Intestines

“ HOW AUTO-INFECTION AFFECTS THE GASTRIC DIGESTION, AND VICE VERSA.
Frederick the Great said that all culture comes through the stomach. This saying emphasizes pithily the dependence of psychology upon physiology. The stomach with the intestines is certainly the source from which every portion of the body receives its nourishment and most of its diseases. The physiological plus and minus processes leave their reflex on the mind. ”

“ Our forefathers considered the stomach the all-important organ of digestion and the intestines as scarcely more than a long tube to facilitate absorption and deal properly with waste materials. Their relative values are now exactly reversed in our estimation. The stomach has come to be looked upon as scarcely more than a thin-walled bag meant to hold the food that we take at each meal and then pass it on by degrees to be digested, prepared for absorption and finally absorbed in the intestines. ”

“ INTESTINES, in anatomy, are those hollow membranous tubes of the human body, commonly termed the guts or bowels, which extend from the right orifice of the stomach to the anus. They are six times longer than the whole body, and by Nature destined to receive the chyme, or the aliment, so called after it is converted into a kind of pulp, which they retain for a time ”

“ The integrity of the functions of the intestines is of supreme importance, for it is here that absorption and assimilation of most 183of our food occurs. If our intestines are not in perfect order we shall soon waste and dwindle away, even within a short period, and sometimes very rapidly. Thus if we wish to retain our strength we must treat the intestine with the greatest care. This is especially the case in old age, for then an atrophy of the glandular mechanism of the digestive tract, stomach, and intestines, takes place. ”

“ Intestinal Digestion.—The chemical changes which food undergoes in the small and large intestines are exceedingly complex. Digestion in the intestine is due to the combined action of the bile, pancreatic juice, and succus entericus. The material which enters the duodenum from the stomach is known as the chyme. The acid chyme provokes a flow of bile and pancreatic juice. It acts upon the prosecretin in the duodenal mucous membrane in such a manner that secretin, a hormone, is formed and carried by the blood to the cells of the pancreas which it stimulates. ”

“ But when food contains no irritating substances and is easily assimilated without forming residues, or when the innervation by the vagus is sluggish and the peristaltic movements are slow, the contents of the intestines can remain longer, especially in the haustra of the intestines. It may be that the bowels move every day, but that does not prove that everything in the intestines has been expelled therefrom, for some amount of fæces can yet remain in the haustra of the intestine even for many days ”

“ The other intestines are by association excited into more powerful action, while the lymphatics, that open their mouths into them, suffer an inversion of their motions corresponding with the lymphatics of the stomach, and duodenum; which with a part of the abundant secretion of bile is carried downwards, and contributes both to stimulate the bowels, and to increase the quantity of the evacuations. ”

“ The small intestine commences at the pylorus, winds into many convolutions, and terminates in the large intestine. In the adult it is about 20 feet in length. It is arbitrarily divided into three parts—viz., the duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum. It constitutes four-fifths of the whole intestines, the larger making up the other fifth. They are used to aid in assimilating the food after digestion, and convey forward the excrementiticus matter. ”

“ You can see, if I gather up twenty feet of this ruffle into a space of six inches, how the mesentery, with the intestines folded in the free edge, are held in the abdominal cavity. They are held loosely, and at the same time so that the intestines cannot be tied in knots or loops upon each other. In this way the ruffle flares out into the abdominal cavity. The intestines should stay in their place close up under the liver and stomach, but if pressure is brought to bear around the body at this point, the bowels begin to sag into the abdominal cavity. ”

“ The nerves governing the absorptive and secretive functions of the stomach and intestines, irritated by the presence of a substance foreign and noxious to the digestive process, are stimulated into action and cause an augmented quantity of secretion to be poured forth, and the folds of the colon are filled with fluid fouled by dissolved fecal matter, which is partially absorbed ere evacuation can occur. ”

“ As the food passes along the colon, pushed slowly ahead by the peristaltic wave, or rhythmic muscular contractions of the intestinal wall, it is seized upon by the four hundred varieties of friendly bacteria which inhabit the intestines of every healthy person, and is changed into a form which the body can assimilate. Digestion in the stomach and small intestine is carried on by means of certain digestive juices, but in the large intestine it is the bacteria which do the work. ”

“ The OMENTUM (caul) consists of four layers of the serous membrane, which descends from the stomach and transverse colon. A quantity of adipose matter is deposited around its vessels, which ramify through its structure. Its function is twofold in the animal economy. 1st. It protects the intestines from cold. 2d. It facilitates the movements of the intestines upon each other during their vermicular, or worm-like action.
258. Every part of the digestive apparatus is supplied with arteries, veins, lymphatics, and nervous filaments, from the ganglionic system of nerves. ”

“ Complaints there are that the food is spoiled, and produces an effect on the intestines: not corn but plaster-of-paris! Which effect on the intestines, as well as that 'smarting in the throat and palate,' a Townhall Proclamation warns you to disregard, or even to consider as drastic-beneficial. ”

“ The whole organs of the abdomen must be surveyed, and particularly the stomach and whole tract of the intestines, the liver, spleen, and kidneys, the bladder; and in the female, the uterus and its appendages. The intestines should in general be split up throughout their whole length ”

“ The small stomach requires to be frequently replenished in moderate amount, but, if this is secured, its liability to disease is slight while that of the intestines is very considerable. In the ox the stomachs have a total capacity of 252 qts., while that of the intestines averages 103 qts. ”

“ If the stomach will only pass the food on properly, the intestines will do the rest. A number of people have been found in the course of routine stomach examinations who proved to have no secretory function of the stomach and yet suffered no symptoms at all attributable to this fact. ”

