ABSTRACT
Interpretation of whole animal experiments is further complicated by the participation of hormones in the control of carbohydrate metabolism. A morphine-induced change in the balance between carbohydrate and fat metabolism in liver is indicated by Kyo’s observation in the rabbit that the increased lactate level in blood is accompanied by a decrease in the acetone bodies. In 1940 F. E. Shideman and M. H. Seevers reported that respiration of minced skeletal muscle of rabbit was increased by morphine and thebaine, especially with pyruvate as added substrate, and the drugs apparently antagonized the stimulatory effect of added thiamine. The fact that morphine depresses the rate of glucose uptake by muscle from a chronically morphinized animal is of much greater significance, for in this respect the drug mimics the action of adrenal hormones. While the effect of morphine on cellular respiration has been a matter of controversy, cocaine has provoked no dispute.
