iris and is attached to the choroid coat by means of delicate ligaments. In
front of the lens is a small cavity filled with a watery fluid, the
_aqueous humor_, while behind it is the main cavity of the eye, filled with
a transparent, almost jellylike, _vitreous humor_. The lens itself is
elastic. This circumstance permits of a change of form and, in consequence,
a change of focus upon the retina of the lens. By means of this change in
form, or _accommodation_, we are able to distinguish between near and
distant objects.
[Illustration: How far away can you read these letters? Measure the
distance. Twenty feet is a test for the normal eye.]
Defects in the Eye.--In some eyes, the lens is in focus for near objects,
but is not easily focused upon distant objects; such an eye is said to be
nearsighted. Other eyes which do not focus clearly on objects near at hand
are said to be farsighted. Still another eye defect is astigmatism, which
causes images of lines in a certain direction to be indistinct, while
images of lines transverse to the former are distinct. Many nervous
troubles, especially headaches, may be due to eye strain. We should have
our eyes examined from time to time, especially if we are subject to
headaches.
The Alcohol Question.--It is agreed by investigators that in large or
continued amounts alcohol has a narcotic effect; that it first dulls or
paralyzes the nerve centers which control our judgment, and later acts upon
the so-called motor centers, those which control our muscular activities.
The reason, then, that a man in the first stages of intoxication talks
rapidly and sometimes wittily, is because the centers of judgment are
paralyzed. This frees the speech centers from control exercised by our
judgment, with the resultant rapid and free flow of speech.
In small amounts alcohol is believed by some physiologists to have always
this same narcotic effect, while other physiologists think that alcohol
does stimulate the brain centers, especially the higher centers, to
increased activity. Some scientific and professional men use alcohol in
small amounts for this stimulation and report no seeming harm from the
indulgence. Others, and by far the larger number, agree that this
stimulation from alcohol is only apparent and that even in the smallest
amounts alcohol has a narcotic effect.
The Paralyzing Effects of Alcohol on the Nervous System.--Alcohol has the
effect of temporarily paralyzing the nerve centers. The first effect is
that of exhilaration. A man may do more work for a time under the
stimulation of alcohol. This stimulation, however, is of short duration and
is invariably followed by a period of depression and inertia. In this
latter state, a man will do less work than before. In larger quantities,
alcohol has the effect of completely paralyzing the nerve centers. This is
seen in the case of a man "dead drunk." He falls in a stupor because all of
the centers governing speech, sight, locomotion, etc., have been
temporarily paralyzed. If a man takes a very large amount of alcohol, even
the nerve centers governing respiration and circulation may become
poisoned, and the victim will die.
Effect on the Organs of Special Sense.--Professor Forel, one of the
foremost European experts on the question of the effect of alcohol on the
nervous system, says: "Through all parts of nervous activity from the
innervation of the muscles and the simplest sensation to the highest
activity of the soul the paralyzing effect of alcohol can be demonstrated."
Several experimenters of undoubted ability have noted the paralyzing effect
of alcohol even in small doses. By the use of delicate instruments of
precision, Ridge tested the effect of alcohol on the senses of smell,
vision, and muscular sense of weight. He found that two drams of absolute
alcohol produced a positive decrease in the sensitiveness of the nerves of
feeling, that so small a quantity as one half dram of absolute alcohol
diminished the power of vision and the muscular sense of weight. Kraepelin
and Kurz by experiment determined that the acuteness of the special senses
of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell was diminished by an ounce of
alcohol, the power of vision being lost to one third of its extent and a
similar effect being produced on the other special senses. Other
investigators have reached like conclusions. There is no doubt but that
alcohol, even in small quantities, renders the organs of sense less
sensitive and therefore less accurate.
[Illustration: Table to show a comparison of chances of illness and death
in drinkers and non-drinkers. Solid black, drinkers. (From German
sources.)]
Effect of Alcohol on the Ability to Resist Disease.--Among certain classes
of people the belief exists that alcohol in the form of brandy or some
other drink or in patent medicines, malt tonics, and the like is of great
importance in building up the body so as to resist disease or to cure it
after disease has attacked it. Nothing is further from the truth. In
experiments on a large number of animals, including dogs, rabbits, guinea
pigs, fowls, and pigeons, Laitenen, of the University of Helsingsfors,
found that alcohol, without exception, made these animals more susceptible
to disease than were the controls.
