282 



REPORTS ON THE STATE OP SCIENCE. 



II. Rate of Intoxication and Temperature. 



In order to investigate the influence of temperature upon the rate 

 of intoxication we took observations on the rate of action upon muscle 

 at temperatures between 7° and 25° of alcohol, chloroform, quinine, 

 and aconitine. 



With a normal (5"8 per cent.) solution of ethyl alcohol, e.g., we 

 found that muscular contractility was abolished at 24° in six minutes, 

 at 17° in ten, 14° in twelve, 12° in fourteen, and 7° in twenty. These 

 data can be dealt with (a) geometrically by plotting their values on 

 squared paper, and (b) mathematically by applying a modification of 

 Esson's formula. 1 



(a) Plotting times along the abscissa and temperatures along the 

 ordinate the curve of the relation is evidently very nearly geometric ; the 

 toxic effect takes longer and proceeds more slowly at low than at high 

 temperature. 



40 r 



30 



20 



10 



| 

 ft 

 Time in Mins. 6 10 12 /-* 20 



Fig. 1. — Curve expressing the relation between the times taken by the complete 

 intoxication of a muscle by ethyl alcohol, and the temperatures between 24° 

 and 7°, at which the intoxication was effected. 



(b) The modification for our purpose of Esson's formula is as 

 follows : — ■ 



log Lp — log Li _ 

 logT,-logT - w > 



where L and L x are the lengths of time between the application of the 

 drug and the cessation of contraction ; T and T x the absolute tempera- 

 tures at which the intoxication took place ; m the experimental constant. 

 (The value of m obtained from this formula is 1/555 of the value /* 

 calculated by Arrhenius' formula.) 



The values of m came out as follows : — 



For alcohol ..... 



„ chloroform .... 



„ quinine ..... 

 (Hydrogen peroxide and hydrogen iodide) 

 (Chloric acid and ferrous sulphate) 



1 Veley and Waller, ' Observations on the Rate of Action of Drugs upon Muscle 

 as a Fnnctian of Temperature,' Proc. Roy. Soc, B, vol. lxxxii., p. 205, 1910. 



