A treatise on food and diet : with observations on the dietetical regimen suited for disordered states of the digestive organs : and an account of the dietaries of some of the principal metropolitan and other establishments for paupers, lunatics, criminals, children, the sick, &c / by Jonathan Pereira ; edited by Charles A. Lee.

  • Jonathan Pereira
Date:
1843
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A treatise on food and diet : with observations on the dietetical regimen suited for disordered states of the digestive organs : and an account of the dietaries of some of the principal metropolitan and other establishments for paupers, lunatics, criminals, children, the sick, &c / by Jonathan Pereira ; edited by Charles A. Lee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    tion the carbon of the small quantity of food (sausages, butter, beer, and brandy) taken in the alehouse. We have, therefore, to account for the disposal of 15 ozs. 140 grs. avoirdupois (=0702£ grs. troy) of carbon ; nearly the whole of which quantity must have been thrown out of the system by the lungs and the skin in the form of carbonic acid. Now, 6 grs. of carbon combine with 10 grs. of oxygen, and form 22 grs. of carbonic acid. Hence 0702$ grs. troy of carbon require 17,840 grs. of oxygen gas to yield 24,542J grs. of carbonic acid ; and this quantity of oxygen must, therefore, be derived from the air, either by the lungs or skin, or by both. But oxygen is also consumed in the system in the oxidation of hydrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus, and this quantity also must be derived from the same source (the atmosphere) and by the same means. The quantity of oxygen consumed, and of carbonic acid produced, in respiration, by an adult man, in twenty-four hours, has been variously estimated as follows:— Consumption of Oxygen and Production of Carbonic Acid in Respiration by an Adult Man in 24 hours. Oxygen consumed. Cubic In. Grs. Lavoisier & Seguin 46037 or 15661 Menzies . . . . 51480 or 17625 Davy 45504 or 15751 Allen & Pepys . . 39600 or 13164 Coatbupe . . • . Carbonic Acid produced. Cubic In. 14930 or Grs. 8534 31630 or 17811 39600 or 18612 17856 Carbon contained in the Carbonic Acid. Grs. 2820 (French) (English) 4853 (ditto) 5148 (ditto) 2616 (ditto) It is obvious that the highest of these estimates is below the quantity of oxygen re- quired to oxidate the carbon consumed by the Darmstadt soldiers. But in drawing any conclusions Sis to the absolute amount of oxygen consumed in respiration, we must not omit to consider the numerous circumstances which interfere with the results, and render it difficult, if not impossible, to obtain a correct estimate. The management of the ap- paratus, the nicety of the manipulation, the degree of muscular exertion employed, the quantity and quality of the food consumed by the individual experimented on, the state of the system, and various other circumstances, concur in affecting the results. Moreover, it is probable that the skin produces on the air changes analogous to those effected by the lungs : that is, it absorbs oxygen, and evolves carbonic acid. * Furthermore, if the amount of carbonaceous food be less than that supplied to the Darmstadt soldiers, it is obvious that less oxygen will be required to oxidize the carbon. Now, according to Liebig, prisoners in the Bridewell at Marienschloss (a prison where labor is enforced) do not consume more than 105 oz. [Hessian= 11-568 avoirdupois] of carbon daily; those in the House of Arrest at Giessen, who are deprived of all exercise, consume only 9 oz.f [Hessian=9-9 avoirdupois;) and in a family well known to me, consisting of nine individuals, five adults, and four children of different ages, the aver- age daily consumption of carbon for each is not more than 95 oz. (Hessian =10-46 avoirdupois) of carbon. We may safely assume, as an approximation, that the quanti- ties of oxygen consumed in these different cases are in the ratio of these numbers. * See Bostock's Elementary System of Physiology, vol. ii. p. 237, et seq. Lond. 1826. t At p. 36 of the English translation of Liebig's Animal Chemistry, it is stated that 85 oz. of carbon are consumed : but at p. 293, the translator has given reasons for believing that the quantity should be 9oz.