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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLVII. No. 1214 



by the fact that the wash water gave no test 

 for catalase. The tissues were then removed 

 and ground up separately in a hashing 

 machine. The catalase of one gram of the 

 different tissues was determined by adding 

 this amoimt of material to 50 c.c. of hydrogen 

 peroxide in a bottle at 22° C, and as the 

 oxygen gas was liberated, it was conducted 

 to an inverted, graduated vessel, previously 

 filled with water. After the oxygen gas thus 

 collected in ten minutes had been reduced to 

 standard atmospheric pressure, the resulting 

 volume was taken as a measure of the amount 

 of catalase in the gram of material. The 

 material was shaken in a shaking machine at 

 a fixed rate of 180 double shakes per minute 

 during the determinations. It was found that 

 the catalase of all the tissues of the diabetic 

 dogs was decreased, the greatest decrease be- 

 ing in the heart and liver. The catalase of 

 the heart was decreased by about 48 per cent, 

 while that of the liver was decreased by about 

 12 per cent. 



" Surgical Shock." — The condition of 

 shock " was produced in cats and dogs by 

 handling and manipulating the intestines. It 

 was found that as the blood pressure decreased 

 and the condition of " shock " developed, there 

 was an accompanying decrease in the catalase 

 of the blood, and that when the condition of 

 " shock " was fully developed as was indicated 

 by a fall in blood pressure to approximately 

 30 mm. of mercury, the catalase had decreased 

 aboiit 40 per cent, from the normal. Hender- 

 son observed that oxidation was decreased in 

 " surgical shock " with resulting acidosis. 

 Cannon has shown that in man in conditions 

 of tramnatic shock there is a condition of 

 acidosis which is relieved by injections of 

 solutions of sodium bicarbonate. 



Anesthesia. — The anesthetics used were 

 ether, chloroform, chloral hydrate, nitrous ox- 

 ide, and magnesium sulfate. The animals 

 used were cats, dogs, and rabbits. The ether 

 and chloroform were administered by bubbling 

 air through the respective anesthetics in a 

 bottle, which was connected by a rubber tube 

 to a cone adjusted over the snout of the ani- 

 mal. Chloral hydrate anesthesia was produced 



by the introduction into the stomachs of rab- 

 bits of 10 c.c. of a 2 per cent, solution of 

 chloral hydrate jier kilo of body weight. A 

 mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen in the 

 poportion of one to five was administered to 

 cats in the production of nitrous oxide anes- 

 thesia, while magnesium sulfate anesthesia 

 was produced by the subcutaneous injection 

 of 7.5 c.c. of a 20 per cent, magnesium sulfate 

 solution per kilo of body weight. It was 

 found that the catalase of the blood was de- 

 creased by all of these anesthetics and that 

 the extent of the decrease was proportional to 

 the depth of anesthesia. Chloroform and 

 nitrous oxide, in keeping with their rapid 

 action as anesthetics, decreased the catalase 

 of the blood very quickly, whereas chloral hy- 

 drate and magnesium sulfate, in keeping with 

 their slower action, decreased the catalase 

 much more slowly, while ether occupied an 

 intermediate position in this respect. It is 

 recognized that there is a decrease in oxidation 

 with resulting acidosis in anesthesia and that 

 this is more likely to occur with a powerful 

 anesthetic, such as chloroform, than with ether. 



Starvation. — Four rabbits were used in this 

 experiment. Two of them were killed before 

 the period of starvation was begun, and after 

 washing the blood vessels free of blood, the 

 catalase of the different tissues was determined 

 according to the method described in this 

 paper under " diabetes." The remaining two 

 rabbits were starved for six days, and at the 

 end of this time the catalase of the tissues 

 was determined in the same manner as that of 

 the unstarved rabbits. It was found that the 

 catalase of the voluntary muscles was de- 

 creased during starvation by 40 per cent.; 

 that of the fat by 70 per cent.; while it re- 

 mained normally high in the heart. 



The conclusion is drawn that the defective 

 oxidation in diabetes and the decreased oxi- 

 dation in anesthesia, starvation, and " surgical 

 shock "with resulting acidosis is propably due 

 to the decrease in catalase, an enzyme found 

 in the tissues and possessing the property of 

 liberating oxygen from hydrogen peroxide. 



W. E. BURGE 



Physiological Laboratory op the 

 Universitt op Illinois 



