COD LIVER OIL IN INFLUENZA. 
563 
remains in the hock joints. The animal was carefully put to work, 
at which he has continued to the present time. When urged beyond 
a fair pace, he makes some noise in respiration; but in the question 
of usefulness he stands almost as high as ever. 
Remarks .—A common way of settling the question of the cause of 
emaciation in chronic pulmonary disease, is to say that the blood is 
not properly oxygenized, which I hold to mean that, in consequence 
of the smaller extent of surface, the amount of oxygen taken into 
the blood is not sufficient for the purpose of supporting life. To the 
casual inquirer this is a very simple way of escaping a difficulty; 
but a close analysis will shew the answer to be any thing but a 
satisfactory one. What is the invariable effect observed when an 
animal is placed in such a position that he will inhale the smallest 
possible amount of oxygen; in other words, in a state of quiescence] 
—a deposition of hydro-carbonaceous material on the surface of 
his body in the form of fat, of course assuming that such material 
has been furnished in the food. Again, what effect is observed in 
chronic pulmonary disease, still assuming hydro-carbon to be taken 
into the system in the usual food]—a rapid removal of such 
matter. A mere admission of these two positions shews us the 
fallacy of assigning the cause to imperfect oxygenation. If a smaller 
amount of oxygen were taken in, a smaller amount of hydro-carbon 
must, of necessity, be consumed, and, as an inevitable result, a 
larger amount of fat must be deposited. To the extent of surface 
in diseased lungs, that is, where tubercles and vomicse exist, I do 
not attach much importance; for one invariable effect of this is 
increase in the number of respirations per minute, mostly to double 
the normal amount: therefore, even allowing the surface to be 
lessened one-half, we should still have an equivalent quantity of 
oxygen in a given time taken into the circulation. To account 
for the emaciation in respiratory disease, we must first look to 
sympathetic disease of the digestive organs and nervous system, 
by which nutrition is interfered with. The amount of hydro-carbon 
taken in is insufficient to supply fuel for combustion; and so far 
from the quantity of oxygen being relatively less, it is relatively 
greater than in a normal condition ; while the absence of fatty 
matter is in a measure supplied, I think, we may infer by the decom¬ 
position of protiene, which, instead of suffering only a sufficient 
amount of oxydation to form fibrine, is partly taken to play that 
part in the functions of the animal economy which in a state of 
health is destined to the fatty tissues: thus we account for the 
obvious wasting and deficiency of animal heat. 
This reasoning is supported by noting the successful adminis¬ 
tration of agents containing large proportions of fatty or hydro- 
carbonaceous matter; as in the use of naphtha some years ago, 