“ Through this opening is revealed the stomach on the right, the liver and gall bladder on the left, the transverse arch of the colon in front, and below the smaller intestines.
If the stomach is distended with food or gas, it must in all cases be emptied of its contents and injected. For this purpose, puncture the walls of the stomach on the side exposed to view, and passing the left hand gently between that organ and the ribs, press down, so as to force the contents out and through the opening made. ”

“ You will perhaps inquire how the chyme continues to make its way through all these manifold twists of the intestines; but do not trouble yourself; it has only to let itself go. That vermicular movement which we noticed in the oesophagus and in the stomach is found here also. It reigns, so to speak, from one end of our internal eating-machine to the other; which eating-machine, by the way, we will now call by its proper scientific name—the intestinal canal ”

“ Thus it is that a certain amount of starch that has been changed into sugar, of salts in solution, of proteids converted into peptones, is taken up directly by the blood-vessels of the stomach.
156. Absorption by the Intestines. Absorption by the intestines is a most active and complicated process. The stomach is really an organ more for the digestion than the absorption of food, while the small intestines are especially constructed for absorption. In fact, the greatest part of absorption is accomplished by the small intestines. ”

“ The large intestines are easily cured, but the small ones with difficulty, and the jejunum is utterly incurable, from the multitude of its convolutions and the magnitude of its vessels, and owing to its coats being thin and nervous; besides, it receives all the bile in an undiluted state, and is nearest to the liver. The under and fleshy parts of the stomach we may attempt to cure, for we may succeed, not only because these parts are thicker, but because curative medicines are more readily applied to them, owing to their situation. ”

“ When the stomach has done its work, its contents in a semi-fluid state pass into the small intestine, and mix there with the bile, the secretions from the intestines themselves, and with those of the large gland, the pancreas (in culinary language known as the sweetbread) , which seems to have the special power of dissolving fatty matters. ”

“ The fibres of the intestines are as much or more penetrated with the circulating blood, than those of the muscles of animal life, and yet their texture is evidently whitish, where these vessels are not found. ”

“ The stomach is a thick muscular bag, connected above with the gullet, and, at its lower extremity, with the commencement of the small intestines. The duty or function of the stomach is to secrete a sharp, acid liquid, called the gastric juice, which, with a due mixture of saliva, softens, dissolves, and gradually digests the food or contents of the stomach, reducing the whole to a soft pulpy mass, the chyme. ”

“ If then, from any cause the elaboration, or excretion of any of these digestive juices be interfered with, more of the particular kind or kinds of food on which it acts, passes unchanged through the intestines. ”

“ Before leaving this part of the subject we wish to call the attention of our readers to the fact that when the food enters the stomach and small intestines improperly masticated and insalivated—when the teeth and salivary glands have not been given a chance to do their work properly—digestion is interfered with and impeded and the digestive organs are overworked and are rendered unable to accomplish what is asked of them. ”

“ It has been observed in the presence of intestinal congestion, where the food lies in the intestines for an abnormally long period, that the amount of these harmful nitrogenous decomposition products excreted by the kidneys, is considerably increased, proving that these products have circulated throughout the body. ”

“ Moreover, as fluid aliments, especially spirituous liquors, do not remain a long time either in the stomach or in the intestines, the stomach and the remainder of the intestinal canal lose the habit of being distended in intemperate persons, so also in sedentary persons and those engaged in mental labor, who are habituated to take but little food. ”

“ The stomach forms the gastric juice.
9. The intestines are about twenty-five feet long. They form the intestinal juice.
10. The liver lies under the ribs of the right side. It is about half as large as the head. It makes bile.
11. When not needed for immediate use, the bile is stored up in a sac called the gall-bladder.
12. The pancreas is a gland which lies just back of the stomach. It makes pancreatic juice.
13. The spleen is found near the pancreas.
14. There are five important digestive organs—the mouth, the stomach, the intestines, the liver, and the pancreas. ”

“ The contents of the intestines of all creatures are always in a more or less advanced state of putrescence, ready to undergo rapid decomposition as soon as the preservative action of the intestinal fluids ceases. ”

“ If the intelligent animals could talk, they would undoubtedly make all manner of fun of the intestinal canals which they see walking about, with a little flesh here and there seemingly by accident, and a skin which is clay-colored or jaundiced, anemic or flabby, the owner of it all poisoning himself by decomposition in his intestines! ”

“ Contains five Seif.
1 A beast that has two intestines is treif, for instance when it has two intestinal tracts from the beginning to end, next to each other from beginning to end like the intestines of a bird. Or if the intestines branch off from the material - but now behold there's a difference between the case of a bird and a beast - but if it goes back and joins again with the intestines and becomes one formed from the two lines but they're just clearly separate in the middle - behold it's permitted and there is no Yeter (extra) here. ”

“ The causes, excess of food and drink, or acrid putrescent aliment; new fermented liquors; vegetable laxative food; feculence in the intestines, stercorous, pituitous; vitiated digestion, with morbid irritability of the intestinal tube; irritability of this muscular canal, and increase of its peristaltic motion; atonia; excess and acrimony of bile, warm climates, broken constitutions, cachexy, chronic dysentery, immoderate flux of humours to the intestinal tube, and exhalation by the arterial extremities of that canal; suppression of perspiration, and of other evacuations ”

“ Leuf, when water is taken into the full or partly full stomach, it does not mingle with the food, as we are taught, but passes along quickly between the food and lesser curvative toward the pylorus, through which it passes into the intestines. The secretion of mucus by the lining membrane is constant, and during the night a considerable amount accumulates in the stomach ”