One of the most serious effects of alcohol is the lowered resistance of the
body to disease. It has been proved that a much larger proportion of hard
drinkers die from infectious or contagious diseases than from special
diseased conditions due to the direct action of alcohol on the organs of
the body. This lowered resistance is shown in increased liability to
contract disease and increased severity of the disease. We have already
alluded to the findings of insurance companies with reference to the length
of life--the abstainers from alcohol have a much better chance of a longer
life and much less likelihood of infection by disease germs.
Use of Alcohol in the Treatment of Disease.--In the London Temperance
Hospital alcohol was prescribed seventy-five times in thirty-three years.
The death rate in this hospital has been lower than that of most general
hospitals. Sir William Collins, after serving nineteen years as surgeon in
this hospital, said:--
"In my experience, speaking as a surgeon, the use of alcohol
is not essential for successful surgery.... At the London
Temperance Hospital, where alcohol is very rarely
prescribed, the mortality in amputation cases and in
operation cases generally is remarkably low. Total
abstainers are better subjects for operation, and recover
more rapidly from accidents, than those who habitually take
stimulants."
In a paper read at the International Congress on Tuberculosis, in New York,
1906, Dr. Crothers remarked that alcohol as a remedy or a preventive
medicine in the treatment of tuberculosis is a most dangerous drug, and
that all preparations of sirups containing spirits increase, rather than
diminish, the disease.
Dr. Kellogg says: "The paralyzing influence of alcohol upon the white cells
of the blood--a fact which is attested by all investigators--is alone
sufficient to condemn the use of this drug in acute or chronic infections
of any sort."
[Illustration: Effect of use of alcohol on memory.]
The Effect of Alcohol upon Intellectual Ability.--With regard to the
supposed quickening of the mental processes Horsley and Sturge, in their
recent book, _Alcohol and the Human Body_, say:
"Kraepelin found that the simple reaction period, by which
is meant the time occupied in making a mere response to a
signal, as, for instance, to the sudden appearance of a
flag, was, after the ingestion of a small quantity of
alcohol (1/4 to 1/2 ounce), slightly accelerated; that there
was, in fact, a slight shortening of the time, as though the
brain were enabled to operate more quickly than before. But
he found that after a few minutes, in most cases, a slowing
of mental action began, becoming more and more marked, and
enduring as long as the alcohol was in active operation in
the body, _i.e._ four to five hours.... Kraepelin found that
it was only more or less automatic work, such as reading
aloud, which was quickened by alcohol, though even this was
rendered less trustworthy and accurate." Again: "Kraepelin
had always shared the popular belief that a small quantity
of alcohol (one to two teaspoonfuls) had an accelerating
effect on the activity of his mind, enabling him to perform
test operations, as the adding and subtracting and learning
of figures more quickly. But when he came to measure with
his instruments the exact period and time occupied, he
found, to his astonishment, that he had accomplished these
mental operations, not more, but less, quickly than
before.... Numerous further experiments were carried out in
order to test this matter, and these proved that _alcohol
lengthens the time taken to perform complex mental
processes_, while by a singular illusion the person
experimented upon imagines that his psychical actions are
rendered more rapid."
[Illustration: The effect of alcohol upon ability to do mental work.]
_Attention_--that is, the power of the mind to grasp and consider
impressions obtained through the senses--is weakened by drink. The ability
of the mind to associate or combine ideas, the faculty involved in sound
_judgment_, showed that when the persons had taken the amounts of alcohol
mentioned, the combinations of ideas or judgments expressed by them were
confused, foggy, sentimental, and general. When the persons had taken no
alcohol, their judgments were rational, specific, keen, showing closer
observation.
"The words of Professor Helmholtz at the celebration of his
seventieth birthday are very interesting in this connection.
He spoke of the ideas flashing up from the depths of the
unknown soul, that lies at the foundation of every truly
creative intellectual production, and closed his account of
their origin with these words: 'The smallest quantity of an
alcoholic beverage seemed to frighten these ideas
away.'"--DR. G. SIMS WOODHEAD, Professor of Pathology,
Cambridge University, England.
