Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Textbook Compartmental Distribution of Radiotracers 1St Edition James S Robertson Ebook All Chapter PDF
Textbook Compartmental Distribution of Radiotracers 1St Edition James S Robertson Ebook All Chapter PDF
https://textbookfull.com/product/forensic-examination-of-
fibres-3-ed-third-edition-robertson-james-ed/
https://textbookfull.com/product/basic-physics-of-radiotracers-
volume-i-1st-edition-w-earl-barnes/
https://textbookfull.com/product/robertson-on-library-security-
and-disaster-planning-1st-edition-robertson/
https://textbookfull.com/product/fundamentals-of-ramsey-
theory-1st-edition-aaron-robertson/
A Woman s Ayurvedic Herbal A Guide for Natural Health
and Well Being 1st Edition Caroline Robertson
https://textbookfull.com/product/a-woman-s-ayurvedic-herbal-a-
guide-for-natural-health-and-well-being-1st-edition-caroline-
robertson/
https://textbookfull.com/product/about-a-girl-rebekah-robertson/
https://textbookfull.com/product/evolution-of-broadcast-content-
distribution-1st-edition-roland-beutler-auth/
https://textbookfull.com/product/the-crossroads-of-civilization-
a-history-of-vienna-first-edition-robertson-angus/
https://textbookfull.com/product/marcus-aurelius-3rd-edition-
donald-j-robertson/
CRC REVIVALS CRC REVIVALS
Edited by
James S. Robertson
ISBN 978-1-138-50575-9
,!7IB1D8-fafhfj!
www.crcpress.com
CRC SERIES IN RADIOTRACERS IN
BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Editor-in-Chief
BIOLOGICAL TRANSPORT OF
GENERAL PROCESSES OF RADIOTRACER
RADIOTRACERS
LOCALIZATION
Lelio G. Colombetti, Sc.D.
Leopold J. Anghileri, D.Sc.
Loyola University
Laboratory of Biophysics
Stritch School of Medicine
University of Nancy
Maywood, Illinois
Nancy, France
BASIC PHYSICS OF RADIOTRACERS
W. Earl Barnes, Ph.D.
RADIATION BIOLOGY Nuclear Medicine Service
Donald Pizzarello, Ph.D. Edward Hines, Jr., Hospital
Department of Radiology Hines, Illinois
New York University Medical Center
New York, New York RADIOBIOASSAYS
Fuad S. Ashkar, M.D.
Radioassay Laboratory
Jackson Memorial Medical Center
RADIOTRACERS FOR MEDICAL
University of Miami School of Medicine
APPLICATIONS
Miami, Florida
Garimella V. S. Rayudu, Ph.D.
Nuclear Medicine Department
COMPARTMENTAL DISTRIBUTION OF
Rush University Medical Center
RADIOTRACERS
Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital
James S. Robertson, M.D., Ph.D.
Chicago, Illinois
Mayo Medical School
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota
RECEPTOR-BINDING RADIOTRACERS
William C. Eckelman, Ph.D. RADIONUCLIDES PRODUCTION
Department of Radiology Frank Helus, Sc.D.
George Washington University School of Institute of Nuclear Medicine
Medicine German Cancer Research Center
Washington, D.C. Heidelberg, Germany
Compartmental
Distribution
of
Radiotracers
Editor
Editor-in-Chief
CRC Series in Radiotracers in Biology and Medicine
This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable
efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot
assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and
publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication
and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any
copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any
future reprint.
Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced,
transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage
or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers.
For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.
copyright.com (http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222
Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organiza-tion that
provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a
photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are
used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Publisher's Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some
imperfections in the original copies may be apparent.
Disclaimer
The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes correspondence from those
they have been unable to contact.
