EFFECTS ON THE MUSCULATURE 1 67 



of the muscle tissue through interference with the circulation. In a man who 

 died from starvation, Meyer ('17) found a marked atrophy of the skeletal muscle 

 fibers, which in cross sections appear to have shrunken away from the endo- 

 mysial sheaths (or sarcolemma?) leaving empty spaces of variable width (Fig. 

 58). The striations in most fibers are only faintly visible, though often well 

 preserved. The sarcoplasm may form granular masses. The nuclei may be pro- 

 liferated, sometimes forming a degenerated mass. 



Adult Animal. — Heuman ('50) observed a decrease in the size of the pec- 

 toral muscle fibers in starved pigeons. Valentin ('58) could find no evident 

 changes in the microscopic structure of the muscle fibers in hibernating marmots, 

 in spite of loss in body weight up to 35 per cent. Manassein ('69, '69a) in the 

 muscle fibers of starved rabbits found granular degeneration (albuminous or 

 fatty), sometimes pigmented or waxy (Zenker's) degeneration. The granular 

 degeneration was found oftenest in the recti muscles of the eye, the order of fre- 

 quency in other muscles observed being: tongue, diaphragm, abdominal muscles, 

 shoulder muscles, intercostals. Lepine ('74) noted brownish pigmentation and 

 disappearance of fat in the muscles of starved animals. Carville and Boche- 

 fontaine ('74, '75) found the muscles in starved dogs to be yellowish red. No 

 decrease was noted in the diameter of the fibers, which are in most cases finely 

 granular, many with loss of cross striation. Some fibers appear vitreous (waxy 

 degeneration?) with spaces separating the sarcolemma. Eichhorst ('79) 

 observed non-fatty granulation in the muscle fibers of starved pigeons and raven. 



In fasting summer frogs, Sokoloff ('76) studied the degeneration (granular 

 or waxy) in the muscle fibers, also the regeneration upon refeeding. The nerve 

 endings in muscle appear very resistant to starvation. In the atrophic and 

 degenerated muscle fibers of starved frogs, Gaglio (,'84) found numerous fine 

 albuminous (non-fatty) granules, with proliferation of the nuclei; also slight 

 increase in the interstitial connective tissue. 



In rabbits subjected to total complete or incomplete inanition, Ochotin ('85, 

 '86) described the usual granular or fatty (?), occasionally waxy, degeneration 

 in the muscle fibers of the diaphragm. Coen ('90), in the starved rabbit and 

 kitten, found the muscle fibers mostly well preserved, some showing finely 

 granular degeneration with loss of striation. The interstitial stroma shows 

 congestion and a variable degree of nuclear proliferation. Morpurgo ('90) 

 observed occasional mitoses in the skeletal muscle of adult rabbits on ample 

 refeeding after inanition. 



During inanition in the pigeon Knoll ('80) noted in the muscle fibers a reduc- 

 tion in the fatty interfibrillar granules, but an increase in the non-fatty. Knoll 

 ('89) and Knoll and Hauer C92) observed during starvation a decrease in the 

 granulation in the dark fibers of the pectoralis major, but the greatest degree of 

 atrophy occurs in the non-granular, light fibers. Morpurgo ('89) found the 

 average diameter of the skeletal muscle fibers in starved pigeons reduced from 

 33fx to 18.6M, indicating a loss in volume of 68 per cent. 



The size of the skeletal muscle fibers under various degrees of nutrition was 

 measured by Kunkel ('87), Schwalbe ('90), Schwalbe and Mayeda ('90), 

 Mayeda ('90), and Halban ('94), who found the average diameter of the fibers 



