THE ESTIMATION OF CARBON DIOXID TENSION IN ALVEOLAR AIR

BATTLE CREEK, MICH.  Metabolic disorders are often accompanied by a disturbance of the equilibrium between acids and bases in the blood. Of frequent occurrence is an excess of acids over bases, a condition designated by the term "acidosis." A departure from the normal in the opposite direction is termed "alkalosis." Either of these conditions is an intoxication which in its intense form leads to symptoms of gravest import. Under normal conditions, this is very efficiently guarded against by physiologic mechanisms for the preservation of the neutrality in the body fluids, as shown by L. J. Henderson.¹Reported observations along this line by A. W. Sellards² and others show that there are evidently forms of acidosis different from the one so common in diabetes. On the whole, acidosis is of frequent occurrence. It has been recognized in children during the exanthems, in high continued fever, in even slight intestinal