Spiritus Rectificatus - Spiritus Rectificati - Rectified Spirit - contains 85b per cent. by weight of absolute alcohol.

Proof Spirit contains 49 per cent. by weight of absolute alcohol, together with a peculiar volatile oil and other foreign material.

Gin is usually distilled in Holland from rye or barley, and flavored with juniper berries and hops. It contains about 42 per cent. by weight of absolute alcohol, and is probably more diuretic than other liquors because of the oil of juniper it contains.

Rum is obtained by distilling fermented molasses, having about the same alcoholic strength as gin.

Port Wine is prepared by adding spirit during the process of manufacture, bringing the alcoholic strength up to 30 or 40 per cent.

Sherry Wine is a dry wine, having from 20 to 35 per cent. of alcohol.

Sparkling Wines contain from 8 to 10 per cent. of alcohol. They are more or less sweet wines, and are charged with carbonic acid, being bottled before fermentation is completed, the grape-sugar, in consequence, not undergoing conversion into alcohol. The sparkling wines are champagne, hock, and sparkling catawba.

Sweet Wines are those in which the sugar has not all been converted into alcohol, the alcoholic strength being therefore relatively low - from 6 to 7 per cent. Among the sweet wines may be classed Angelica, Madeira, Malaga, Muscatel, Tokay, etc.

Dry Acid Wines are those in which the fermentation is complete, the alcoholic strength varying from 5 to 7 per cent. They are such as California Hock, Ohio and Kelly Island Catawba, Rhine and Moselle wines, Hochheimer, Durkheimer, Deides-heimer, etc.

Light Red Wines contain 5 to 7 per cent. of alcohol, and are astringent, containing tannic acid and the coloring matter of the grape. They are Claret, Red Rhine, Concord, Hungarian, etc.

Beer, Ale, and Porter are prepared by fermenting malted grain with hops and adding other bitters. Beer contains from 2 to 3 per cent. of alcohol; ale and porter, from 4 to 6 per cent., besides carbonic and lactic acids, malt extract, various aromatics, and potassium and sodium salts.

Cordials. - These are mixtures of distilled brandies with high sugar percentage added. The characteristic flavor is derived from volatile oils from the fruits or seeds added to the alcohol mixture before distilling.

Antagonists and Incompatibles. - The motor, cerebral, and cardiac depressants are antagonistic to moderate amounts of alcohol.

Synergists. - The motor excitants, atropin, ether, and the diffusible stimulants.

Physiological Action. - Few drugs have occasioned such diversity of opinion regarding their physiological action and uses as alcohol.

Externally and Locally. - Ethyl alcohol is a distinct bactericide. Applied to the skin it is detergent, bactericide, and extracts water from the skin. When applied in full strength to the skin it produces a sensation of coldness, due to rapid evaporation. Should the drug be diluted, the sensation of cold is greatly diminished. If evaporation be prevented, the effect is that of heat or burning, owing to the penetration of the drug through the epidermis and its chemical influence upon the tissues beneath.

Its effect upon the mucous membranes of the mouth and esophagus is similar in kind to that upon the skin, save that the former are more readily affected. The mucous membrane becomes whitened and corrugated, because of the coagulation of albumin and the abstraction of water. A stimulation of the gastric functions is refiexly due to its local action in the mouth.

Internally. - Digestive System. - Taken into the stomach there is a sensation of heat and marked increase of saliva, due to reflex action; the blood-vessels of the stomach are dilated, with accompanying increase in the secretion of mucus and of the gastric juice. It is not certain whether pepsin is increased in amount or not.

The action on digestion depends largely on the grade of concentration of the alcohol in the gastric contents and upon the individual. In general it may be said that in strengths up to 5 to 10 per cent. the digestive functions of the stomach are improved, although even this degree of concentration may partly destroy the action of the enzymes present. In strengths above 5 to 10 per cent., in some individuals even less, gastric digestion is interfered with. Alcohol increases the muscular activity of the stomach, and aids in the absorption of fluids from the stomach. Immoderate amounts, or the daily and intemperate use of the drug, lessen the flow of gastric juice and increase the secretion of mucus, producing a catarrhal condition.

The action of alcohol on the small intestines is not marked, since most of it is absorbed. When large amounts are taken, as at a large dinner, or during a debauch, diarrhea, in large part due to peristaltic stimulation, is a frequent symptom.

Circulatory System. - Taken into the stomach, alcohol refiexly and rapidly stimulates the heart before absorption can take place, the effect upon the circulation persisting after the drug is absorbed. Cardiac action is rendered more rapid and forcible from small amounts, but it is not certain why. Arterial tension is raised, although the peripheral blood-vessels are dilated, especially those of the skin, owing to the depression of the vaso-constrictors. Toxic doses depress the heart and still further dilate the arterioles, greatly lowering the blood-pressure. This action of alcohol, in causing the heart to beat stronger and faster, at the same time dilating the blood-vessels - particularly those of the peripheries - renders the drug one of the most valuable diffusible stimulants.

Excessive doses of alcohol greatly depress or paralyze the heart, while an enormous amount, when taken upon an empty stomach, by reflex action occasioning cardiac paralysis, may produce instantaneous collapse. The function of the red corpuscles is impaired, preventing the oxyhemoglobin from parting with its oxygen, consequently retarding oxidation to a slight extent.