The Kinetics of Starvation. I I . the Loss of Weight in Pigeons Subsisting on Water

In a previous paper ~ it was shown that the single cycle symmetrical form of the autocatalytic law could not by itself be made to represent the changes of weight during the entire course of starvation in pigeons suffering from partial inanition. By the addition of two autocatalytic curves, however, a procedure which recognized the cyclical nature of the process, it was found that very good agreement between theoretical and observed losses in weight could be obtained. Consequently, it was suggested that the course of starvation is governed by the rate of destruction of body protein and that it is modified by the amount and by the rate of destruction of reserve tissues. Plausible as this conclusion is, it could not be applied to the phenomena of complete inanition without experimental verification. The present paper, accordingly, deals with the application of the earlier principles to the problem of pure starvation.