The Oxford medical adviser for the home / by John D. Comrie.

  • John Comrie
Date:
1931
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The Oxford medical adviser for the home / by John D. Comrie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    351/414 (page 333)
    STIMULANTS nervous system over the muscles of the part affected. Stiffness is associ¬ ated with various forms of rheu¬ matism. (See Rheumatism.) As it affects the joints, it is treated under Joints, Diseases of. STIMULANTS are drugs and other agents employed to call forth special powers of the body or of individual organs in order to effect some special purpose or to offer resistance to some acute attack of disease. Since the action of various stimu¬ lants depends upon very diverse principles, the term is little used in medicine, and names are employed indicating more closely the immedi¬ ate effect. For drugs which stimulate the intestines, see Purgatives ; for those that stimulate the kidneys see Diuretics ; and for those that in¬ crease the activity of the skin secre¬ tion see Diaphoretics. Many sub¬ stances, such as aromatics, spices, and bitters, stimulate the function of the stomach. Various substances stimulate a flagging heart, such as ammonia, alcohol, ether, volatile oils, and digitalis, and are used when this organ shows signs of sudden failure ; while these and other substances act upon the nervous system so as to produce for a time a general sense of well-being, and are therefore known as general stimulants, e.g. alcohol, ether, tea, and coffee. STINGS {see Bites). STITCH is a popular name for a sharp pain in the side. It is generally due to cramp following unusually hard exertion (see Cramp), but care must be taken that this trivial con¬ dition is not taken for pleurisy or for a fractured rib. STOMACH.—The stomach is a dilated portion of the alimentary canal, which in man has a shape somewhat resembling that of a pear. The larger end, known as the ‘ fundus lies in the hollow of the left side of the diaphragm, and at one side of this is the opening from the gullet. The greater part of the stomach, into STOMACH, DISEASES OF which the gullet opens, is known as the ' cardiac ' part, while the lower and narrower portion is known as the ‘ pyloric ’ part. The two openings into and out of the stomach are known as the cardia and the pylorus. The stomach is slightly flattened from before backwards, and the two edges are known as the ‘ lesser curvature which runs from one opening to the other direct, and the ‘ greater curva¬ ture ’, which sweeps round the fundus from the cardia to the pylorus. The part played by the stomach in digestion consists in storing, warm¬ ing, and softening the food, and then in passing it on in small quantities to the intestine, where the more impor¬ tant digestive processes that prepare it for absorption take place. The gastric juice contains hydrochloric acid and a ferment pepsin, which soften the food. The movements of the stomach are a series of slow waves which take place in health without causing any sensation. In irritable conditions of the stomach they be¬ come spasmodic and painful. STOMACH, DISEASES OF.—The majority of these exhibit, as their most marked and sometimes their only feature, the symptoms of dys¬ pepsia {see Dyspepsia). ACUTE GASTRITIS, or Acute Catarrh, is a passing condition of pain and sickness due to errors in diet, chills, etc. It may be treated by a purgative, the application of a mustard leaf to the pit of the stomach, and abstinence from all food save a little milk and water for a day or two. CHRONIC GASTRITIS, or Chronic Catarrh, may arise after repeated attacks of the acute form or may come on independently. It is of several types. The result of the chronic irritation of the gastric mucous membrane may be an ex¬ cessively acid gastric juice, which gives rise to an acid dyspepsia. {See Dyspepsia.) After a long period of irritation, wasting of the secreting structures of the stomach may be