10 



serving as a stimulant. There is no doubt, therefore, of the fact that 

 the symptoms which are described in the medical history are those 

 actually experienced by the young men, any tendency to exaggeration 

 in the reporting of these symptoms having been' carefully considered 

 at the time. 



In the case of the men who received sodium sulphite the conclusion 

 is inevitable that the administration of this preservative in the great 

 majority of cases causes headache, sensations of dizziness and occa- 

 sional nausea, indigestion, pains in the stomach, and other unfavor- 

 able symptoms. With the men who received sulphurous acid in an 

 uncombined state, headache was very common, there was a slight 

 tendency to dizziness, accompanied in some cases by nausea, and a 

 feeling of exhaustion and weakness. 



In general, it may be said that the most prominent symptom was 

 that of headache, which could hardly have been caused by the imagi- 

 nation. This symptom was very commonly and very persistently 

 experienced at some time during the preservative period. 



BODY WEIGHT. 



The administration of the sodium sulphite was accompanied by a 

 slight average loss of weight during the preservative period, but the 

 full effect of the preservative in diminishing the weight of the body 

 was shown only toward the end of the preservative period, and there 

 was a continued loss in weight during the after period. 



It appears, therefore, that the administration of sulphurous acid in 

 the form of sulphite tends to reduce the weight of the body slowly, 

 and that this tendency is continued for a considerable time after the 

 withdrawal of the preservative. There was a very slight increase in 

 the average weight of the body under the administration of the sul- 

 phurous acid in the uncombined form, which increase continued in 

 the after period. The final average effect upon weight for the eleven 

 men shows no change in the preservative period and a slight decrease 

 in the after period. 



COMPOSITION OF THE FECES. 



The administration of the preservative showed a marked tendency 

 to increase the amount of water in the feces. This was not of suffi- 

 cient magnitude to warrant classing the preservative as a purgative 

 or cathartic, as the stools were not of a watery consistency. Further, 

 there was no tendency manifested to lessen the secretion of the urine ; 

 in fact, in general a diuretic effect was shown. It is of interest to 



[Cir. 37] 



