Gout seems to be the most ancient, the most persistent, and still the most incomprehensible of diseases. Its origin, its cause, and its cure are almost as little understood now as in the time of the Romans. Any number of views have been promulgated; but after reading them the poor student in search of knowledge is more confused than he was before, when he held the simple and popular opinion that chalk stones meant gout, and that colchicum relieved the attacks. Among many opinions, that of Dr. Todd seems to be the most practical, when he says: " There is no disease in which the patient can do so much for himself, or in which the prescriptions of the physician are of so little avail without the full and complete co-operation of the patient, as in gout."

Causes Of Gout

So far as we understand gout it seems to be caused by a want of balance between the intake of food and the power of the body to oxidise and utilise it, and it can be controlled by the patient checking the consumption of food, and taking means to promote oxidation. Let me explain. It will be remembered that when I described the part played by albumen in metabolism, I showed how albumen and the foods containing that substance are oxidised in the body {vide chapter i., page 5). After yielding the nitrogen necessary for the reconstruction of the vital fluids of the body, the final product of albumen is urea, which is separated from the blood by the action of the kidneys, and being very soluble, it is dissolved in the urine, and cast out of the body as a waste product.