PULSE-RATE. 461 



it is difficult to account on this basis for the rapid return to normal of 

 Vea and Can, who were untrained men, and the delayed action of the 

 well trained men, Mon, Moy, and Kon. 



Pembrey comments further on the reaction to a definite amount of 

 work, which makes of interest an examination of the percentage 

 increase in the pulse of our subjects after the work of riding. It will 

 be remembered that these men were all given a definite amount of 

 work on the bicycle ergometer. We have reproduced in table 106 

 the values for Squad A for the pulse-rate before work and the first 

 minute after work as found by Professor Johnson, and have added to 

 this the percentage increase in pulse-rate above the basal va'ue obtained 

 with the subject in the lying position before work. Although values 

 for the normal diet period are missing, we have values for February 

 8 to 18, inclusive, which represent those obtained after the resumption 

 of full diet. Certain of the increments due to work have already 

 been pointed out in the discussion of the data in table 104. In table 

 106, however, the absolute values for the pulse-rate before and after 

 the riding are given for the whole series of observations, as well as 

 the increases expressed in percentages. Bearing in mind that the 

 amount of work was invariably the same, it can be seen that with 

 approximately constant conditions the percentage increase in pulse-rate 

 as a result of this amount of work varied considerably in the period from 

 October 19 to January 31. With Bro it ranged from 44 to 98 per cent, 

 with Can from 40 to 96 per cent, and with Kon from 69 to as high as 161 

 per cent. Maximum increments similar to those of Kon are found with 

 Gar of 150, Moy of 183, Pea of 153, Pec and Tom of 124, and Vea of 141. 

 Perhaps the greatest difference in increments is that noted with Moy, 

 which ranged from 68 to 183 during the low-diet period. There is a 

 general tendency for the larger percentage increases to be observed 

 from November 5 on to the end of the diet period, although this is not 

 invariably the case. With the resumption of diet there is in every case 

 a distinct lowering of the percentage increase due to the work. 



An examination of the values for the pulse-rates the first minute 

 after the work shows that during the month of February these are 

 generally somewhat higher than at any other time of the period. 

 Simultaneously there is a very great increase in the basal pulse which 

 more than offsets the increase in the pulse after work, thus lowering 

 the percentage of increase. If we are to interpret Professor Pembrey 's 

 conception literally, this "wider range in response to muscular work" 

 noted here would indicate that the lowered diet was distinctly advan- 

 tageous. It is apparent that on the low diet the response of the heart 

 to the same amount of work is much greater on the basis of percentage 

 of normal than on the full diet.^ 



*The greater percentage increase is in large part due to the lower basal values. The actual 

 increase in number of heart beats, as noted during the first minute after work ceased, i. e., an 

 increase based upon values presumably not far from those actually obtaining during work, 

 remains for each subject reasonably constant. 



