THE ANAEROBIC OXYGEN DEBT OF FROG NERVE

Abstract

After a period in nitrogen, a nerve consumes an extra amount of O which, however, is less than I and frequently less than 1/10 of the O of which it was deprived by the administration of nitrogen. This anaerobic O debt increases from values of 1.5 and 2.0 cc. per 100 gm. in June and August to 4.3 and 4.7 cc. per 100 gm. in autumn and winter respectively. The duration of anaerobiosis necessary for the disappearance of the action current is also greater in autumn and winter (3.6 hrs.) than in June and August (1.7 and 3.1 hrs. respectively). The rate of CO2 output may pass through a maximum during recovery from anaerobiosis indicating that part of the excess O used in recovery is involved in some process liberating CO2. The CO2 con-tent of nerve after recovery from N is if anything slightly less than before recovery, indicating that most of the O debt is due to an oxidation reserve. Some similar measurements of the O debt of frog skin are reported which show that this tissue behaves much like frog nerve after anaerobiosis.