. TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION I. 747 
6. To what extent are the respiratory phenomena of living tissues the same 
for all organs? 
7. Are the respiratory processes of organs during activity different in kind, or 
only in degree, from those of resting organs ? 
8. [Does the anabolic process require a special amount of energy when it is 
not connected with the katabolic process? (Zunt1z.)] 
9. [Is there a difference between different carbohydrates with regard to their 
immediate action upon the metabolism, and does the condition of the body, viz., 
the amount of glycogen stored up in the body, account for this action? 
(JOHANNSON.) | 
Professor T. G. Brodie described the results obtained in experiments, con- 
ducted in conjunction with Mr. Barcroft, upon the gaseous exchanges in the kidneys 
under the different conditions of rest and activity. In all cases they had found 
that the amount of oxygen taken in by a kidney which was made to secrete urine 
actively was greatly in excess of that absorbed by a resting kidney, while, on the 
other hand, the quantity of carbonic acid eliminated showed far slighter varia- 
tions. In the greater number of their experiments they had found that the kidney 
at rest eliminated a greater volume of carbonic acid than it absorbed of oxygen. 
Their results thus indicated that the performance of work by the kidney was 
accompanied by an approximately proportional increase in the intake of oxygen, 
while the output of carbonic acid, although increased, was usually much less in 
amount. From the fact that the carbonic acid output was often in excess of the 
oxygen intake, it would seem that the final metabolic change, as evidenced by 
the carbonic acid output, was a more gradual process, though the results they had 
obtained, up to the present, did not warrant the conclusion that the carbonaceous 
waste products resulting from the activity of the tissue were confined to carbonic 
acid only. 
Mr. J. Barcroft, in discussing the metabolism of glands generally, pointed out 
that there were three methods which had been used for the investigation of their 
gaseous metabolism. In the first an excised organ was kept in an enclosed space, 
and the surrounding air analysed. This method had been dealt with by 
Mr. Fletcher, who had pointed out that the method shed light on the catabolic 
phase of activity only. In the second method the general gaseous exchanges of 
the body were watched during states of rest and activity of the organ to be 
investigated. This, however, was inapplicable to the glands of the body on 
account of their small size. The third method was that of measuring the blood 
gases, combined with an estimation of the rate of flow of blood through the 
land. 
“i Three glands have been studied by this method up to the present—the sub- 
maxillary, the pancreas, andthe kidney. In the submaxillary gland the problem 
was very complicated, since the blood became concentrated, losing 4 tenth of its 
water, or even more, and a considerable quantity of the carbonic acid left the gland 
in the secretion. After due allowance had been made for these disturbing 
factors, it appeared that the O intake and the CO, output were increased from 
three- to four-fold during stimulation of the chorda tympani nerve. As to how 
far these changes might be due to concomitant vascular changes was studied by 
examining the gaseous exchanges of an atropinised gland during stimulation of 
the chorda. It was found that this led to no increase in the amounts of O 
withdrawn, though an increased output of CO, was observed. 
In the pancreas, which had been studied in conjunction with Professor 
Starling, there was often no increased flow of blood synchronously with a secre- 
tion following an injection of secretin. They invariably found an increased 
absorption of O. Usually this increase was considerable: thus, from eight com- 
parisons the mean quantity of O taken up by the resting gland was 1°65 c.c. per 
minute, and by the active gland 5°65 c.c. per minute. These results were entirely 
in harmony with those brought forward by Professor Brodie for the kidney. 
It seemed, then, that glandular activity was accompanied by a large and 
instantaneous consumption of O, but that it was not necessarily accompanied by 
an increased CO, output. 
