[Gutenberg 46356] • The Toxicity of Caffein: An experimental study on different species of animals

Comparative physiology has established the fundamental fact that some properties are common to all forms of living matter. But the same method of inquiry has also led to the recognition of marked differences in the physiological processes of various species of animals. Among the most important investigations which contributed to the knowledge of such variation of function are the studies in comparative metabolism. It is now recognized that metabolism is in some respects quite different in herbivora and in carnivora. Some forms of oxidation are much greater in the rabbit than in cats and dogs. Nuclein metabolism presents important differences in the rabbit and in man, while the mode of neutralizing acid in the body may be cited as another variation in the metabolism of these forms. Perhaps the most striking examples of differences in the metabolism of different organisms is furnished by the results of studies on the fate of certain poisons introduced into the body.