Science.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 392, 12 November 1903, Page 2

Science.

ABOUT INFLAMMATION. I do not suppose there is any •word in the wfcole of the language .'applied to disease which is more In qa«atly used than the term which heaad this article.. We speak of ' inflatt m ition' as a process which is liable '© occur continually in the course of our Ailments, and in this sense we are correct enough, It is becaus3 inflammation 13 such a common feature of disease that people talk of it so freely, and it is because of its common nature that people recognise its preserc9 readily encuj'itisa rule. Ascient doctors summoned up this process very aptly and ocrrectly Thoy spoke of its four I y rptoms as redness, swelling, heat, and pain, and these are precisely the signs which indicate the preset ce of iofl-nn-mation. It is a species of bodily tion which may be induced in many and different ways. A scratch on the finger that heals in a few hours is accompanied by ii flammation, but of so slight a character that we do not notice it. Somethin? getting into the eye will cause it, and then we feel the symptoms more acutely, because of the delicate nature of

the organs affected. There will be pain, heat, swelling of the parts, and redness indicated by the gorged blood vessels we can see. More serious Itfiitninatione are those of internal organs. When the lung is affected we all know the grave nature of the base.- It iB tho same with the bowels. It'll immation here means and implies danger, equally with the condition when it affects, siy, the brain or its coverings. A *J£estebing' FINGEEi fciMftifo ch m y fin 2 er with a Rcedta ■Mem'dirV uoon it, and if

neglect to Buck the wound and to cleanse i it, we know what is likely to happen. In a few hours my finger will be painful, it will exhibit spelling, there will be unusual beat felt in it, and redness will be characteristic of the tissues affeoted. In plain language. I am suffering from aa iefUraed finger. Now, this inflammation ]

may be arrested. The progress of the disease-work may stop short/ If not, it | proceeds to fvrther developments. In a few hours more, I may begin to find that • matter/ or' pus,' as doctora call it, forms at the seat of the injury. I can see .this matter formed under the skin, and se we learn another lesson about inflammation. It may either subside and disappear aa in *the case of a speck in the eye, or it may form further, and develop 'matter.!

When.the 'matter 9 has been got rid of the inflammation ends, I can get rid of it in my finger either by letting it out, or it may be that if I leave it alone nature will absorb it and dispose of it. It would not be safe to leave 'matter'alone in every case. Oa the cantrary, if you did, we should find a danger represented in the fact that the 'matter' would be caused by

the blood to other parts of our bodies, and set up fresh mischief therein. A man suffering from an injury to his head, and matter forming, may die, not of the head trouble, but of inflammation of his lungs, produced by the matter being carried there.

A Vitaii Battlb. Altogether this is a curious process, and science is able to throw some light on its meaning. When anything occurs to produce inflammation the blood vessels are affected. The How of blood at first quickens, then it slows, and finally we seem to get the fine vessels more or less blocked by the blood- corpuscleß. These laet consist of red and white 'globules,' as we call thdm, Now a very curious thing happens. The white globules of the blood come in great numbers to the seat of the inflammation. They are living cells, and they are seen to pass through the walls of the bloodvessels for the purpose of attack ing any poisonous or irritating matters or germs which have gained access to the body, and ia the presence of which the inflammation is due, The fluid part of the blood also escapes in increased quantity from the blood vesse's, giving rise to the swelling.' The white blood globules play sin important part here. As I have said, they endeavour to surrouad and devour the pai'ijles which are causing the irritation. If .they remove them the inflammation comes to an end. If they fail, and die, then we get' matter' formed. Under the microsoope we see that matter consists largely of the dead white blood cf globules which have fallen in the fray. As it has been well put, just as the dead bodies of soldiers on the. field of battle may constitute a source or* -danger to the survivors, so the dead bodies of our whiteblood globules, allowed to remain in our bodies, may form a menace to as if they are carried to other paste, there to set up inflammation anew.

The Battlk in the Body. We Bee now that what we call inflammation is really an attempt on the part of the body to bo rid itself of substances which, entering its domain, ciuse irritation. We also note that in the attempt in question oar white blood globules play an important part. We may see that we owe a good many of our chances of health ia the battle against germs to the powers possessed by onr white blood globules, which act as the sanitary j oUce force of our frames. If, as is true, we are perpetually inhaling and swallowing germs of all kinds, harmless and hox'.oub alike, we note how our chances of essape from disease attack mast largely depend on the activity and health of these wonderful microscopic particles which exist by millions in our blood. The practical lesson which fallows on such considerations is that which again teaches us to maintain a high state of bodily health. No other condition can fortify us against disease invasion. If the strong resist and the weak fall it is because in the former the white blood cells are well fitted for their work, while in the latter they are like an army, impoverished and unable to battle effectively with the enemy.—Dr. Wilson