RATIONALE FOR USE OF VITAMINS IN THE THERAPY OF SHOCK AND ANOXIA

Abstract

To many it may seem that a discussion of the rationale for the use of vitamins in the therapy of conditions other than those produced by avitaminosis is, on the face of it, absurd. However, as I hope to be able to point out, there is a very definite reason for their use, and probably for their administration in fairly large quantities, in conditions associated with anoxia of various types. I believe that I can best clarify this concept by a brief discussion of research done at the Department of Pharmacology of Vanderbilt Medical School by a group under the direction of Dr. Paul D. Lamson. In 1940 work was begun in this laboratory in an effort to discover something about the causation and therapy of shock. Of course it had been well established by other workers that shock is associated with a pronounced decrease in circulating blood volume, with