THE METABOLISM IN INFANTILISM 



817 



TABLE 5 

 NITROGEN IN THE FECES AND UBINE 



normal is approximately 2 per cent. The urinary nitrogen in the two 

 cases of infantilism is respectively 45 per cent and 67 per cent of that in 

 the food. In the normal it is 91 per cent. The high fecal nitrogen is 

 brought out strikingly by comparing the amount of nitrogen in the feces 

 with that in the urine. In the case of F. S., it is 84- : 100 ; in the case of 

 F. H., 16 : 100; and in the normal boy only 10 : 100. 



From these figures it seemed possible that the foodstuffs might be in- 

 completely digested or absorbed or too rapidly or too completely broken 

 up in the intestine, or that products that were useless or even harmful 

 from the standpoint of nutrition might be formed. The nitrogen distribu- 

 tion in the feces was, therefore, determined. 



Determination of the total nitrogen, and of nitrogen in the form of 

 soluble protein, ammonia, purin compounds, bacterial bodies, and amino 

 acids was made (McCrudden and Fales(c)). Fairly definite conclusions 

 regarding completeness of digestion, absorption of protein and protein 

 digestion products, degree and nature of the bacterial activities in the 

 intestine, and the presence of inflammatory conditions in the intestine may 

 be reached from these data insofar as these points relate to the problem in 

 hand; namely, whether or not protein is insufficiently, or too rapidly, or 

 completely hydrolyzed, or undergoes changes giving harmless or useless 

 derivatives, or is incompletely absorbed. 



Table 6 shows the results in a case of intestinal infantilism, and Table 

 7, for comparison, in the case of an achondroplasiac dwarf with no intes- 

 tinal symptoms. 



The nitrogen distribution in intestinal infantilism is similar to that 

 in the control. Neither the ammonia nitrogen, the bacterial nitrogen, nor 

 the purin nitrogen is appreciably high, the findings agreeing in this re- 

 spect with the normal figures for ethereal sulphates in the urine in indi- 

 cating that putrefactive processes are not excessive. The figures in Table 

 5 give no basis for any hypothesis attributing the faulty development to 

 improper protein digestion incomplete hydrolysis, too rapid hydrolysis, 

 formation of unabsorbable derivatives, or imperfect absorption of normal 



