NUTRITION AND GROWTH: I. 



33 



that all the animals on low diet were in a stage of starvation. Indeed^ 

 while their body weights remained constant, or were increased slightly, 

 the animals were losing body substance, so that, while 1 gram of live 

 weight of dog VI represented only 0.55 calories, the same weight of dog V 

 represented 1.42 calories. This latter value agrees well with Rnbner's 

 findings (1 gram of dog equals 1.50 calories). Nearly two-thirds of the 

 energy which dog number VI had stored at the time the experiment began 

 must have been consumed during the experiment. 



Diagram 3.- 



Ash Protein ral 



-Composition ot bones of dogs V and VI of Experiment II. 



It is quite interesting to compare the composition of the dogs which 

 were kept on a low diet and the body weights of which remained con- 

 stant or even increased slightly with that of adult animals which have 

 undergone starvation. 



During starvation of adult animals all parts of the body, even the 

 skeleton, lose in mass. Skin, hair, and organs lose more than the muscles, 

 but in our young dogs the muscles lose considerably more than the 

 organs, which suffer scarcely any loss. Muscles, organs, brain, and spinal 

 cord of a starved adult dog have the same water content as they have 

 with normal dogs ; the blood even becomes somewhat richer in solids. 

 The converse is true with our dogs for there is a large decrease of solids, 

 which is the most pronounced in the blood. However, in one respect the 

 phenomenon is the same for starved young and for adult dogs, that is, 

 the loss of fat from the muscles is comparatively greater than that from 

 the organs. 



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