JAMES A. MILLER, JR. 249 



ber of each litter was cooled and given both Nembutal and peroxide. It 

 was removed from the chamber at the time of death of the cooled, perox- 

 ide-injected littermate. In every case it recovered completely from 265% of 

 the lethal exposure for the uninjected normothcrmic control. 



SUMMARY 



To recapitulate, evidence from studies with deep hypothermia shows 

 that tissues and even large pieces of organs if properly dehydrated with 

 glycerol can be cooled to —79° or lower without severe damage. Tissue 

 culture studies show that temperatures in the range from +5° to 0° are 

 best for preserving embryonic and adult organs without the use of glycerol. 

 Recent studies with adult organisms show that under proper conditions 

 they will tolerate 0° for a matter of hours without apparent damage and 

 with complete recovery of function upon rewarming. The principal danger 

 at present is ventricular fibrillation in the range between about 25° and 

 13° when cardiac arrest appears. Recent studies indicate that we may 

 expect an early solution to this problem. When this happens wide fields 

 of application for hypothermia will be open for exploration. 



The application of hypothermia to the treatment of asphyxia both in the 

 adult and newborn has a solid basis of experimental results. These have 

 shown that not only does cooling prolong asphyxial survival, it can pre- 

 vent death from asphyxia. In addition, hypothermia potentiates the bene- 

 ficial effects of narcosis, hydrogen peroxide and combinations of these. 



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5. Allen, F. M. Local asphyxia and temperature changes in relation to gangrene 

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