Hunger

(hung'gr.) [A. S.] (Physiol.) The nece ity for taking food. H. is an internal sensation, which some authors have attributed to the friction between the sides of the stomach in its empty state; others,to the compre ion of the nerves, when the organ is contracted; others, again, to the action of the gastric juice, . It is dictated by the wants of the system;-further we know not. The sensation of H. is at first rather agreeable, but it quickly becomes unpleasant, when prolonged, and, if not appeased, results, after a time more or le long, in the terrible agony called STARVATION, 9. v. [s. 466]