Previous investigations in this series have presented normal standards for the principal acid and base constituents of the blood serum during the neonatal period. The new-born infant was shown to have a lower carbon dioxide content and a higher chloride content in the serum than the normal adult.1
It was subsequently noted that this mild, compensated acidosis was of the metabolic type and dependent on an accumulation of chloride in the blood, possibly associated with inability of the kidneys to excrete chloride during the period of partial dehydration.2
More recent studies have shown that the addition of cow's milk to the diet of the new-born infant leads to a fall in the carbon dioxide content of the serum, accompanied by a decrease in serum ph.3 Other workers have studied the effect of changes in the electrolyte intake of similar magnitude in adults, older children, infants and