14 



ANALYSIS OF DISTURBANCES OF METABOLISM 



weighed 57 kilograms. Choosing his diet freely this person consumed, year 

 in, year out, only 54.3 grams of albumin (with 32.4 grams of pure albumin), 

 22 grams of fat and 557 grams of carbohydrates, and maintained the same 

 body-weight. 



The investigations in metabolism of Hirsehfeld, Klemperer, Peschel, 

 Kumagawa, Breisacher, and lately also of Siven and Albu, give even smaller 

 values as the albumin minimum. The following table is a comparative com- 

 pilation of the food values with which individual persons experimented upon 

 were able to maintain their N-equilibrium. 



Table II 



The albumin interchange in the professional fasters, Cetti and Breithaupt 

 (calculated from the N-figures of the urine by multiplying by 6.25), gave 

 on the other hand : ^ 



Therefore, it is evident from the table that with a sufficient calory admin- 

 istration in food products free of nitrogen the albumin requirement may fall 

 far below 118 grams, and even below the metabolism under complete with- 

 drawal of food. 



Theoretically this fact, determined by such numerous, painstaking inves- 

 tigations, is of the greatest scientific interest. But caution has been quite 

 properly enjoined upon us not to draw far-reaching conclusions from such 



1 " Untersuchungen an zwei hungerndcn Menschen." 

 Suppl.-Heft, pp. 21 u. 68. 



Virchow's Arch., vol. cxxxi, 



