17, 4 
Sison: Experimental Starvation 
417 
The lungs during absolute starvation yielded a hyper-resonant 
or vesiculo-tympanitic percussion note throughout, probably due 
to marked loss of water in the lung tissue. 
The heart was diminished in outline in both diameters, due 
either to the increased resonance of the lungs, which may pos- 
sibly affect the area of dullness of the heart, or to a diminution 
in size of the organ through the loss mainly of water and partly 
of the pericardial fat. Other observers speak of a very slight 
change in the size of the heart, and they believe the organ is 
scarcely affected by starvation, in the sense that its size is but 
slightly diminished. Should this be the case, slight diminution 
ought not to be followed by distinct contraction of cardiac out- 
line. My findings, however, give such diminution. Probably 
the vesiculo-tympanitic sound detected in the lungs in this case 
may have to do with the apparent contraction of cardiac dullness. 
There was a lowering of blood pressure of from 10 to 15 
millimeters, and the pulse was slow — from 10 to 15 beats less 
than normal — volume large, tension low, rhythm regular. The 
red blood cell count was below normal, haemoglobin normal. 
There was, however, a distinct decrease of leucocytes, about 
4,000 being found per cubic millimeter. 
The liver was distinctly diminished in outline by percussion. 
The upper boundary was on the level of the upper border of the 
sixth rib, and the lower one about 3 centimeters above the 
costal margin. 
The spleen was also diminished in size by percussion. The 
most probable explanation of this diminution in size is due, on 
the one hand, to loss of water in the liver and spleen tissues, 
giving rise to actual diminution in size of both organs; and, on 
the other hand, the adventitious vesiculo-tympanitic note of the 
lungs may have something to do in exaggerating the said dimi- 
nution. 
On inspection of the abdomen the peristaltic movement of the 
intestines was distinctly seen, with borborygmi at times, felt 
by palpation. 
There is a sweetish odor, like that of acetone, to the breath. 
For the sake of comparison I shall quote an experiment of 
prolonged fasting carried on very recently in the National Nu- 
tritional Laboratory in Boston, by Benedict. 3 The length of the 
fast was thirty-one days. 
The subject * * * took only 900 c. c. of distilled water a day by 
mouth. He lost 13.25 kg., which was 21 per cent, of his normal weight. 
Prolonged fasting, Journ. Am. Med. Assoc. 65 (1915) 956. 
