764 HEXRY G. BARBOUR 



Sollmann and Hatcher pointed out 'that severe chloral coma in ani- 

 mals is followed by anorexia, marasmus and loss of weight. They de- 

 scribed the loss of heat-regulating power, Ginsberg the anuria and Winter- 

 stein(5) the decreased oxygen consumption. Cuslmy(a) describes a low- 

 ering of the carbon dioxid threshold for respiration after chloral and other 

 hypnotics. 



Amylene Hydrate diminishes the excretion of nitrogen, according to 

 Peiser. 



Sulplional. Stokvis identified the discoloration of the urine after 

 sulphonal as due to hematoporphyrin. 



Paraldelujd. Powdl states that "hypnotic" doses of paraldehyd 

 lower the blood sugar in dogs without affecting the nitrogen excretion, 

 while "anesthetic" doses increase the former and decrease the latter. 



Urethan. Chittenden observed that small doses of 'urethan decrease 

 the nitrogen excretion, larger amounts having the opposite effect. Under- 

 bill (c) found that this hypnotic sensitizes rabbits to epiiiephrin glycosuria, 

 while Bang(e) succeeded in producing hyperglycemia with large doses of 

 urethan itself. This is stated to have been independent of the liver 

 glycogen as well as of the adrenal secretion. 



Alcohol. As Atwater and Benedict (a) have shown, over 98 per cent 

 of ingested alcohol is completely oxidized to carbon dioxid and water in 

 the body. Its effects upon the metabolism are not extensive. The litera- 

 ture up to 1903 will be found reviewed in the report of Abel, Atwater, 

 Billings, Bowditch, Chittenden and Welch. 



Total Metabolism. Reichert found the total metabolism in dogs un- 

 changed by moderate doses, of alcohol. In RigginV(5) experiments on 

 man the oxygen consumption was shown to remain unaltered after doses of 

 30-45 c.c. except in one-fifth of the cases; in these a slight increase was 

 observed. Twenty to forty per cent of the total metabolism was due to 

 combustion of alcohol. Large doses act like other narcotics in diminish- 

 ing oxidations and paralyzing heat regulation. 



Protein Metabolism. Mendel and Hilditch in dogs and man found 

 that, while moderate doses spare protein, loss of nitrogen occurs when 

 large quantities of alcohol are administered. The partition of urinary 

 nitrogen remains constant except that "toxic" doses result in an increased 

 elimination of purins and of ammonia, accompanying other evidence of 

 perverted metabolism, as indicated by the appearance of levorotatory com- 

 pounds in the urine. 



Salant and Hinkel observed in "subacute intoxication" in well-fed 

 dogs a diminished excretion of total nitrogen and sulphur, a much greater 

 decrease of inorganic sulphates and phosphates, and a tendency to chlorid 

 retention. Xeutral and ethereal sulphur were increased. 



Carbohydrate Metabolism. Allen has been unable to verify the claims 

 of some authors that alcohol creates a diabetic tendency. Such was not 



