Vlll PREFACE 



biochemistry, and in the numerous manuals on clinical methods. Bio- 

 chemical knowledge is treated rather from the physiologist's stand- 

 point, as an integral part of his subject, particular attention, neverthe- 

 less, being paid to the far-reaching applications of this latest depart- 

 ment of medical science, in the elucidation of many obscure problems 

 of clinical medicine, such as those of diabetes, nephritis, acidosis, goiter 

 and myxedema. To make the volume of value to those who may not 

 have had time or opportunity to familiarize themselves with the techni- 

 cal methods of the physiologist arid biochemist as used in the modern 

 clinic, a certain amount of space is devoted to a brief description of the 

 methods that appear at present to be receiving most attention, and to 

 be of greatest value. 



Finally, it should be mentioned that the principles of serum diagnosis 

 and therapy are omitted, since these belong to a highly specialized science 

 requiring an intensive training of its own. 



In the hope that the volume may be instrumental in arousing sufficient 

 interest to stimulate a more intensive study of the various subjects 

 which it introduces, a brief bibliography is given at the end of each 

 section. The references selected are to papers that are more partic- 

 ularly known to the author; they are not necessarily the most impor- 

 tant publications on the subject, but are often chosen because of the 

 useful reviews of previous work contained in them, rather than because 

 of their own originality. Some of the papers, however, are referred to 

 as authority for statements of fact which may arouse in the reader a 

 desire to ponder for himself the evidence upon which these are based. 

 The references are usually divided into two groups, "monographs" and 

 "original papers, " and it is only occasionally that specific reference is 

 made to the former in the context. The original papers, on the other 

 hand, are referred to by numbers. With the general field of the subject 

 so well covered by such excellent textbooks as Bayliss' "Principles of 

 General Physiology," Stewart's, Howell's, Starling's, and Halliburton 's 

 "Human Physiologies," and Leonard Hill's "Recent and Further Ad- 

 vances in Physiology," the author has felt free to pick and choose from 

 the monographs and original papers, topics that are ordinarily passed 

 over cursorily in the textbook, and when this has been done, the refer- 

 ences are somewhat more extensive. Such is the case for example in 

 the chapters relating to the chemistry of respiration, to the metabolism 

 of carbohydrates and fats, to the problems of dietetics and growth, to the 

 physicochemical basis of neutrality regulation in the animal body, and to 

 the action of enzymes. 



Acknowledgment is gratefully made for the assistance and advice 

 in the preparation of the book, particularly to Doctor K. G. Pearce, for 

 the contribution of several chapters, to which his name is attached, and 



