The physiology and therapeutics of the Harrogate waters, baths, and climate applied to the treatment of chronic disease / by William Bain and Wilfrid Edgecombe.

  • Bain, William.
Date:
1905
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The physiology and therapeutics of the Harrogate waters, baths, and climate applied to the treatment of chronic disease / by William Bain and Wilfrid Edgecombe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    the small intestine reflexly slows the evacuation of the stomach, and that psychical excitement also inhibits its evacuation. ^ J. S. Edkins,^ working independently of von Mering, came to the same conclusion regarding the non-absorption of water by the stomach, but his experiments are not so convincing. Water is absorbed by the intestine, chiefly the small intestine. Heidenhain ^ has shown that the greater part of the water is taken up by the capillaries of the villi, and not by the lacteals. Even after the absorption of an excessive amount of water the composition of the blood is stated to be little altered. Several writers assert that warm water is absorbed more readily than cold, and that the secretions, such as the gastric and pancreatic juices, are increased by an excess of water. Experimental proof of these statements is lacking. Water acts beneficially by flushing out the tissues, and thereby facilitating the removal of waste products. It probably aids the action of the bowels, although very large quantities have been known to produce constipation. Physiologically, it would be better if fluids were taken half-an-hour before meals instead of with them. Mineral Substances in Solution.—The Harrogate waters consist of an aqueous solution of various mineral substances, of which the most abundant is sodium chloride. In the Old Sulphur Well this salt amounts to as much as 1-25 per cent. The physiological action of the waters depends largely upon the presence of these salts, ^ Gamgee, Physiological Chemistry of the Animal Body, vol. ii. « Journal of Physiology, 1892. 3 Aroh.f. d. get. Physiol. Bonn, 1888