VARIATIONS IN THE REDUCING POWER (SUGAR) OF NORMAL HUMAN BLOOD

Abstract

Although the literature contains numerous determinations of the blood sugar in man, it seems to us that for some reason most of this material is unsatisfactory for the purpose of establishing a norm or reference level. We agree with Gray¹ (1923) that: "Standards should be founded not only on a careful examination of a few persons, but on a statistical analysis of many persons." His search of the literature yielded only two series of blood sugar determinations which he considered long enough for statistical treatment, and we find that only few satisfactory series have appeared since his paper was written. Many of the longer series which have been published are based on hospital material, and although we may be told that the patients were under treatment for conditions which were presumed not to have any effect on the blood sugar, the fact that they were under treatment at all is,