20 



PHYSIOLOGY OF THE NEW-BORN INFANT. 



child. At the other extreme is the infant in experiment 12, who, with 

 a very low quotient, is heavy, but with a disproportionate length and 

 consequently thin. If, then, having the condition of nourishment in 

 mind, we examine the remaining experiments, it appears for the present 

 as if the better nourished the infant is the nearer to 1 is the respiratory 

 quotient of the new-born fasting infant in the first hours after birth. We 

 will discuss later the possible influence of the other experimental 

 conditions on the quotient. If these values are correct the period of 

 time after birth affects the results in such a manner that with the 

 same infant in two consecutive determinations the quotient falls from 

 experiment to experiment. 



TABLE I. 1 



J In this and the following tables only the experimental conditions which might be supposed to 

 have interest are quoted. Therefore, the figures for the air analyses and the percentage 

 of oxygen in the respiration chamber are not given. The latter, according to carbon- 

 dioxide percentage, would be about 20 per cent. 



J No food; during whole experiment very quiet; slept the latter half of experiment. 



'No food; bath, crying and kicking for about a minute; otherwise contented, sucking or half 

 asleep ; thin. 



4 No food; quiet, now and then sucking; otherwise without movements during whole experiment; 

 no crying. 



B No food; rather restless, hungry; now and then crying; see No. 22, table 4. 



6 No food; during most of the experiment quiet and contented, now and then sleeping; cried 

 about one-half minute; fat and strong. 



7 No food ; rather quiet, now and then kicking and trembling as if cold ; no crying. 



In table 2 three pairs of experiments are reported, the subjects 

 being fairly well-nourished infants, in all cases examined so soon after 

 birth that the quotient still points towards a predominance of carbo- 

 hydrate combustion. Table 2 shows that in all three instances the 

 quotient fell considerably in the course of the hour between the first 

 and the second division of the experiment, changing from a little above 

 to a little under 0.9. 



I made here the curious observation, which has been partly expressed 

 in the remarks in the last column of the table: When a new-born fasting 

 infant begins to show signs of hunger, we can be sure that its quotient 

 is lower than 0.9; according to this indicating symptom the time for the 

 beginning of the second half of the experiment is adjusted, and hunger 



