862 METABOLISM. 



increased elimination of urine causes in fasting animals (Vorr, FORSTER), 

 but not to any appreciable degree in animals taking food (SEEGEN, SAL- 

 KOWSKI and MUNK, MAYER, DuBELiR 1 ), an increased elimination of 

 nitrogen. The reason for this increased nitrogen excretion is to be found 

 in the fact that the drinking of much water causes a complete washing 

 out of the urea from the tissues. Another view, which is defended by 

 Vorr, is that because of the more active current of fluids, after taking 

 large quantities of water, an increased metabolism of proteins takes place. 

 VOIT considers this explanation the correct one, although he does not 

 deny that by the liberal administration of water a more complete washing 

 out of the urea from the tissues takes place. Opinions on this subject 

 are not yet in accord, and recently HEiLNER 2 has advocated VOIT'S 

 view. The introduction of water in a starving animal is, HEILNER 

 believes, to a certain extent an excessive supply of a foodstuff; hence 

 the metabolism is increased and the water acts under these conditions 

 in a sort of specific dynamic manner. 



In this connection it must be mentioned that, according to HEILNER, 3 urea, 

 when introduced subcutaneously in physiological salt solution, causes an increased 

 action upon the protein catabolism, a fact which he mentions as an example that 

 the products of metabolism probably have an influence upon the same processes 

 which produce them. 



When the body has lost a certain amount of water, then the abstinence 

 from water (in animals) is accompanied by a rise in the protein metabo- 

 lism (LANDAUER, STRAUB 4 ). In regard to the action of water on the 

 formation of fat and its metabolism, the theory that the free drinking 

 of water is favorable for the deposition of fat seems to be generally 

 admitted, while the drinking of only very little water acts against its 

 formation. For the present we have no conclusive proofs of the correct- 

 ness of this view. 



Salts. In regard to the action of salts for example sodium chloride 

 and the neutral salts which partly depends upon the use of large and 

 varying amounts of salt in the experiments the authors disagree. 

 Investigations of STRAUB and HOST 5 show that the action of salts stands 

 in close relation to their power of abstracting water. Small amounts of 



1 Voit. Untersuch. iiber den Einfluss des Kochsalzes, etc. (Miinchen, 1860); Forster, 

 cited from Voit in Hermann's Handbuch, 6, 153; Seegen, Wien. Sitzungsber., 63; Sal- 

 kowski and Munk, Virchow's Arch., 71; Mayer, Zeitschr. f. klin. Med., 2; Dubelir, 

 Zeitschr. f. Biologie, 28. 



2 See R. Neumann, Arch. f. Hygiene, 36; Heilner, Zeitschr. f. Biologie, 47 and 49; 

 Hawk, University of Pennsylvania Med. Bull., xviii. 



3 Zeitschr. f. Biol., 52. 



4 Landauer, MaJy's Jahresber., 24; Straub, Zeitschr. f. Biologie, 37. 



5 W. Straub, Zeitschr. f. Biologie, 37 and 38; Rost, Arbeiten aus d. Kaiserliche 

 Gesundheitsamte, 18 (literature). See also Griiber, Maly's Jahresber., 30, 612. 



