Unpublished paper, 'Observations on the relation which exists between the respiratory organs of animals and the preservation of independent temperatures' by George Macilwain

Description

Macilwain disagrees with the prevailing opinion that the temperature maintained by animals above the surrounding medium is proportionate to the extent of their respiration, citing many instances among different classes of animals in which he can trace no such correspondence, and others, on the contrary, where increased powers of respiration appear to diminish instead of raising the animal temperature. Therefore he suggests respiration is a refrigerating rather than a heating process.

Annotations in pencil and ink throughout.

Subject: Zoology / Physiology

Received 11 May 1843. Communicated by William Lawrence.

Whilst the Royal Society declined to publish this paper in full, an abstract of the paper was published in volume 4 of Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London [later Proceedings of the Royal Society] as 'Observations on the relation which exists between the respiratory organs of animals, and the preservation of independent temperatures'.

Reference number

AP/26/9

Earliest possible date

May 1843

Physical description

Ink and graphite pencil on paper

Page extent

37 pages

Format

Manuscript