METABOLISM AS AFFECTED BY GROWTH. 



165 



larger surface-areas to project this line properly. Hence we have 

 purposely ended it at an area of 1.1 square meters. 



The main conclusions to be drawn from this chart, therefore, are 

 that there is a distinct tendency for the metabolism to be increased 

 as the surface-area increases and after the lowest areas it is a reason- 

 ably straight-line function, so far as the general drift is concerned, 

 up to areas of 1.1 square meters. Individual points, especially at the 

 lower areas, lie so far from the general line that it would be difficult to 

 conceive of any physiological regularity that would suggest an intimate 

 relationship between surface-area and the total calories. 



Since none of the observations of the basal metabolism of girls in 

 the literature were accompanied by surface-area measurements, no 

 points for earlier values are placed on this chart and no textual dis- 

 cussion is deemed desirable, as we are dealing here with measured 

 metabolism on the one hand and measured body-surface on the other. 



CALORIES PER SQUARE METER OF BODY-SURFACE REFERRED TO BODY-SURFACE. 



From the charts comparing total heat with measured surface-area, 

 it is clear that the larger areas give the larger total heat production 

 and that there is a tendency above the lower areas to a straight-line 



Cals. 

 1300 



1200 



1100 



1000 



900 



800 



700 



CALORIES PER SQ. M. REFERRED TO SURFACE. 



BOYS. 



600 



7 



.2sq.m..3 



.6 



.7 



.8 .9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 



FIG. 40. Basal heat production of boys per square meter of body-surface 



per 24 hours referred to surface. 

 Point inclosed in square signifies puberty established. 



relationship, yet the comparison between the heat production per 

 square meter of surface with the total surface shows these relation- 

 ships much more clearly. Accordingly we have plotted the calories 

 per square meter of body-surface referred to the surface, in figure 40 

 for the boys and in figure 41 for the girls. 



In figure 40 it is perfectly obvious that a straight-line curve or any- 

 thing approximating a straight line will not correspond with the 

 general trend. The sketched curve shows a rise in the calories per 

 square meter with increasing area up to about 0.5 square meter; 