Professor Von Bunge (_Textbook of Physiological and Pathological
Chemistry_) of Switzerland says that:
"The stimulating action which alcohol appears to exert on
the brain functions is only a paralytic action. The cerebral
functions which are first interfered with are _the power of
clear judgment and reason_. No man ever became witty by aid
of spirituous drinks. The lively gesticulations and useless
exertions of intoxicated people are due to paralysis,--the
restraining influences, which prevent a sober man from
uselessly expending his strength, being removed."
The Drink Habit.--The harmful effects of alcohol (aside from the purely
physiological effect upon the tissues and organs of the body) are most
terribly seen in the formation of the alcohol habit. The first effect of
drinking alcoholic liquors is that of exhilaration. After the feeling of
exhilaration is gone, for this is a temporary state, the subject feels
depressed and less able to work than before he took the drink. To overcome
this feeling, he takes another drink. The result is that before long he
finds a habit formed from which he cannot escape. With body and mind
weakened, he attempts to break off the habit. But meanwhile his will, too,
has suffered from overindulgence. He has become a victim of the drink
habit!
"The capital argument against alcohol, that which must
eventually condemn its use, is this, that _it takes away all
the reserved control, the power of mastership, and therefore
offends against the splendid pride in himself or herself,
which is fundamental in every man or woman worth
anything_."--DR. JOHN JOHNSON, quoting Walt Whitman.
Self-indulgence, be it in gratification of such a simple desire as that for
candy or the more harmful indulgence in tobacco or alcoholic beverages, is
dangerous--not only in its immediate effects on the tissues and organs, but
in its more far-reaching effects on habit formation. Each one of us is a
bundle of appetites. If we gratify appetites of the wrong kind, we are
surely laying the foundation for the habit of excess. Self-denial is a good
thing for each of us to practice at one time or another, if for no other
purpose than to be ready to fight temptation when it comes.
The Economic Effect of Alcoholic Poisoning.--In the struggle for existence,
it is evident that the man whose intellect is the quickest and keenest,
whose judgment is most sound, is the man who is most likely to succeed. The
paralyzing effect of alcohol upon the nerve centers must place the drinker
at a disadvantage. In a hundred ways, the drinker sooner or later feels the
handicap that the habit of drink has imposed upon him. Many corporations,
notably several of our greatest railroads (the Pennsylvania and the New
York Central Railroad among them), refuse to employ any but abstainers in
positions of trust. Few persons know the number of railway accidents due to
the uncertain eye of some engineer who mistook his signal, or the hazy
inactivity of the brain of some train dispatcher who, because of drink,
forgot to send the telegram that was to hold the train from wreck. In
business and in the professions, the story is the same. The abstainer wins
out over the drinking man.
Effect of Alcohol on Ability to do Work.--In _Physiological Aspects of the
Liquor Problem_, Professor Hodge, formerly of Clark University, describes
many of his own experiments showing the effect of alcohol on animals. He
trained four selected puppies to recover a ball thrown across a gymnasium.
To two of the dogs he gave food mixed with doses of alcohol, while the
others were fed normally. The ball was thrown 100 feet as rapidly as
recovered. This was repeated 100 times each day for fourteen successive
days. Out of 1400 times the dogs to which alcohol had been given brought
back the ball only 478 times, while the others secured it 922 times.
Dr. Parkes experimented with two gangs of men, selected to be as nearly
similar as possible, in mowing. He found that with one gang abstaining from
alcoholic drinks and the other not, the abstaining gang could accomplish
more. On transposing the gangs, the same results were repeatedly obtained.
Similar results were obtained by Professor Aschaffenburg of Heidelberg
University, who found experimentally that men "were able to do 15 per cent
less work after taking alcohol."
Recently many experiments along the same lines have been made. In
typewriting, in typesetting, in bricklaying, or in the highest type of
mental work the result is the same. The quality and quantity of work done
on days when alcohol is taken is less than on days when no alcohol is
taken.
The Relation of Alcohol to Efficiency.--We have already seen that work is
neither so well done nor is as much accomplished by drinkers as by
non-drinkers.
A Massachusetts shoe manufacturer told a recent writer on temperance that
in one year his firm lost over $5000 in shoes spoiled by drinking men, and
that he had himself traced these spoiled shoes to the workmen who, through
their use of alcoholic liquors, had thus rendered themselves incapable.
