UNDEKNUTKITION 5 



and this will come from two sources. One of these is the water formed 

 in the combustion of the body material, the protein, fat or glycogen; for 

 each atom of hydrogen would combine with oxygen to form water. The 

 combustion of one gram of fat gives about one and one-tenth gram of 

 water, and one gram of carbohydrate gives six-tenths of a gram of water. 

 The other source is from the tissues themselves ; the body protein exists 

 in the cells in the proportion of about one part protein to four parts of 

 water; for each gram of protein burned, about four grams of water arc 

 liberated ; similarly, from ten to forty per cent of the weight of the fatty 

 tissues of the body is water, and for every gram of fat burned, from one- 

 tenth to four-tenths of a gram of water is freed. It is reported that many 

 animals can subsist, fasting and without taking water by mouth, by reason 

 of the fluids furnished as above, and show no evidences of water starvation. 

 This is not true, however, of man, and the difference depends on the fact 

 that many animals have no sweat glands, except in the paws, and thus 

 do not lose water through the skin. Man, losing water by the skin and 

 in greater amount by the urine, does not endure water starvation well, 

 and a fasting man needs water to prevent early symptoms of water 

 starvation. 



Experiments on pigeons have shown that in starvation without water 

 they died in five days, while with water they lived for twelve days. (Rub- 

 ner(d), 1903.) Experiments on dogs show that they stand absolute starva- 

 tion very well, although perhaps not so well as starvation with water. 

 Three fasting experiments with dogs that received neither food nor water 

 are reported, where the animals lived for forty-four, sixty and sixty-six 

 days and then died, but not of water starvation (Awrorow). 



The symptoms of water starvation are dryness of the skin, lips and 

 nucous membranes, stupor accompanied by restlessness and irritability, and 

 elevation of temperature. The symptoms of acute water starvation are 

 frequently seen in pathological conditions, notably in the profuse watery 

 diarrhea of infants, in Asiatic cholera, in patients with persistent vomiting, 

 where no fluids are retained by mouth, and frequently in severe burns 

 where the loss of fluid by the secreted serum is accompanied by vomiting. 

 By merely depriving a man of water by mouth, or by giving him too little 

 water, signs of slow water starvation appear, first with dryness of skin, 

 hen with a tendency to desquamation leading eventually to other symptoms. 

 Death in water starvation is from one of two causes, viz. : either the kid- 

 neys fail to eliminate the body waste products, including acids, and symp- 

 toms of poisoning occur (often acidosis), and death follows, probably by the 

 action of these prodvicts on the vital organs, especially the nervous system ; 

 or deprivation of water from the vital organs themselves will result in 

 death. 



There is a "critical level," which represents the amount of water which 

 must be taken in order to avoid symptoms of water starvation. This 



