Other indications of disease are displayed to the experienced physician by the condition of the nose.

The nose is one of the most typical of the human organs; it is also in the closest connection with the entire system with its groups of organs—­the brain, intestines, breast and even the sexual organs.

The infinite variety of nasal formation has attracted the intense interest of the physiognomist to this organ.

The most important function of the nose lies in its action as a respiratory organ.  Bad habits or faulty construction which prevent it from serving in this capacity, lead to much suffering and disease, and it is always important to determine whether the channels of the nose are clear and open and efficiently serve their purposes.

The function of the nose as an olfactory organ must also rank highly in its importance.  In this case, however, the nose of the physician plays the important part; not the nose of the patient.  In fact, most of the famous authorities, among them Professor Jaeger of Stuttgart, Dr. Heim of Berlin and Dr. Lahmann of Dresden, have made very valuable discoveries in this respect.

Dr. Heim has found methods of determining the nature of certain acute diseases from the odour emitted from the person.

Dr. Lahmann distinguishes the hypochondriacal, the melancholic and the hysteric odours, which, as he says, are most characteristic.

The same applies to the odour of diabetics and other people who suffer from disturbances of digestion, and patients who suffer from cancer and other diseases involving a process of putrefaction.

The fact that most patients diffuse unpleasant odours is of the greatest importance to married people, as it easily produces antipathy, and especially in the case of chronic diseases, is frequently made the basis of separation and divorce.

Were this defect known to be but the symptom of a curable disease, the husband or wife would probably prefer to consult the hygienic physician rather than the lawyer.  Knowledge in such case would mean the preservation of domestic happiness.

The teeth:  The parents of a young man once complained to me that their son had been rejected as a cadet at West Point upon physical examination, because two of his teeth were filled.

The authorities are certainly justified in their decision.

The lack of perfect teeth indicates faulty digestion.  Usually the teeth are ruined during youth because children breathe through the mouth instead of through the nose,—­either on account of the physical condition of the nose or because the tonsils are enlarged.

The lack of sufficient nutritive salts in the diet is often revealed by the condition of the teeth.

From a physiological standpoint the teeth are no less important than the brain, the eyes and the hair; and the conclusion that perfect eyes, hair and teeth indicate a perfect brain is absolutely justified, while the lack of perfection in these organs shows internal deficiencies long before they appear in external manifestation in the form of disease.