256 



A. I. KIXGEK AND EMIL J. BAUMAXX 



portant one, because of its enormous elasticity, is the glyeogenctic function. 

 It may truly be classed as a sort of "shock absorber" in the carbohydrate 

 metabolism. The capacity of the liver for glycogen may reach 300 grams, 

 while the muscles may hold as much as four per cent of their weight. 



Glucolysis and Carbohydrate Tolerance. The amount of glucose oxi- 

 dation that can go on during a period of glucose plethora (as after in- 

 cest ion of large amounts of glucose) is comparatively fixed and limited 

 by the body's requirement for energy. Under those conditions no fat is 

 burned and the utilization of protein is reduced to the "wear and tear*' 

 quota, which, from the dynamogenetic point, of view, is insignificant. 

 A man weighing 70 kilos will, when at rest, require approximately 35 

 calories per kilo per 24 hours. That means 70 X 35 2450 calories 

 per 24 hours or 102 calories per hour. If all that were to come from 

 glucose the maximum amount of glucose that he could utilize, i. e., oxidize, 



102 



would be = 27 grams per hour (each gram of glucose yields 3.7 cal- 

 o.T 



ories), or for the two hours in which the carbohydrate tolerance test is 

 made a maximum of 54 grams of glucose can be burnt. Fully half of 

 the quantity given with a 100 gram test can be taken care of by oxidation. 

 The amount that can be taken care of by fat formation we do not 

 know. It can be determined by studying the respiratory quotient (Lusk, 

 1912), but has not been worked out for man after a 100 gram glucose in- 

 gestion. 



TABLE VII 



TYPICAL BLOOD SUGAR CURVES . OF NORMAL INDIVIDUALS * 

 M. McN. Healthy medical student, aged 24. Original Lewis-Benedict method 



H. G. Weight 53 kg. Folin method for sugar determination f 



* Hamman and Hirschman. 

 f Montefiore Hospital Records. 



