THE METABOLISM DURING STARVATION 627 



the output of energy in man during a five days' period of starvation 

 (Tigerstedt) : 



METABOLISM DURING STARVATION (MAN) 



Although in one and the same individual the total metabolism during 

 hunger varies directly with the body weight, this rule does not apply when 

 we compare the metabolism of different animals or different examples of 

 the same species. We find, in fact, that in larger animals the metabolism 

 is relatively less than in smaller animals, so that if we take the evolution 

 of calories per kilo body weight the result is inversely proportional to the 

 body weight. This is shown in the following Table, which represents the 

 total metabolism of a number of animals of different sizes (Rubner) : 



On account of the greater relative metabolism of smaller animals, their 

 resistance to starvation is less than that of larger animals. A rat or a mouse 

 will only stand total abstinence from food for two or three days. The differ- 

 ence is determined by the fact that a smaller animal has a relatively larger 

 surface per unit body weight than is the case with a larger animal. The 

 greater part of the energy set free during starvation is required for the main- 

 tenance of the body temperature. A larger amount of energy per kilo is 

 required in those animals with a relatively larger body surface through which 

 heat loss may occur. That the difference in relative surface is the deter- 

 mining factor for the differences in total metabolism per kilo body weight 

 is shown by the fact that, if we reckon out the amount of surface presented 

 by each of the animals in the above list, we find that the output of 

 energy per square metre of body surface is approximately identical in 

 all cases. This is shown in the following Table, in which the calorie 



