y the action of these toxic agents on
the tissues, is something that they cannot grasp. These blood changes or
blood conditions are things too intricate, and the physician who
understands them is, to them, a visionary and unpractical man. These
conditions are, however, neither new nor unknown, and there is really no
excuse for the ignorance exhibited in these matters by the general
public, as it is through the blood that this mischief takes place. They
can reason in their impotent way, that they should drench themselves
with "blood tonics" and all manner of nauseous compounds to "purify"
their blood, but the simple, scientific truth is something beyond their
understanding, as well as something that they steel themselves against.

Sir Lionel Beale, in observing the immense importance he attaches to
blood composition and blood change in diseases of various organs, truly
remarks that "blood change is the starting-point, and may be looked upon
as the cause, of what follows," the other factor being the "'tendency'
or inherent weakness or developmental defect of the organ which is the
subject of attack;" to which he adds that he feels convinced that, if
only the blood could be kept right, thousands of serious cases of
illness would not occur; while the persistence of a healthy state of the
blood is the explanation of the fact that many get through a long life
without a single attack of illness, although they may have several weak
organs; and that an altered state of the blood, a departure from the
normal physiological condition, often explains the first step in many
forms of acute or chronic disease. Sir Lionel has been a pioneer in the
field of thought that looks for the cause of the disease, which, however
remote it may be, should not be overlooked as a really primary
affection. His extensive labor in the microscopic field has fully
convinced him that many of the pathological changes in the different
organs are due to what might be called some intercellular substance that
is deposited from the blood. (Beale: "Urinary and Renal Disorders.")

Toxic elements in the blood affect the kidneys in a greater or less
degree, and there produce changes at first unnoticed,--at least, as long
as the kidney can perform its function,--but the day arrives when, as
described by Fothergill, blood depuration is imperfect, and we get many
diseases which are distinctly uraemic in character, and ending in any of
the so-called kidney diseases, Bri