Strong emotion, whether of excitement or depression, checks digestion, as do also a bad temper, anxiety, longfasting, and bodily fatigue. The majority of these conditions make the mouth dry, that is, they restrain the flow of the saliva; and without doubt they render the stomach dry also, by preventing the flow of the gastric juice. And, as a general rule, we may decide, from a parched and coated tongue, that the condition of the stomach is not very dissimilar, and that it is unfit for the performance of digestive labor. This is one of the points which the physician bears in mind when he examines the tongue of his patient.
Strong emotion, whether of excitement or depression, checks digestion, as do also a bad temper, anxiety, longfasting, and bodily fatigue. The majority of these conditions make the mouth dry, that is, they restrain the flow of the saliva; and without doubt they render the stomach dry also, by preventing the flow of the gastric juice. And, as a general rule, we may decide, from a parched and coated tongue, that the condition of the stomach is not very dissimilar, and that it is unfit for the performance of digestive labor. This is one of the points which the physician bears in mind when he examines the tongue of his patient.