Abstract
The experiments herein reported were designed to study the possible changes of blood anhydremia that might be associated with acute paroxysms of fever in adult man. That water plays an important role in the regulation of body temperature has long been recognized in both experimental and clinical work. The relationship is, however, a complicated one. Dehydration fevers have been produced experimentally and are recognized clinically. Excessive thirst is a frequent concomitant of fever and the administration of adequate amounts of water is a recognized factor in the treatment of varied types of fever. The details of the regulation mechanism of water distribution, water content and body temperature seem to vary widely in different species of homothermous animals, and in man it may vary with many factors, such as age, body weight, surface area, character of skin covering, etc. With these considerations in mind, it seems obvious that the analysis of the details of the mode of temperature regulation in a given animal species does not necessarily apply to that of a different species of homothermous animal, or even of the same animal at different stages of its life cycle.
Barbour and his associates have presented many cogent contributions suggesting that blood concentration is an essential factor in temperature regulation against cold and that blood dilution is a factor in regulating against heat. His method of measuring the density of the blood reveals these changes in the peripheral blood. From these changes in density he has calculated the volume changes of hydration or dehydration of the blood necessary to produce the density change.
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