Page:Linda Hazzard - Fasting for the cure of disease.djvu/178

 the walls of the capillaries, and, as has been shown, it is an organ of elimination as well. In the conservation of body heat, the skin is the thermostat of the organism. It preserves and regulates temperature, and acts as a governor of internal mechanism. If its function be interfered with by the interposition of substances between it and outer air, evaporation cannot take place freely, and elimination of the products of the pores is impeded, if not entirely arrested. Temperature is maintained in this instance artificially and abnormally, for disease of function causes interior combustion that is detrimental to health. Kindred organs are called upon to do the work of body covering, and danger lurks in forced exertion. A chill precedes a fever; the pores are closed; intense heat is generated; the fever is cured when perspiration with subsequent evaporation is restored. A very striking exemplification of these facts is given in cases of cutaneous burns where large areas are affected. Respiration is increased to exhaustion, and kidney discharges are highly colored with waste that ordinarily is eliminated through the pores. If an extreme proportion of skin area is seared, suffocation ensues. Also fatal results ensue when