This booklet presents the results of determinations of the basal metabolic rate made by the author on hundreds of patients, in different age groups and under varied conditions, together with copious citations from the literature. The main points of interest are the rates obtained following the administration of medicaments, physical therapy and therapy with various rays, as well as sunlight, and those obtained during acute and chronic infections, disturbances of the internal secretions, pregnancy, tumors and a few psychoses.
Unfortunately, many of the findings are either contradictory or inconclusive, with perhaps the exception of those obtained during the exposure to sunlight or ultraviolet rays and others made on patients with hyperactivity or hypo-activity of the ductless glands. The material is well arranged and well presented, and the brochure as a whole is quite readable and instructive.