150 



GASEOUS METABOLISM OF INFANTS. 



COMPARISON OF THE BODY-WEIGHT OF INFANTS AND THE TOTAL 

 HEAT-PRODUCTION IN 24 HOURS. 



A chart comparing the body-weight of our infants with their total 

 heat-production in 24 hours is given in figure 53. 



In general one would expect that a large animal would give forth 

 more heat than a small animal, and an inspection of this chart shows 

 that for the most part those infants with the larger body-weight have 

 a larger heat-production. On the other hand, it will be seen that the 



TOTAL HEAT PER 24 HOURS 



Fig. 53. Chart showing actual body-weight of infants and total heat-production per 24 



hours. 



values by no means lie in a straight line, possibly the most striking 

 exception being J. M., with a body-weight of 5.6 kilograms and a heat- 

 production of 467 calories. It is clear from this chart, therefore, that 

 while in general the larger infants show the larger heat-production, 

 this is by no means invariably the case, and a definite rule, based 

 solely upon body-weight, can not here be established. 1 



It is obvious that the composition of the body must play a consider- 

 able role. Those tissues most active in the met abolic processes— the 



J By selecting the "normal" infants, a straight line is approximated. Recently determined 

 values on other infants of normal weight indicate considerable regularity in the curve. 



