A method of breaking down the body weights of living persons into terms of extracellular fluid, cell mass and fat, and some applications of it to physiology and medicine

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Abstract
The volume of the extracellular fluid has been measured by estimating the thiocyanate 'space' and correcting for the penetration of thiocyanate into the erythrocytes. The total body water has been determined by measuring the volume of the body into which a known amount of urea distributed itself and the fat has been determined by difference after making an allowance for minerals. The accuracy of the method has been tested in a number of ways. The composition of the bodies of twenty-one normal and obese men and women have been investigated. A person of standard weight for height contains 16 to 17% of fat. The bodies of ten undernourished Germans recently repatriated from camps for prisoners of war in Russia have been analyzed before and after rehabilitation and the effects have thereby been demonstrated. This method should help to solve a number of physiological, nutritional and medical problems; some of its applications have been indicated and discussed.

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