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chloroform and nitrogen to act together under various conditions as 
regards time and concentration. But we shall omit giving an account 
of these experiments to restrict the size of this paper. Moreover a 
detailed report will, as we said before, be published elsewhere. 
And now the excitement-stage in narcosis. 
If we let the various narcosis-theories pass in review, then it 
appears that not a single one has even attempted to give an expla- 
nation of the excitement-stage. Our researches on phagocytosis, and 
the agreement in the conduct of respiratory centre and phagocytes 
enable us to do so. 
When Max Verworn in his article “Narkose” in the “Handbuch 
der Naturwissenschaften” B. VI, 1912, has explained that. in his 
opinion, narcosis is nothing but a consequence of acute asphyxia, 
and adds a few words on the attendant symptoms in narcosis, he 
expresses himself as follows : 
“Es ist nicht wahrscheinlich, dass diese Neben wirkung (Excitations- 
stadium) ebenfalls aus dem einem Punkte der Oxydationslähmung in 
der Zelle entspringt, doch fehlt für die Genese dieser Nebemwirkung 
bisher noch gede Analyse”. 
Our investigations of the origin of an increased phagocytosis by 
oxygen-withdrawal, have shown that also the excitement-stage in 
narcosis is in perfect agreement with the fact stated by Verworn 
in his narcosis theory. 
We need only conceive that at the beginning of the narcosis, owing 
to a decrease in the amount of available oxygen, the sensibility of 
the higher nervecentres is heightened. 
If the chloroform-inhalation is continued, this sensibility will 
decrease, owing to a further decrease of the potential O-percentage, 
and finally narcosis will set in. Whether the state of complete 
narcosis is partly due to other factors, for instance to a semi- 
coagulation of the protoplasm in the sense of CLaupr BERNARD, or 
to a decrease of dispersity of enzymes ete. need not be considered 
here. First the higher centres which are, as we know, very sensitive 
to oxygen withdrawal, are paralyzed, then the spinal centres and 
after that the respiratory centre. 
We may add that in the first stage of narcosis not only the 
higher cortical centres and the spinal centr s pass through an 
excitement-stage, but according to researches of KNouL and of ARLOING 
the respiratory centre is also in a state of heightened irritability. 
The question which first suggests itself, is the following: how is 
it that a decrease of the available oxygen-percentage heightens the 
irritability of the phagocytes (and ganglion cells). 
