APPLICATION OF BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH TO 

 MEDICAL PROBLEMS. 



By G.W. CRILE, M.D. and HUGO FRICKE, Ph.D. 



The research, part of which is reported in this paper, is a further 

 extension of previous studies undertaken for the purpose of ascer- 

 taining to what extent biophysical methods can be used in the investi- 

 gation and interpretation of medical problems. Our observations of 

 the effect of certain agencies such as adrenalin, anesthetics, stimulants, 

 electrolytes, etc., on the temperature of various organs and tissues of 

 the body have been made with the thought that if the effect of these 

 influences should prove to be uniform and consistent with biological 

 facts, these studies would lead to a wider use of biophysical methods. 

 There are many other studies which will be reported in a later paper 

 in which we expect to set forth an interpretation of our findings. At 

 the present time we wish only to make known the facts which have 

 appeared in these investigations. 



Several similar attempts to study temperature changes in the tis- 

 sues of animals under different conditions have been carried out in 

 the past. In addition to the literature reported in a previous publica- 

 tion, we may especially mention the work of Mosso,^ who measured 

 the temperature changes by means of a very sensitive mercury ther- 

 mometer. He believed that he had found a very great change in the 

 metabolism of the brain followed the injections of certain drugs, 

 among them being absinthe and strychnin. Hill and Nabarro,- how- 

 ever, criticized Mosso's work and made evident that his results were 

 due mainly to the action of the drugs upon the blood circulation. 



The amount of oxygen used in the metabolic processes in a state 

 of rest and of excitation is known for many of the body organs in 

 which excitation usually causes a several-fold increased consumption. 

 How the energy corresponding to this oxygen consumption is used ; 

 how much is transformed into heat ; and how much is used by the 

 organ in the performance of its functions, are questions whose an- 



1 Mosso, Proc. Roy. Soc, London, 1892. 



2 Hill, L. and Nabarro, D. N., Jour. Physiol, 1895, XVIII., 218. 



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