STUDIES ON TISSUES OF FASTING ANIMALS. 403 



role of the liver is correct it may also clear up the problem of the 

 cause of the premortal rise in the nitrogen elimination. The 

 latter was thought to be due either to an exhaustion of the entire 

 supply of fat or to an excessive disintegration of cells. Neither 

 the one nor the other of these hypotheses can be considered 

 beyond criticism, because even in animals succumbing to a 

 much protracted fast there is still sufficient fat present/ whereas 

 there is no histological evidence of an unusual cellular destruction 

 towards the end of the fast. A morphological and physiological 

 degeneration of the liver interfering in some manner unknown to 

 us with the endogenous fat metabolism probably results in an 

 increased demand upon the body proteins which hastens the 

 death of the animal. 



In this connection it is interesting to point out that fat has 

 never been demonstrated in tissues which in the fasting organism 

 are among the strongest consumers, such as nervous and muscular 

 tissues. The glandular tissues on the other hand, which are 

 more or less deprived of their proper activity during a fast 

 invariably show the presence of fat globules, according to 

 Nicolaides. Later these fat globules disappear, leaving "empty 

 spaces" which evidently correspond to our vacuoles. Nicolaides 

 observed that in the gland cells of the duodenum and the pylorus 

 small fat globules appear as soon as the animals commence to 

 fast, whereby they invariably assume a regular arrangement in 

 two parallel rows. We cannot agree with Nicolaides who con- 

 siders the fat globules as "degenerative," and certainly see no 

 reason for his assumption, — ^since their arrangement within 

 the ceir points against the supposition of a migration from fat 

 depots, — that they are formed from the protein constituents. 

 The fact that in the submaxillary gland the fat globules appear 

 only in the albuminous cells but never in the mucous or crescent 

 cells, which has been observed by both Statkewitch and Nico- 

 laides, cannot be taken as good proof of a formation of fat from 

 protein. Also these facts become plain in the light of our 

 hypothesis that the early appearance of the fat globules speaks 

 decisively against any supposition that they result from degenera- 

 tive transformation. We believe, on the contrary, that this is 



1 In the case of a dog which fasted 117 days and subsequently 1 04 days there were 

 large masses of fatty tissue in the abdominal cavity at the time of death. 



