An essay on indigestion, or, Morbid sensibility of the stomach & bowels, as the proximate cause or characteristic condition of dyspepsy ... / by James Johnson.

  • Johnson James, 1777-1845.
Date:
1840
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on indigestion, or, Morbid sensibility of the stomach & bowels, as the proximate cause or characteristic condition of dyspepsy ... / by James Johnson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    matter closer. We take an abstemious meal of plain food, without any stimulating drink. Is there any conscious sensation produced thereby in the stomach ? I say no. We feel a slight degree of pleasant excite- ment throughout the whole frame, especially if we have fasted for some time previously, but no distinct sensation in the stomach. There is not —there ought not to be, any conscious excitement or sensation induced in this organ by the presence of food or drink, in a state of health—so true is the observation, that to feel that we have a stomach at all is no good sign. The physiological action of food and drink on the stomach is shown more on other organs and parts than in the stomach itself. When the quantity is moderate and the quality simple, there is nothing more ex- perienced than a general sense of refreshment, and the restitution of vigour, if some degree of exhaustion have been previously induced. We are then fit for either mental or corporeal exertion.* But let a full meal be made, and let a certain quantity of wine or other stimulating liquor be taken;—we still feel no distinct sensation in the stomach; but we experience a degree of general excitement or exhilaration. The circulation is quickened—the face shows an increase of colour— the countenance becomes more animated—the ideas more fluent. This excitement from food and drink, however, is not only transient, but it is moreover partial. In proportion as we have excited the gan- glionic system of nerves, or, in other words, the involuntary or vital organs (stomach, heart. See.), we disqualify the voluntary muscles for action, and the intellectual system for deep thought and other mental operations. In fact, we are then only fit to sit and talk very comfort- ably over our wine—and ultimately go to sleep. Whether this habit, which is that of civilized life in general, be that which is best adapted for preserving or regaining health, is a question which I shall pre- sently discuss ; but, in the mean time, it will be sufficiently evident that pleasurable sensations are diffused over mind and body, by the presence of food and wine in the stomach, without the existence of any distinct sensation or sensible excitement in the stomach itself. This is an obvious truth, and it is of great importance to remember it; for if the nerves of the stomach, in a state of health, be capable of exciting plea- surable emotions in the mind, and comfortable sensations in the body, on the application of good food and generous wine, we shall find that * I should, perhaps, except the dinner meal, which is always followed by some degree of mental and corporeal inaptitude for exercise, however temperate the repast, especially in civilized, or artificial modes of life.—10th Edition.