This is a serious handicap to our modern factory system, and explains why
so many factory towns and cities are strongly favoring a policy of "No
license" in opposition to the saloons.
"It is believed that the largest number of accidents in shops and mills
takes place on Monday, because the alcohol that is drunk on Sunday takes
away the skill and attentive care of the workman. To prove the truth of
this opinion, the accidents of the building trades in Zurich were studied
during a period of six years, with the result shown by this table":--
[Illustration: Shaded, non-alcoholic; black, alcoholic, accidents. (From
Tolman, _Hygiene for the Worker_.)]
Another relation to efficiency is shown by the following chart. During the
week the curve of working efficiency is highest on Friday and lowest on
Monday. The number of accidents were also least on Friday and greatest on
Monday. Lastly the assaults were fewest in number on Friday and greatest on
Sunday and Monday. The moral is plain. Workingmen are apt to spend their
week's wages freely on Saturday. Much of this goes into drink, and as a
result comes crime on Sunday because of the deadened moral and mental
condition of the drinker, and loss of efficiency on Monday, because of the
poisonous effects of the drug.
[Illustration: Notice that the curve of efficiency is lowest on Monday and
that crimes and accidents are most frequent on Sunday and Monday. Account
for this.]
Effect of Alcohol upon Duration of Life.--Still more serious is the
relation of alcohol as a direct cause of disease (see table).
It is as yet quite impossible, in the United States at least, to tell just
how many deaths are brought about, directly or indirectly, by alcohol.
Especially is this true in trying to determine the number of cases of
deaths from disease promoted by alcohol. In Switzerland provision is made
for learning these facts, and the records of that country throw some light
on the subject.
Dr. Rudolph Pfister made a study of the records of the city of Basle for
the years 1892-1906, finding the percentage of deaths in which alcohol had
been reported by the attending physician as one cause of death. He found
that 18.1 per cent of all deaths of men between 40 and 50 years of age were
caused, in part at least, by alcohol, and this at what should be the most
active period in a man's life, the time when he is most needed by his
family and community. Taking all ages between 20 and 80, he found that
alcohol was one cause of death in one man in every ten who died.
[Illustration]
Another study was made by a certain doctor in Sweden, from records of 1082
deaths occurring in his own practice and the local hospital. No case was
counted as alcoholic of which there was the slightest doubt. Of deaths of
adult men, 18 in every 100 were due, directly or indirectly, to alcoholism.
In middle life, between the ages of 40 and 50, 29; and between 50 and 60
years of age, 25.6 out of every 100 deaths had alcohol as one cause, thus
agreeing with other statistics we have been quoting.--From the
_Metropolitan_, Vol. XXV, Number 11.
[Illustration: The proportion of crime due to alcohol is shown in black.]
The Relation of Alcohol to Crime.--A recent study of more than 2500
habitual users of alcohol showed that over 66 per cent had committed crime.
Usually the crimes had been done in saloons or as a result of quarrels
after drinking. Of another lot of 23,581 criminals questioned, 20,070 said
that alcohol had led them to commit crime.
The Relation of Alcohol to Pauperism.--We have already spoken of the Jukes
family. These and many other families of a similar sort are more or less
directly a burden upon the state. Alcohol is in part at least responsible
for the condition of such families. Alcohol weakens the efficiency and
moral courage, and thus leads to begging, pauperism, petty stealing or
worse, and ultimately to life in some public institution. In Massachusetts,
of 3230 inmates of such institutions, 66 per cent were alcoholics.
The Relation of Alcohol to Heredity.--Perhaps the gravest side of the
alcohol question lies here. If each one of us had only himself to think of,
the question of alcohol might not be so serious. But drinkers may hand down
to their unfortunate children tendencies toward drink as well as nervous
diseases of various sorts; an alcoholic parent may beget children who are
epileptic, neurotic, or even insane.
In the State of New York there are at the present time some 30,000 insane
persons in public and private hospitals. It is believed that about one
fifth of them, or 6000 patients, owe their insanity to alcohol used either
by themselves or by their parents. In the asylums of the United States
there are 150,000 insane people. Taking the same proportions as before,
there are 30,000 persons in this country whom alcohol has made or has
helped to make insane. This is the most terrible side of the alcohol
problem.