410 STRONG AND CROWELL. 



increase and multiply and produce the disease; for in several 

 instances where the loss of weight of the individuals was marked 

 and their general condition poor, as was manifested by the 

 occurrence of erosions about the corners of the mouth, sore 

 mouth and tongue, and conjunctivitis, no symptoms of beriberi 

 developed. Indeed, from our experiments there is no evidence 

 of any nature which suggests that beriberi is an infectious 

 disease, and on the contrary the evidence is definite that beriberi 

 in the Phili|)pine Islands is due to the prolonged consumption of 

 a diet which lacks certain substances necessary for the normal 

 physiological needs of the human body. That the disease en- 

 countered was true beriberi was confirmed definitely by the 

 lesions encountered in the pathological study. As to the de- 

 finite chemical nature of the substance or substances in the food 

 whose presence prevents the development of beriberi further 

 investigations are necessary, but from a practical standpoint as 

 we are cognizant of the etiology of the disease, its cure and pre- 

 vention is a simple problem. For the prevention and cure of 

 beriberi in man all that is necessary is that he shall be supplied 

 with a liberal and nutritious diet suitable to the physiological 

 needs of the body. The recent researches of Schaumann,^^ of 

 Chamberlain, Vedder, and Williams,^^ of Funk,^° of Axelholst,^^ 

 and of Simpson ^- have thrown much light upon the question of 

 the nature of the protective substance in the diet. Nevertheless, 

 the opinions are not yet in accord in regard to its exact chemical 

 nature which still appears to be unknown. 



Fraser and Stanton ^^ have repeatedly called attention to the 

 fact that the phosphorus content of the rice serves as an indi- 

 cation of the extent to which the rice has been polished and have 

 suggested that any rice which contains 0.4 per cent or more of 

 phosphorus pentoxide might be regarded as safe for a staple 

 article of diet in preventing polyneuritis gallinarum in fowls 

 and, hence, beriberi in man. They state — "None of the rices 

 connected with outbreaks of beriberi yielded more than 0.26 

 per cent of phosphorus pentoxide. The rices substituted for 

 these and which were effective in preventing the continuance of 



""Arch. f. Schiffs- u. Trop.-Hyg. (1912), 16, 28. This article also gives 

 the references to this author's earlier publications on this subject. 



'''This Journal, Sec. B (1912), 7, 39. This article also gives the refer- 

 ences to the earlier publications of these authors. 



"'Journ. Physiol (1911), 43, 395. 



"' Trans. Soc. Trap. Med. & Hyg. (1911), 5, 76. 



^ Ihid., 87. 



""Loc. cit. and also Lancet (1911), 2, 1159. 



