STUDY OF THE PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY OF ANAESTHESIA 
According to the law of distribution, the amounts dissolved by the lipoids and 
by the water respectively will be proportional to the total amount of each present, 
and to the coefficient of distribution (40), and if there be x parts per cent, of lipoid 
and 100 — x of water, we have the following equation : — 
x x 40 Amount dissolved by lipoids 
(100 — x) x I Amount dissolved by water 
or x x 40 + (100- x) Total amount dissolved 
100 - x Amount dissolved by water 
or in 100 c.c. of the serum — 
39* + 100 Total amount dissolved in 100 c.c. of serum 
100 - x Amount dissolved by the water of 100 c.c. of serum 
Now the solubility in serum is 4 per cent., and in water is 0*95 per cent., and 
substituting these values we obtain — 
4 
39* 
0-95 
100 
400 
.-. ?o.v + 100 = — 
0-95 
the value of x obtained from this equation is x = 8*23. That is to say, in order to 
explain the solubilities which we have observed upon the lipoid theory, it would be 
necessary to suppose that the serum we used contained approximately 8*23 per cent, 
of lipoids. 
We have found by experiment that the coefficient of distribution increases as 
the concentration rises, for the higher percentages of 'chloroform , and lies far above forty. 
On account of this change in coefficient of distribution, the amount of lipoid necessary 
to account for the solubilities observed is lower than that derived in the above calcula- 
tion ; but the amount of ethereal extractive in blood serum as a result of several 
determinations we have found to be only 0*24 to 0*36 per cent., and this amount 
is obviously entirely inadequate to account for the solubilities observed. 
The same reasoning applies to all the other anaesthetics which we have tested, 
the increased solubilities cannot be referred to the action of the small amounts of 
lipoid in the serum, and can only arise from a union of some type between the anaes- 
thetic and the proteid. 
