KINETIC DISEASES 231 



loved one, intestinal auto-intoxication, an acute or 

 chronic infection, administration of excessive doses 

 of iodin or thyroid extract, the symptoms are identi- 

 cal and closely resemble the phenomena of the great 

 primitive emotions, of acute infection and of muscular 

 exertion. 



After chemical stimulation of the body by a foreign 

 protein or an infection, the pulse quickens, the blood- 

 pressure rises, respiration is increased, the tempera- 

 ture is elevated, digestion is inhibited, metabolism is 

 increased and pathologic changes are produced in the 

 organs of the kinetic system which are identical with 

 those produced by emotion or physical exertion. In 

 short, there is a period of hyper-stimulation in fever 

 which exactly corresponds to the period of hyper- 

 stimulation in emotion, and signifies the preparation 

 of the organism for self-defense by chemical activity, 

 just as emotion signifies the preparation of the organism 

 for self-defense by motor activity. It has been proved 

 that the increased metabolism following upon the in- 

 creased temperature purifies the body partially, at 

 least, in a chemical way by inhibiting bacterial growth 

 and probably in addition by causing a chemical dis- 

 integration of toxic proteins into harmless substances 

 which are eliminated. 



It would seem, therefore, as if fever were the result of 

 a driving of the kinetic mechanism by a foreign pro- 

 tein or infection stimulus for purposes of self-defense 

 by the splitting up of the molecules of the foreign pro- 

 tein through the transformation of latent energy into 

 heat ; and that emotion is the result of a driving of the 

 mechanism by a psychic stimulus for purposes of self- 



