DISCUSSION OF RESULTS AND GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 



133 



the proportion of total nitrogen increased considerably, this being largely due 

 to the fact that there was a decided decrease in the total nitrogen. Sugar and 

 albumen were tested for each day and were uniformly absent. 



The general picture of the urine analyses with this subject does not by any 

 means indicate as striking an acidosis as was found with subject H. L. H. On 

 the other hand, it is reasonably clear from the presence of /3-oxybutyric acid that 

 there was an acidosis, and that this was due to the carbohydrate-free diet. 

 The absence of the determinations of /3-oxybutyric acid on the other days is 

 much to be regretted. 



The alkali retention by the kidney, which, taken together with the 

 ammonia excretion, makes up the protective mechanism of the body against 

 acidosis, shows an increase during the days of carbohydrate-free diet and a 

 return toward normal with the addition of carbohydrates to the food, fol- 

 lowing closely the ammonia curve. 1 



Table 140. Determinations made on alveolar air with H. H. A. 



Composition of the alveolar air. Determinations of the alveolar air, with 

 particular reference to the carbon-dioxide percentage and tension, were made 

 on a number of days throughout this test. The results are presented in table 

 140. The normal value found when the subject began the carbohydrate-free 

 diet was 5.62 per cent of carbon dioxide, corresponding to about 40.1 mm. ten- 

 sion. With the carbohydrate-free diet this tension dropped almost immedi- 

 ately, and reached its minimum on the fifth day, 32.6 mm. On the resumption 

 of a normal diet with oatmeal there was an immediate response and an increase 



J H. M. Adler and G. Blake, Archives of Internal Medicine, 1911, 7, p. 479. 



