IXFLUEXCE OF ROENTGEX RAYS UPON METABOLISM 881 



several individuals with various skin diseases, noted in all an increase 

 in the urinary nitrogen. The uric acid output was tripled in some cases 

 and the purin bases also increased. Similar results were observed in one 

 experiment on a normal dog. 



The effect of radium salts upon the metabolism of dogs has been studied 

 by Berg and Welker. The doses employed were very small and they 

 concluded that the ingestion of radium per os was without any special 

 influence on metabolism. In one experiment a stimulation of the cata- 

 bolic processes as indicated by slightly increased output of nitrogen in 

 the urine was noted, but in another experiment the catabolic processes were 

 inhibited to about the same degree. An increased volume of urine was also 

 noted. In order to determine the effect of the active rays upon the general 

 metabolism of the dog Theis and Bagg used a solution of sodium chlorid 

 which contained active deposit from radium emanation. The dogs were 

 given doses of two to six millicuries per kilogram. One dog was a Dal- 

 matian in which variety uric acid is excreted in the urine. The total nitro- 

 gen in the urine always increased reaching a maximum of ten to twenty- 

 five per cent on the second day after injection. Urea nitrogen paralleled 

 the total nitrogen, but the ammonia nitrogen increased in greater propor- 

 tion than the total nitrogen indicating a possibility of acidosis. Uric 

 acid in the Dalmatian dog increased both absolutely (15 to 50 per cent) 

 and relatively to the total nitrogen. This may have been due to the 

 destruction of the white cells for the phosphate excretion was also in- 

 creased. Creatinin in one experiment was increased but not proportion- 

 ately to the total nitrogen. Jastrowitz has recently reported that injection 

 of thorium into dogs has a tendency to increase excretion of uric acid 

 above normal. 



After deep massive doses of hard Roentgen rays Hall and Whipple 

 noted marked metabolic changes in experiments on dogs. The nitrogen 

 excretion of the urine increased immediately following exposure to rays 

 and remained high until death. There was often an increase of fifty 

 to one hundred per cent above normal. A marked increase (twice normal) 

 of the non-protein nitrogen of the blood was commonly observed on the 

 day before death and often more than three times normal on the day of 

 death. The authors do not believe that the heaping up of nitrogenous 

 split products can be explained alone on an increased breakdown of body 

 protein but that there may be faulty elimination. They could observe, 

 however, no evidence of any nephritis from a study of the urine nor by 

 anatomical changes. 



Denis and Martin in studying the relative toxic effects produced by 

 iviii.mal radiation found that exposure with massive doses of Roentgen 

 rays over the intestines of a rabbit gave evidence of the presence of an 

 acidosis. This was shown by a fall in the alkaline reserve and^a rise^in 

 fat and inorganic phosphates of the blood of most of the rabbits which 



