UNIFOEMITIES AND COMPAEISONS AMONG COMPONENTS 389 



organism's mass as such; and is not concerned in stationary states. 

 It is identical with a net velocity quotient in any State IV. 



This list of kinetic parameters that have already been used in 

 biological work might be extended indefinitely. There may be no 

 iron-clad objection to the formulation of quotients for each new 

 dimension and component that can be studied. But, two practical 

 problems arise. First, a new name or letter is customarily used to 

 express relations found in each phenomenon analyzed; later it is 

 usual for the phenomenon to gain membership in a much wider 

 class. Then the parameter corresponding to it loses the original 

 and special meaning. Seemingly this endlessly arising situation 

 may be avoided by noting the dimensions of each parameter used 

 and trying to use only one name for each combination of dimen- 

 sions. That is very difficult to do consistently in one 's own investi- 

 gations and still more difficult to plan for in advance in a demo- 

 cratic world. Second, every analysis of biological phenomena 

 involves connotations as well as quantities. Is it more useful to 

 unite clearance and metabolic rate under one term, or to maintain a 

 biological separation that has no algebraic justification? Both 

 views have their merits, and in diverse connections each solution 

 is useful, even in one investigation. 



^Tiereas an engineer would speak of Flowi (px), Flowo (po), 

 FI0W3 (pa) • • • , physiologists are prone to speak of excretion rate 

 (A), utilization rate (B), distribution rate (C) and disposal rate 

 (A + B + C). The latter list bristles with implications, implica- 

 tions that unfortunately differ for each reader. 



Not being a reformer, I am content to point out the situation. 

 Every observation calls forth a desire to distinguish it from every 

 other and a desire to identify it with others. The observer strikes 

 some sort of a compromise. At any one stage of a science, phe- 

 nomena are on the whole being lumped as their identities become 

 emphatic, and split as current needs indicate. Common dimensions 

 are supposedly prerequisite for lumping, but do not compel it. 



§ 140. Changes in tissues, other metabolisms, etc. 



The data presented in this investigation illustrate the widely 

 recognized fact that any physiological state involves some modifi- 

 cations in a number of components. Excess of glucose makes itself 

 felt in heat production, circulatory changes, lactate metabolism, 

 lipid deposition, shifts of electrolytes, water deposition, and water 



