The study described in this thesis represents an effort to determine the biochemical and biophysical events associated with the syndrome clinically known as "shock".

Tryptophan is one of the essential amino acids required by the mammalian body for protein anabolism. In recent years increasing interest has arisen in its intermediary metabolism. This is evidenced by the mass of literature which has appeared describing various aspects of its degradation. A number of pathways of tryptophan breakdown have been described and partially clarified, but only a portion of the total tryptophan intake by the mammalian body can be accounted for by the excretion of its known metabolites. Numerous studies have been made on variations in the urinary excretion of individual metabolites or on the appearance in the urine of metabolites detected in the urine of normal subjects.

The enzymic hydrolysis of organic phosphate esters was first noticed in the beginning of the twentieth century. The enzymes catalyzing this reaction were found to occur in many microorganisms and in most animal and plant tissues. In 1907 Suzuki, Yoshimura and Takaishi (1) reported that phytin was hydrolysed by an enzyme present in rice and wheat bran, which liberates inorganic phosphate. [...]

Systematic studies on the metabolic activities of nervous tissue began with the classical studies of Warburg, Posener and Negelein. They measured oxygen consumption, aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis of several tissues of the rat in an attempt to investigate the differences between the metabolism of neoplastic and normal tissues. Among their normal tissues they included brain cortex slices and retina. [...]

It has been repeatedly demonstrated that the concentration of certain enzymes in the serum and muscle of patients with muscular dystrophy is not normal. Although this abnormality is not specific for this disease, nevertheless it can be used to confirm diagnosis of muscular dystrophy. We have used the ethyl ester of gamma butyrobetaine (gBBE) in an attempt to reproduce the abnormalities seen in muscular dystrophy. [...]

The vast amount of literature accumulated during the past few decades has led to the establishment of the fundamental and central role of phosphorus in living systems. Its presence as a constituent of biologically important compounds and in cellular structure has been known for a long time. [...]

The term central depressant is used to cover those centrally acting drugs which can be used to produce general anaesthesia, to induce sleep, to diminish pain, to prevent or mollify seizures, or to diminish or abolish excessive sensation; in short to diminish some aspect of central nervous function, normal or abnormal. Even among those drugs which have in general the same sequence of effects upon the nervous system, the chemical constitution gives no immediate clue as to a possible common mode of action.

Glycogen is an important source of energy for animals and has attracted many research workers to study the mechanism of its synthesis and breakdown. In this thesis, effects of some glucose analogues on the biosynthesis of glycogen were investigated. In this connection, it seems pertinent to present reviews on the mechanism of the enzymic synthesis of glycogen and on the effects of glucose analogues on glucose metabolism.

During the past 40 years, the use of stored blood for transfusion into human patients has increased tremendously. The introduction of various refinements in the methods of collecting, handling, and storing blood under aseptic conditions, as well as advances in our understanding of blood groups and the coagulation phenomenon, have led to important improvements in techniques. But, even with the best of care, the useful period of preservation of the red blood cell still is only about three weeks.

The term intestinal absorption implies passage of a substance into the blood stream through the intestinal wall. This term has often been held to be synonymous with the removal of substances from the lumen. Measurement of the disappearance of a substance from the intestinal lumen, may however include more than absorption.