SOME THERMOANALYTIC STUDIES OF ORGAN AND WHOLE ANIMAL RESPIRATION

Data on the respiratory rates of frog liver, kidney, and striated muscle were obtained at various temperatures by the Warburg method. Fundamental differences in the curves of Q(O(O2) )vs. T exist among the tissues and between the tissues and the whole animal. The Arrhenius plots of these curves show that at least for some tissues the availability of oxygen at the tissue, as limited by the diffusion of gas through the skin and lungs, governs the Q(O(O2) ) of the tissue. Inferences are drawn regarding the comparative metabolism of the tissues and the fallacy of using whole animal Q(O(O2) ) alone as a metabolic index.