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http:/ /www.taylorandfrancis.com and the
CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com
FOREWORD
This series of books on Radiotracers in Biology and Medicine is on the one hand an
unbelievably expansive enterprise and on the other hand, a most noble one as well. Tools
to probe biology have developed at an accelerating rate. Hevesy pioneered the application
of radioisotopes to the study of chemical processes, and since that time, radioisotopic
methodology has probably contributed as much as any other methodology to the analysis of
the fine structure of biologic systems. Radioisotopic methodologies represent powerful tools
for the determination of virtually any process of biologic interest. It should not be surprising,
therefore, that any effort to encompass all aspects of radiotracer methodology is both desirable
in the extreme and doomed to at least some degree of inherent failure. The current series
is assuredly a success relative to the breath of topics which range from in depth treatises of
fundamental science or abstract concepts to detailed and specific applications, such as those
in medicine or even to the extreme of the methodology for sacrifice of animals as part of a
radiotracer distribution study. The list of contributors is as impressive as is the task, so that
one can be optimistic that the endeavor is likely to be as successful as efforts of this type
can be expected to be. The prospects are further enhanced by the unbounded energy of the
coordinating editor. The profligate expansion of application of radioisotopic methods relate
to their inherent and exquisite sensitivity, ease of quantitation, specificity, and comparative
simplicity, especially with modem instrumentation and reagents, both of which are now
readily and universally available. It is now possible to make biological measurements which
were otherwise difficult or impossible. These measurements allow us to begin to understand
processes in depth in their unaltered state so that radioisotope methodology has proved to
be a powerful probe for insight into the function and perturbations of the fine structure of
biologic systems. Radioisotopic methodology has provided virtually all of the information
now known about the physiology and pathophysiology of several organ systems and has
been used abundantly for the development of information on every organ system and kinetic
pathway in the plant and animal kingdoms. We all instinctively turn to the thyroid gland
and its homeostatic interrelationships as an example, and an early one at that, of the use of
radioactive tracers to elaborate normal and abnormal physiology and biochemistry, but this
is but one of many suitable examples. Nor is the thyroid unique in the appreciation that a
very major and important residua of diagnostic and therapeutic methods of clinical importance
result from an even larger number of procedures used earlier for investigative purposes and,
in some instances, advocated for clinical use. The very ease and power of radioisotopic
methodology tempts one to use these techniques without sufficient knowledge, preparation
or care and with the potential for resulting disastrous misinformation. There are notable
research and clinical illustrations of this problem, which serve to emphasize the importance
of texts such as these to which one can turn for quidance in the proper use of these powerful
methods. Radioisotopic methodology has already demonstrated its potential for opening new
vistas in science and medicine. This series of texts, extensive though they be, yet must be
incomplete in some respects. Multiple authorship always entails danger of nonuniformity of
quality, but the quality of authorship herein assembled makes this likely to be minimal. In
any event, this series undoubtedly will serve an important role in the continued application
of radioisotopic methodology to the exciting and unending, yet answerable, questions in
science and medicine!
The availability of isotopic varieties of the chemical elements has had a strong impact on
many branches of science. For some procedures isotopic tracers make possible methods that
are simply easier or more accurate or more convenient than other methods. More importantly,
however, there are some processes, particularly those involving steady-state conditions, that
before the advent of isotopic tracers were considered to be not accessible to investigation,
but which can be studied with these tracers. In biological studies the radioactive tracers have
been especially useful because external detection methods can be employed in noninvasive
or minimally invasive studies.
The growth of the uses of radioactive tracers has been closely associated with the devel
opment of various mathematical methods for describing the kinetics, or the time course of
distribution of the tracers in the systems of interest. One group of such mathematical pro
cedures is collectively known as compartmental analysis. As is discussed in the text, the
use of comp.'*Tmental analysis involves making a set of simplifying assumptions, called a
model, for the system. A typical model subdivides the system into regions called compart
ments which communicate with each other and with the outside world through the transfer
of material. Compartmental analysis is used in two ways in application to such systems.
First, if the parameters of the system, that is, the compartment sizes and transfer rates, are
known, the mathematical relationships can be used to predict the kinetics of the distribution
of a tracer introduced into the system. The second, or reverse problem is more difficult and
also more fruitful. This involves deducing numerical values for the system parameters from
measurements of the concentration of the tracer. Applications of this have been particularly
fruitful in studies of steady-state systems.
The systems studied by compartmental analysis have grown from those that can be solved
by desk-top, or pencil-and-paper methods to those that require large computers to handle
the multiple relationships and complicated interactions that are involved. Even so, simple
systems remain important and an understanding of them is essential to an appreciation of
the limitations as well as the value of analyses of the more complex systems.
Several excellent books on compartmental analysis have been published. The justification
for another volume on compartmental analysis perhaps lies in the greater emphasis on the
details of computer methods and on the statistical aspects. For those who are new to the
field an historical account of early developments in compartmental analysis is given, and
the basic principles, with some details of the analysis for one, two and three compartment
systems are presented. These also serve to introduce the reader to the terminology and the
notation used. With more than three compartments the mathematical difficulties rapidly
increase, and the use of computers becomes a necessity. In Chapter 3 the mathematical basis
for the analysis of multicompartment systems is developed in detail with emphasis on the
matrix methods for solving systems of linear differential equations. Chapter 4 gives a survey
of various computer programs that have been applied to compartmental analysis, and Chapter
5 presents the details needed for the use of Mones Berman’s SAAM program. The SAAM
program is currently the most comprehensive computer program that has been developed
for compartmental analysis. It has had a marked influence on the development of the field,
and copies of the program are in use in a number of laboratories.
Chapter 6 addresses the problem of the role of statistical analysis in compartmental
analysis. The general field of compartmental analysis has sometimes been criticized for the
lack of attention to the relationships between the inevitable errors, or uncertainty, in the
input data and the confidence limits that can be assigned to the solution values. Chapter 7
should help meet the requirement for treatment of this aspect of the problem.
Mones Berman assisted as a consultant in the preparation of several chapters of this book
and it is a pleasure to acknowledge his contributions. The editors also wish to thank the
individual authors for taking time to write their chapters and for their patience in the long
process between writing and publication.
