THE USE OF A MEASURABLE CAUSE OF DEATH (HEMORRHAGE) FOR THE EVALUATION OF AGING

Abstract

1. There has been need for a reliable experimental standard for the process of aging. Chronological age is a poor standard owing to irrelevant changes and individual variability. Longevity does not indicate the rate of aging because it depends not only upon aging but also upon intrinsic death rate, individual variability, and the selective effect of experimental treatment upon resistance to specific diseases. 2. The use of a known measurable cause of death (hemorrhage) on healthy animals of various ages reproduces the known mortality curve for rats, and differentiates this measure of the aging process from individual variation. 3. The possibilities for the use of this method in determining the nature of the aging process are pointed out.