714 Experiments 



considerably weaker than those obtained with superoxygenated 

 air. Furthermore, in Experiment CXXXIII, in which the pressure 

 was 17 atmospheres, there were no convulsions. This apparent 

 contradiction is explained by the simultaneous influence of the 

 carbonic acid produced, which, being stored in the organism, plays 

 a very pronounced anesthetic part there, as we shall see in a spe- 

 cial chapter. Now we shall show in a moment that anesthetics 

 stop or hinder the convulsions due to oxygen. 



Let us give now a brief description of these convulsions; we 

 shall have to return to them when we have studied them in dogs. 



These convulsions occur at the end of a variable time, generally 

 from 5 to 10 minutes; the bird shakes its head and feet as if it 

 were walking on hot coals. There are strange tremblings, quiver- 

 ings through the whole body. Soon, in more serious cases, it half- 

 opens its wings, moves them quickly, and falling on its back, it 

 whirls rapidly in the receiver, beating the air with its wings 

 violently, its feet curled up against its belly; these phenomena 

 last for a few minutes, then grow calm, then reappear in attacks 

 which are more and more frequent and less and less strong until 

 death. During the attacks, and in the intervals, the respirations 

 are very deep and very hasty; the beak is very wide open. At 

 very high pressures, death comes at the first attack. 



These remarkable symptoms continue to appear after the bird, 

 removed from the influence of oxygen, has been restored to the 

 open air under normal pressure; they may even then end in death. 



These attacks are often very clearly provokable, like those of 

 strychnine (See Experiment CCLXVI) ; their general appearance 

 recalls at the same time the irregular quiverings of poisoning by 

 phenol, 1 and the tonic and clonic convulsions of convulsive strych- 

 nine attacks. 



Neither sensitivity nor intelligence seems affected; the bird, 

 taken from the receiver, looks at and tries to peck the finger 

 which threatens it; it closes its eyelids when some object approaches 

 its eye. 



General locomotion is evidently much affected, besides the 

 convulsive attacks, of course; the bird has ataxic movements; in 

 certain cases, it can hardly stand on its feet; in others, it can 

 walk, but not fly. 



Finally — and this is the most important point of this research, 

 after the observations of these symptoms — the inner temperature 

 drops in all cases rapidly and considerably. It falls 10 and 15 

 degrees; I call particular attention to Experiment CCLV, in which, 



