coming into the food from without or developing in the food after
its ingestion. The bowels may be injured by coming in violent
contact with external objects. When this is the cause there will be
the history of accident, etc.

The functions of the bowels are to furnish a dissolving fluid which
is secreted by glands situated in their structure and opening into
their lumen; besides the secreting glands they are provided with
power to excrete and absorb. The organs for the accomplishment of
these purposes, like the secretory glands, are situated in the
structure and open into the canal. Besides the functions of
secretion, excretion and absorption, the bowels act as the great
sewer of the body.

The dissolving fluids, or digestive fluids, have the power to
overcome fermentation when the general health standard is normal;
when the tone of the general health is lowered these digestive
juices are lacking in power; hence they are not able to control
fermentation if food be ingested to the amount usually taken in
health. The power to oppose fermentation by the digestive juices
ranges all the way from nil to the resistance usual to a man of full
health and vigor.

It being the function of the bowels to digest food and overcome
fermentation, it stands to reason that to accomplish this function
they must be normal--they must have a proper supply of nerve force
and the supply of nutrition must be normal or they can not furnish
the proper amount and quality of secretions. To have all these needs
supplied they must be reciprocally related to every other organ
associated with them in the organic colonization which totals a