When these organs are in a state of _excitement_, they present a greater degree of excitement than at any of the phases of the state of repose, not even excepting that of puberty. We may say that they have passed from the chronic to the acute state. They not only become the seat of a vivid and special sense, but they also present a kind of turgescence of erethism, and I will say of very remarkable inflammation. They swell, become firm and redder, hotter, and moister: their sensibility becomes extreme. Their power ought certainly to be increased in proportion to the distance between this state and the one of repose. This excitement however is so transient, and the functions on which it reacts are so mysterious, that a great part of its immediate influence cannot be estimated. For in order to mark the action of the genital organs on the mode of existence on the action of the different tissues we must compare individuals to individuals, that is a whole life with a whole life, or at least we must compare two long portions of the same life. On this point the study of the state of repose, of that state which is incomparably the most common, has been useful to us, for we have arrived at facts, by considering their remote consequences, which at the moment of their production, constantly escape. The state of excitement however does not manifest itself solely by the sensations which attend it. Different signs show that the rest of the economy feels that the power of the genital organs is increased. In fact when this state is well marked, the heat of the other parts of the body is increased. The eyes are more brilliant: the colour of the complexion is more lively, the pulse is quicker, and the patient experiences a kind of febrile agitation which in satyriasis and nymphomania, that is, in the greater degrees of human venery, presents the characters of a highly marked fever. The secretions also undergo important modifications, which are but slightly marked in man, but are easily recognised in a great number of animals, who exhale during the _period of heat_, a strong and most generally a disagreeable odour. The function of nutrition also suffers from this state: thus if it appears too frequently, or is continued too long, the embonpoint disappears, the flesh becomes dry, and the body exhibits that leanness which is seen so frequently in those who are extremely salacious. But, I repeat, a great part of the influence exercised upon the nutritive functions by the genital organs when in a state of excitement would be overlooked, if only the phenomena mentioned were taken into account. In fact these phenomena are only those which fall directly under the notice of the senses, and we believe that their number and proportions would increase infinitely, if the observer could directly inspect the tissues closely.