NO. 23 



INFLUENCE OF ATMOSPHERE ON HEALTH 



19 



in four hours' time from 0.04 to 1.73. He found the circulation 

 was weak and the respiration difficult when the C0 2 rose to 

 3 per cent, but attributed these results to other conditions than the 

 excess of C0 2 . The air in his chamber must have become over- 

 warm and moist. 1 



J. T. F. Hermans 2 employed a tin chamber 1.8 meters high, 1.75 

 meters broad, and 1.2 meters deep. Observations were made on the 

 body temperature, frequency of pulse, and respiration. In some ex- 

 periments the COo was absorbed, in others not. The air of the 

 chamber was also analyzed for combustible gases by passing over 

 glowing copper oxide, but none could be detected even with two 

 people in the chamber. No organic products could be traced by 

 drawing the air of the chamber through H 2 S0 4 . 



The following figures show the effect of absorption or non-abs irp- 

 tion of COo. 



1 person in chamber. 



1 person in chamber. 



2 persons in chamber 



COo 



Per cent 



3 ■ 3 

 0.87 



5-13 



0„ 



Per cent 

 12. J 



I4.4 



Pulse 



70-72 



75-72 



(a) 80-84 



(b) 68-72 



Respiration 



24 

 l6-IJ 



34 

 30 



When, with two people in the chamber, the C0 2 percentage 

 reached 5.13, they suffered from dyspnoea and headache. 



Haldane and Lorraine Smith confirmed the results of Hermans. 

 With 3.9 per cent there were hyperpnoea and slight headache, which 

 disappeared on leaving the chamber. On breathing 5.5 to> 6 per cent 

 there was great hyperpnoea, which was very exhausting. By breath- 

 ing in and out of a bag they found that distress became very severe 

 when C0 2 reached 10 per cent and the oxygen was correspondingly 

 decreased. If the bag was filled with oxygen to start with, they 

 endured the inhalation until the percentage of C0 2 reached 10.4, 

 the oxygen being 58.6 per cent. Hill and Flack have confirmed this. 



By breathing oxygen for two or three minutes, and then holding 

 the breath with the lungs full of oxygen, the breath can be held for 

 astonishingly long periods of time, for example, for 5 to 6 minutes 

 and even for 8 to 9 minutes. 3 



1 Above authorities cited after Billings, Weir Mitchell, and Bergey, 

 sonian Contributions to Knowledge, Vol. 39, 1895. 



2 Arch. f. Hygiene. Miinchen u. Leipzig, 1883, Vol. I, p. 1. 



3 Cf . Vernon, Journ. Physiol. Proc, xvni, Vol. 38, 1909. 



Smith- 



