[*] Address delivered before the New York State Medical Society, April 28,
1914, to which has been added a further note regarding studies
of hydrogen ion concentration in the blood.
In this paper I formulate a theory which I hope will harmonize a large
number of clinical and experimental data, supply an interpretation
of certain diseases, and show by what means many diverse causes
produce the same end effects.
Even should the theory prove ultimately to be true, it will in the mean
time doubtless be subjected to many alterations. The specialized
laboratory worker will, at first, fail to see the broader clinical view,
and the trained clinician may hesitate to accept the laboratory findings.
Our viewpoint has been gained from a consideration of both lines
of evidence on rather a large scale.
The responsibility for the kinetic theory is assumed by myself,
while the responsibility for the experimental data is shared fully
by my associates, Dr. J. B. Austin, Dr. F. W. Hitchings, Dr. H. G. Sloan,
and Dr. M. L. Menten.[t]
[t] From H. K. Cushing Laboratory of Experimental Medicine,
Western Reserve University, Cleveland.