54 



DYNAMICS OF NERVE CELLS. II 



this case is suggestive of the results found by Loeb and Wasteneys^ 

 for oxidation processes in Arbacia eggs between 3 and 30°C. 



It might be supposed from the resuhs recorded in the preceding 

 pages that CO2 production is not proportional to the ganglionic mass 

 since the rate at which carbon dioxide is produced is often very 

 different for ganglia of equal weight, but it is also true that the rates 

 at which hearts of equal size beat likewise show norm.ally such 

 variations. These facts merely mean that the rate of metabolic ac- 

 tivity of different ganglia is different, for if we make the comparison 

 with tissue from a single ganglion we find that the COo development 

 is proportional to the mass. In the following experiment showing 

 this, the whole ganglion weighed 21 mg. Its rate of CO2 development 



TABLE II. 



Relation of Ganglionic Mass to Rate of COo Production. 



at different temperatures was determined and the ganglion then di- 

 vided so that the posterior portion weighed 10 mg. and the anterior 

 part 11 mg. After division, the parts were kept for a short time in 

 neutral saline solution to avoid any complication from the acid which 

 might have developed due to the injury; the rate of CO2 development 

 by each portion was then determined for the temperatures to which 

 the whole ganglion had previously been subjected. The results are 

 given in Table II and show conclusively that in a given ganglion the 

 carbon dioxide production is proportional to the mass of ganglionic 

 tissue. 



^ Loeb, J., and Wasteneys, H., Biochem. Z., 1911, xxxvi, 345. 



