EFFECTS OF INANITION ON THE BODY AS A WHOLE 



93 



cient normal diet) with loss of 36 per cent in 5 weeks. In comparison with 

 normal controls, the tail appeared relatively elongated, probably due to an 

 actual decrease in the trunk length during the inanition period. The relative 

 changes in the weights of the head, limbs and trunk are represented graphically 

 in Fig. 40. It is evident that the head and fore-limbs become relatively heavier, 

 since during inanition they lose in absolute weight less than the body as a whole. 

 The hind-limbs likewise increase in relative size during acute inanition, but 

 remain nearly unchanged in relative (percentage) weight during chronic inani- 



Normal initial Acute inanition Chronic inanition 



Fig. 40. — Graph showing the changes in the relative weights of the head, trunk and limbs 

 in adult albino rats subjected to acute inanition (water only) with loss of 33 per cent in body- 

 weight and to chronic inanition (underfeeding) with loss of 36 per cent in body weight. (Jack- 

 son '15.) 



tion. In both cases the trunk decreases in relative weight, compensating for 

 the relative increase in head and limbs. Certain changes in the proportions of 

 adult steers on submaintenance rations were noted by Benedict and Ritzman 



C23). 



Changes in body weight and circumferences of thorax and abdomen in 

 Germany during the war famine are discussed by Fischer ('23). In 2,114 

 adults 20-55 years of age, examined before, during and after the Russian 

 famine, Ivanovsky ('23) found marked atrophic effects resulting in emaciation 



