The physical signs of such a heart, the increased valvular murmur or murmurs, its irregular action, possibly intermittence or irregular contractions of different parts of the heart, causing diocrotic or intermittent pulse with a lowered blood pressure, are all signs readily found. The quickened respiration is Nature's method of aiding the return circulation in the veins by increasing the negative pressure in the chest. The increased number of pillows the patient requires at night is to aid Nature's need to have a better venous return circulation in the vital centers at the base of the brain. The dry, troublesome, tickling cough is generally due to a congestion of the blood vessels at the base of the tongue, in the lingual tonsil region, or possibly in the larynx. Later the passive congestion of the lungs may be sufficient to cause a bronchitis, with cough and expectoration. Sometimes, as indicative of primary cardiac distress, these patients have sharp pains through the heart. Such pains are the exception rather than the rule, and are more likely to occur in chronic myocarditis or in coronary disease: in other words, in true angina pectoris. If there is considerable venous congestion there may be more or less frequent recurrent venous hemorrhages. This frequently is an epistaxis, or a bleeding from hemorrhoids, or in women profuse menstruation or a metrorrhagia. It is perfectly understandable from the physics of the condition of broken compensation that anything which improves the tone of the heart and makes it again compensatory removes all of these many disabilities, congestions and subacute inflammations. If, however, these passive congestions are long continued, some organs soon become chronically degenerated. This is especially true of the liver and kidneys. PHYSICS OF MITRAL STENOSIS