Hibernation and Marmot Physiology

A number of important conclusions are drawn from work reported in this volume: (1) that the respiratory quotient of the marmot gives no evidence of carbohydrate synthesis from fat; (2) that the metabolism in hibernation is qualitatively the same as in the fasting state; (3) that the metabolism is greater in hibernation than in cold-blooded animals of the same size; (4) that although carbon dioxide narcosis produces a state similar to hibernation, the authors believe the two are not identical; (5) that much work needs to be done to clarify the mechanism of hibernation. The merit in the work is mainly in repeating under conditions of careful control what had been done by other experimenters. The discussion is wordy and sometimes uncritical. For example they say "From our long experience in studying the effect of muscular activity of itself upon metabolism it is inconceivable to think that any appreciable percentage