The growth, growth energy, and ageing of the chicken’s heart

Abstract

The growth energy of the chicken's heart is defined, measured, and found to decline exponentially with age; it proves to be proportional to the specific growth rate of the heart in vivo. The growth of the heart can therefore be described by a Gompertz equation. The relation between growth, cell movement, metabolism and differentiation is discussed, as well as the relevance of the Gompertz equation to problems of relative growth and senescence.