Narcosis and Asphyxiation in Some Species and Mutants of Drosophila

This paper is concerned with (1) the relationship between narcosis and asphyxiation, (2) the physiological analysis of the insect organism, (3) the influence on recovery from narcosis or asphyxiation of age, pH of food, etc., and (4) the differences in narcosis in Drosophila species, subspecies and mutants. (1) Different physiological schools seek to explain the effects of narcosis in various ways, such as asphyxiation, solution of the narcotic in lipoids, its absorption or permeation, etc. In this paper some similarities and differences between asphyxiation and narcosis are described, while experiments dealing with their interaction are discussed. (2) Narcotization is an excellent method for the physiological analysis of organisms, as was first emphasized by Claude Bernard (1875). The trachealization of the central nervous system in insects is especially favourable for study, since the circulatory system does not interfere as it does in vertebrates. Volatile narcotics can pass almost directly from the atmosphere to the nervous tissue, as can oxygen after asphyxiation (Kalmus,