The action of any kind of alcoholic drink in moderate doses, is that of a somewhat rapid stimulant. The bodily and mental powers are for a time excited beyond their ordinary strength, after which there is a corresponding depression. Although the A. which is introduced into the system cannot act as a true food (for in that case it would not pass through the system unchanged), it indirectly takes the place of food, by diminishing the wear and tear of the system, and thus rendering less food sufficient : i fact which is proved by chemical experiments, showing that less carbonic acid and urea (which are the ultimate products of the carbonaceous and nitrogenous tissues) are given off when A. is administered in moderation, than when it is totally withheld.
The influence of an excessive dose of A. has been demonstrated by various series of experiments on animals. and unfortunately by many observed cases in man. If a poisonous dose of A. is given to an animal (a dog, for example), its action on the nervous system is the first point that is noticed. The dog ceases to exhibit the ordinary control over its muscular movements, which seem to be no longer under the influence of the will. It walks with uncertain and doubtful steps, till the hind-legs lose their power, the fore-legs still preserving some activity. The general sensibility becomes more or less abolished, and the animal can no longer see or feel. Soon afterwards the respiration fails; and finally, the circulation is arrested, and life ceases with the last beat of the heart.
As cases are of frequent occurrence in which it is almost impossible for non-profes sional persons (the police, for example) to distinguish between extreme drunkenness and certain other morbid conditions, as apoplexy, concussion of the brain, and opium poisoning, it may be practically useful if we lay down a few rules on this subject. In
concussion and in very extreme intoxication, there is profound coma or sleepiness; but in the latter case the odor of the breath removes all difficulty of diagnosis. The most difficult cases are those in which the symptoms of concussion or apoplexy are associated with an alcoholic odor of the breath; in such cases the head should be most carefully examined for marks of violence, and every effort should be made to obtain a history of the case from those who had previously seen the patient. In poisoning by opium or laudanum, the peculiar smell of the may generally be detected in the breath (a test which, however, fails if morphia has been taken). In poisoning by opium, the face is pale, and the pupils of the eyes are contracted; while in drunkenness, the face is flushed, and the pupils are generally dilated. Another difference (to which Dr. A. S. Taylor calls attention) is this, that while perfect remissions are rare in poisoning by opium, in poisoning with A.the patient often recovers his senses, and subsequently dies. In either kind of poison, the stomach-pump should be used, and the ejected contents of the stomach may facilitate our diagnosis. A sulphate of zinc emetic should be prescribed, if there is no stomach-pump at hand; and after the stomach has been well cleared out, coffee and other strong stimulants should be given.