40 R. II. Chittenden — Influence of Urethan, Paraldehyde, 



metabolism, diminishing the quantity of urine excreted, as well as the 

 amount of urea, uric acid, etc. 



The experiments about to be described were conducted wholly upon 

 the person of a healthy man of 66 kilos, body weight. A definite 

 amount of food, of known composition, was taken daily and uniform 

 habits of sleep, exercise, etc., were kept up during the whole time of 

 the experiment, which extended over a period of six weeks. In this 

 manner, body equilibrium was established and the daily excretions 

 brought to a constancy of composition, as preliminary to studying 

 the action of the drug. The daily diet was as follows : 



312 grams fresh beef, free from fat and tendons. 



The body-weight was ascertained each morning, and the 24 hours' 

 urine collected and analyzed each day as follows : nitrogen was de- 

 termined by the Kjeldahl method;* sulphur by fusing a given vol- 

 ume of the urine with pure potassium hydroxide and potassium nitrate 

 in a silver crucible, and ultimately precipitating and weighing the 

 sulphur as barium sulphate ;f phosphorus by fusion of a portion of 

 the urine in a like manner with potassium hydroxide and nitrate, 

 precipitation of the phosphoric acid from a nitric acid solution by 

 molybdic solution, solution of this precipitate in ammonia and repre- 

 cipitatiou with magnesia mixture, as ammonio-magnesium phosphate; 

 chlorine by ignition Avith potassium nitrate, and titration of the pre- 

 pared sobition with a standard solution of silver nitrate. 



On April 19th, analysis of the urine was commenced and con- 

 tinued for fourteen days before the first dose of urethan was admin- 

 istered. The drug was then taken for five consecutive days, a total 

 of 73 grains or 4*73 grams, after which the urethan was discontinued 

 for seven days. A second trial was then made by giving 89 grains 



* Neue metbode zur Bestimmung des Stickstoifs in organischen Korpern. Zcit- 

 schrift fiir Analytische Chemie, xxii, 366. 



•j- For the details of the processes used, see Studies from Laboratory of Physiological 

 Chemistry, Yale University, vol. ii, p. 88. 



