INFLUENCE OF NUTRITION ON POISONS 393 



of its relationship to calcium metabolism seems to play the most 

 important part. There is no doubt that the significance of the 

 factors mentioned will soon receive greater attention in practice. 



CALCULI 



Osborne and Mendel (1591) found phosphatic calculi in the 

 bladder in 857 rats kept on a diet poor in vitamine A. Padua (1592) 

 saw a definite relationship between beriberi and calculi in the 

 Philippines. Out of 58 cases of phosphatic calculi, 11 had beriberi; 

 in 18 cases, under-nutrition was observed, but without any beriberi 

 manifestations; 27 cases occurred in well-nourished patients. The 

 phosphatic calculi were found mostly in children and young people; 

 while urate calculi were observed later in life (after 50 years). 

 Kirschner (1593) and Clemm (1594) observed that in Germany, on 

 diets poor in fat, gall-stones are found more commonly. All these 

 cases are associated with the indirect influence of the vitamines, 

 presumably decreasing the resistance to infections, in which connec- 

 tion vitamine A is of special significance. For it is apparent that a 

 local infection is the real cause of this calculus formation. 



This concludes our data on the subject. We are well aware that 

 despite the ten years of experimental and clinical research, most of 

 the problems discussed by us have only been scratched on the surface. 

 This is due largely to the fact that such slow progress has been made 

 in the chemistry of the vitamines. In this connection, the frequent 

 modifications of the nomenclature is not of the slightest value, and we 

 must still await the investigator who, through tedious and patient 

 work, will make the decisive step forward the recognition of the 

 exact nature of the vitamines. 



Before closing, we shall add a few words touching upon the prac- 

 tical aspect of the vitamines. From what has already been said, 

 it is evident that in a properly constituted diet there is no danger 

 of an avitaminosis. In England and in the United States recently, 

 there have appeared on the market a number of vitamine prepara- 

 tions whose purpose was to exploit the present popularity of the 

 vitamines. There seems to be no doubt that most of these prepara- 

 tions cannot produce the effect claimed for them. Many investi- 

 gators, among them Drummond (1595), have expressed the 



.06* 



