EFFECTS OF INANITION UPON ORGANS OF RAT 95 



the average weight of the spinal cord (at body weight of 245 

 grams) as 0.630 gram in 2 males, and 0.640 gram in 4 females. 

 On the whole, therefore, we may conclude that the spinal cord 

 during acute inanition undergoes little or no change in weight. 

 Individual variations make comparisons with controls more or less 

 uncertain, especially in a relatively small series of observations. 



A somewhat different result is found in the chronic inanition 

 series. Donaldson's ('09) data would indicate that the spinal 

 cord in body weights corresponding to the average initial weight 

 (214 grams) of this series would form an average weight of 0.593 

 gram or 0.28 per cent of the body weight. In an earlier paper, 

 Donaldson ('08) in table 4 gives the weight of the spinal cord 

 (at body weight of 215 grams) as averaging 0.590 gram in 5 

 males, and 0.630 gram in 3 females (corresponding theoretical 

 weight by formula being 0.593 gram, sexes combined). The 

 actual weight of the cord found at the end of the inanition period 

 averages 0.569 gram, or about 0.43 per cent of the body weight. 

 This would indicate a loss of about 4 per cent in the absolute 

 weight of the spinal cord during chronic inanition. Thus in the 

 spinal cord, as in the brain, there appears to be in the adult rat 

 a tendency to greater loss in chronic than in acute inanition. 

 In the young rat, however, this tendency is more than counter- 

 balanced by the growth impulse, so that the spinal cord may 

 gain in weight while the body weight is held constant (Donald- 

 son '11; Jackson '15). 



In any event, however, it is evident that the adult spinal 

 cord, like the brain, shows but very slight if any loss in abso- 

 lute weight during inanition, thus increasing markedly in rela- 

 tive (percentage) weight. This is in general agreement with 

 the observations of Chossat ('43), Falck ('54), Lasarew ('97), 

 Sedlmair ('99), Voit ('66), and Bechterew ('95) previously men- 

 tioned in the discussion of the brain. 



EYEBALLS 



The eyeballs in the acute inanition series (table 3) form an 

 average of about 0.19 per cent of the body weight. In normal 

 rats corresponding to their initial body weight, the average 



