766 HENRY G. BARBOUR 



temperature which are common to narcotics see the introduction to this 



chapter.) 



Protein Metabolism-. Boeck found a six per cent diminution ii 

 urinary nitrogen in dogs, but Luzzato maintains that it is augmented 

 by morphin in both fed and fasted animals, especially the latter. 



Carbohydrate Metabolism. Rapid disappearance of glycogen from 

 the liver was noted by Rosenbaum and morphin glycosuria has been fre- 

 quently described. Hyperglycemia and glycosuria were both found with 

 large doses by Luzzato. The effects were not obtained in animals accus- 

 tomed to morphin. Higgins and Means with therapeutic doses observed a 

 very slight hyperglycemia and some decrease in the respiratory quotient. 

 The latter seems attributable to the lowered ventilation. 



Glycosuria may be simulated by the appearance of other reducing 

 substances in the urine after morphin. (Spitta.) 



Diabetes. Good clinical observers claim that the glycosuria, together 

 with thirst and polyuria, can be markedly diminished by the use of 

 morphin. In this connection Klercker(<i) has shown that, while opiates 

 have no effect on hyperglycemia of hepatogenous origin, they may inhibit 

 alimentary hyperglycemia. MacLeod suggests that this is due to retarded 

 absorption induced by the depressant effect of morphin upon the alimen- 

 tary canal. 



Morphin, according to Kleiner and Meltzer(a), increases the renal 

 elimination of intravenously injected dextrose, but retards the return of 

 the blood sugar to its previous level, whence these investigators concluded 

 that morphin increases the permeability of the kidney cells while decreas- 

 ing the same kind of permeability of the capillary endothelia elsewhere in 

 the body. 



Ross (a) recently obtained marked hyperglycemia by the injection into 

 dogs of 10 milligrams (per kilo) of morphin. In thirty minutes the blood 

 sugar was increased by 59 per cent, in 45 minutes by 66 per cent, in 

 one and one-half hours by 77 per cent. Ether administration begun one- 

 half hour after morphin did not cause as much increase in the blood 

 sugar as if morphin had not been used, but the final degree of ether hyper- 

 glycemia was the same with or without morphin. 



Fat Metabolism. Murlin and Riche found the blood fat decreasec 

 under morphin. 



Acid-Alkali Metabolism. Filehne and Kionka observed a diminution 

 in blood oxygen but increased carbon dioxid after morphin. The latter 

 is indicative of depression of the respiratory center which was first shown 

 by Loewy to be less sensitive to carbon dioxid after morphin. The high 

 carbon dioxid content of the blood is indicative of the presence of a greater 

 alkali reserve. 



The alkali reserve increase is proven by the increased alveolar carbon 

 dioxid (shown by Higgins and Means, who observed the same under 



