634 LECTURE XXVII. 



up material but receive nothing from without. The increase in the elim- 

 ination of nitrogen shortly before death may be prevented by feeding 

 cane-sugar. Thus Kaufmann l fed starving rabbits with 25 to 30 grams 

 of sugar daily, and when they died, at the end of 18 or 19 days, it was 

 without the appearance of the increased nitrogen elimination. This ex- 

 periment does not permit us to decide satisfactorily the question as to 

 the cause of the increased decomposition of albumin which has been so 

 often observed just before the end of the fasting period. It is possible 

 that, when the cane-sugar is fed to the starved animals, the destruction 

 of the cells is prevented. On the other hand naturally the carbohydrate 

 acts as a protein-sparer. Perhaps the increased elimination of nitrogen 

 is prevented for this reason. Furthermore, it must not be left out of 

 consideration that, as we have already frequently mentioned, 2 there 

 is no question but that fat acts as a solvent for many substances, and 

 plays an important part in this direction, besides its function of acting 

 as reserve material. Especially in the extensive transportation of 

 material from one cell to another, it is possible that the fat content 

 of the tissues may play an important part. If the amount of fat 

 present has been reduced to a minimum, the exchange of material 

 will necessarily suffer, and thereby the entire metabolism. We must 

 also not forget that evidently the fat, as it lies deposited in the fat- 

 cells, cannot be consumed as such by the body. It must first be removed 

 from the cell. It is very probable that a cleavage into fatty acid and 

 glycerol takes place. This eventually affects cell activity, for only the cell 

 can yield the required ferment. It is perfectly clear that when the cells 

 are working with a limited supply of material, the formation of the 

 ferment will finally be influenced. It might be thought, a priori, that the 

 oxidation power of the starved organism would likewise become consid- 

 erably lessened. This is, however, not the case, or at least not of the 

 oxidation processes as a whole. M. Nencki and N. Sieber 3 injected sub- 

 cutaneously one gram of benzene into a rabbit weighing 2.517 kilograms. 

 They subsequently found 0.307 gram of phenol in the urine. The animal 

 was then starved for three days, at the end of which time it weighed 2.425 

 kilograms. Once more a gram of benzene was injected, and this caused 

 the elimination of 0.334 gram of phenol. Analogous results were obtained 

 in experiments with dogs. On the other hand, the observation that in 

 starvation the ratio of the neutral sulphur to the oxidized sulphur increases 

 in value indicates a lessened oxidation power of the starving organism. 

 We should not yet attempt to draw definite conclusions from the experi- 

 ments at hand. It is perfectly possible that the power of oxidation is 



1 M. Kaufmann: Z. Biol. 41, 75 (1901). 



2 Cf. Lecture VI, p. 112. 



3 Pfliiger's Arch. 31, 319 (1883). 



