APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY 



CHAPTER I 

 THE APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY OF METABOLISM 



THE future of medicine undoubtedly depends upon the 

 chemical physiologist. The scalpel, the microscope, and 

 the simpler application of physical and experimental 

 methods have, so far as we can perceive, nearly finished 

 their work, but the investigation of the chemical pro- 

 cesses of the body is just begun. The term ' metabolism ' 

 is used to embrace the sum of these chemical processes, 

 and as most diseases are, in the last resort, the ex- 

 pression of a perverted metabolism, it can easily be 

 understood how important a complete knowledge of the 

 subject would be to the physician. Unfortunately, how- 

 ever, we are constantly hampered by our ignorance in 

 this respect. Most of the intimate chemical changes 

 which go on in the organs and tissues are still utterly 

 beyond our ken. Some we guess at or catch glimpses of 

 from afar ; it is only a few that we fully understand. 

 In the present chapter I propose to give a general sketch 

 of metabolism so far as our present knowledge permits, 

 and shall point out as one goes along the application of 



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