CHANGES IN INTESTINES. THE FECES. 1 99 



ent. There are often substances which become accidentally 

 mixed with the food and which are not attacked by the diges- 

 tive secretions. There may be remains of various substances 

 taken into the body as remedies, for example oxide or sulphide 

 of bismuth from bismuth subnitrate, or chalk or other insolu- 

 ble substance taken in the same way. 



NORMAL FECES. 



For comparison it is necessary to have something as a 

 standard, and as such a fecal discharge from a condition ap- 

 proaching starvation might be taken. In such feces there are 

 no food residues, but the other things are abundantly repre- 

 sented. Many analyses of feces have been made from per- 

 sons who for a period of several days had consumed no food 

 and these give some idea of the character of the discharges 

 which might be expected when the minimum of food is con- 

 sumed and no more. It has been calculated in this way that 

 about 10 to 12 grams daily is the average normal discharge 

 from a man of 70 kilograms weight, due to other sources than 

 the remains of food. Numerous attempts have been made to 

 find the average composition of feces from a diet which con- 

 tains just enough protein, fat and carbohydrate to keep the 

 body in normal condition. Some of the results are given in 

 the table below, in per cent. 



Water. Dry Subst. Fat. Nitrogen. 



Mixed diet 76.5 23.5 6.2 i.o 



Mixed diet 85.0 15.0 4.0 0.9 



Milk diet 71.2 28.8 4.8 1.4 



Milk diet 77.0 23.0 2.7 0.9 



The moist feces in the adult may weigh from 50 grams 

 about to 400 or 500 grams daily in health. The average 

 weight is about 150 gm. The variations depend on the indi- 

 vidual and also largely on the character of the food. This 

 last is illustrated in the following table from Konig's " Nahr- 

 ungsmittel," where for certain foods the daily consumption 

 is given and also the weight of the moist and dry feces in 

 grams. 



