THE PROCESSES OF DEPRESSION 261 



This is rather to be looked for in the effects of oxydative suppres- 

 sion of the aldehydes, which Warburg* has recently observed and 

 investigated. Here, however, it is not a true narcosis which is 

 concerned. 



A second possibility of a suppression of oxydation would be 

 the fixation of the molecules of the oxydable substances by chemi- 

 cal or physical combinations in that they would lose their capa- 

 bility of oxydative disintegration. Such a supposition would, 

 however, likewise contain but few elements of probability. As 

 has been shown, an anoxydative breaking down continues during 

 narcosis, which, and this we may assume with certainty, furnishes 

 very different products in great variety. These anoxydative dis- 

 integration products, as recovery on the cessation of narcosis 

 shows, are removed during recovery by oxydation. If the effect 

 of the narcotic consisted in the prevention in spite of the presence 

 of oxygen of the oxydation by combination, it would be neces- 

 sary to assume that the narcotic was bound to a mass of com- 

 pletely heterogeneous substances, a conclusion we should find 

 difficult to entertain. 



If, however, depression of the oxydative processes is founded 

 neither on the seizure of oxygen by the narcotic nor the fixation 

 of oxydable substances by the former, there remains the possi- 

 bility that the narcotic suppresses the transmission of oxygen to 

 these points of consumption. We assume that the oxygen trans- 

 mission to those points where its consumption takes place is car- 

 ried out by special substances, the existence of which has been 

 established in the most varied vegetable and animal cell forms. 

 Unfortunately we only know these oxygen-carrying substances 

 by their effects. Of their chemical constitution we have no 

 knowledge, but we usually assume that the transmission of oxy- 

 gen occurs in the same manner as in catalytic processes. On 

 another occasion I have previously expressed the suggestion, 2 

 that the narcotic suppresses oxydation by producing incapability 

 of the groups acting as oxygen carriers to carry out this func- 



1 Warburg: "Ueber Beeinflussung der Sauerstoffathmung. II Mittleilung. Eine 

 Beziehung zur Constitution." Zeitschr. f. physiolog. Chemie Bd. 71, 1911. 



2 Max Verworn: "Ueber Narkose." Deutsche med-Wochenschrift, 1909. 