James S. Robertson
Lelio G. Colombetti
THE EDITOR
Chapter 1
Historical Development......................................................................................................... 1
James S. Robertson
Chapter 2
Basic Principles.................................................................................................................... 11
James S. Robertson
Chapter 3
Mathematical M ethods.........................................................................................................29
Aldo Rescigno
Chapter 4
Application of Computers for Obtaining Numerical Solutions to Compartmental
Models.................................................................................................................................. 67
Richard Moore
Chapter 5
The Use of Computers in Compartmental Analysis: The SAAM and CONSAM
Programs............................................................................................................................... 73
David M. Foster and Ray C. Boston
Chapter 6
Some Statistical Principles in Compartmental Analysis.................................................... 143
Ajit K. Thakur
Chapter 7
Applications.........................................................................................................................177
James S. Robertson
Index 187
1
Chapter 1
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
James S. Robertson
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction................................................................................................................. 2
II. Tracers......................................................................................................................... 2
References................................................................................................................................7
2 Compartmental Distribution of Radiotracers
I. INTRODUCTION
The history of compartmental analysis is linked to that of tracer theory, the discoveries
of radioactivity and the isotopic composition of the natural elements, mathematical devel
opments, and the development of analog and digital computers. In particular, the availability
of radioactive tracers has made possible the noninvasive study of biological systems, and
has opened for investigation areas that previously had been considered to be inaccessible.
II. TRACERS
The word “ tracer” has many meanings. The post office uses it to designate a method
for determining the fate of lost mail. The military uses it to mean a type of ammunition that
marks the trajectory of projectiles by leaving a trail of smoke or fire. In the present context
the term tracer will be restricted to meaning a marked form of a substance that is used to
determine certain properties of the labeled substance in biological systems. These properties
include the exchangeable mass or volume of the substance, its localization, its pathway
through chemical reactions, and its transfer rates into, out of, and through components of
the system.
In general the principles involved in analyzing the behavior of tracers in biological systems
are applicable through analogy to other systems and vice versa. In particular, the principle
of determining a volume by dilution is valid for many systems. Ocean currents and the flow
of liquids through pipes can be studied by use of tracers. The mathematical relationships
applicable to compartmented systems are often formally identical with those found in other
physical systems, in particular in electrical circuits. Nevertheless, the theoretical development
and the examples presented in this book will usually involve the assumption that a biological
system is the objective of the study. Even with this restriction, the use of tracers has become
so widespread that only the early developments can be reviewed here.
The origins of the tracer concept are lost in antiquity, if this is taken to include such
examples as the use of a cowbell to locate a herd and similar applications. The major impetus
for the development of modem tracer theory, however, began with the discovery of radio
activity by Becquerel in 1896. Previously Hering1 had used potassium ferrocyanide to
measure the velocity of blood flow, and others had improved on this method by using dyes
such as fluorescein. In 1897 Stewart2 first reported on the use of the dye indicator-dilution
method to measure cardiac output. Although dye methods remain useful for circulatory
studies,3 their utility is much more restricted than are isotopic methods.
Among the early radiotracer studies of interest is the pioneering work of Hevesy.4 In
particular, Hevesy’s work is often regarded as the beginning of the concept that a chemical
of interest could have an isotopic variant as its label. In 1911 Rutherford had asked Hevesy
to separate radium D (now known to be lead-210) from lead. After 2 years of unsuccessful
efforts, he thought to avail himself of the fact that radium D is inseparable from lead and
to label small amounts of lead by the addition of radium D of known activity. Hevesy and
Paneth first used this method to determine the solubility in water of sparingly soluble salts
such as lead sulfide and lead chromate. They were also able to show that the electrode
potentials of radium D peroxide and lead peroxide were the same, providing further evidence
of the identity of radium D with lead. Later, with other associates, Hevesy first measured
the rate of self-diffusion in lead. His work with mixtures of labeled and unlabeled electrolytes
provided a direct proof of the correctness of the theory of electrolytic dissociation.
In 1924, Hevesy introduced Schoenheimer to the tracer method and they studied the
distribution of labeled lead compounds between cancerous and normal tissue in rabbits.
(Later, Schoenheimer and Rittenberg made important contributions to biochemistry through
studies of labeled materials, particularly in the determination of the turnover rates of body
3
constituents.5) Perhaps the first biological kinetic study with a radioactive tracer was Hevesy’s
study of the uptake of lead by bean seedlings. These studies were only the beginning of
many experiments conducted by Hevesy and his associates with radiotracers in biological
systems, which included permeability studies, red cell labeling, clinical investigations with
water, phosphorus, potassium, and thorium-B, iron metabolism, and the turnover rates of
nucleic acids. His 1935 paper with Chievitz6 on phosphorus metabolism in rats has been
cited7 as being the first radioindicator study in the life sciences with an artificial radionuclide.
Other aspects of the history of isotopic methodology have been reviewed by Hevesy.8 In
recognition of his basic contributions to basic chemistry and to biochemistry, Hevesy received
the 1943 Nobel prize for chemistry.
Of course other workers also soon found applications of the radiotracer method. Some of
the first clinical studies with this method were conducted by Blumgart et al.9 11 in extensive
investigations of the right arm-to-left arm blood circulation time. They achieved their meas
urements by counting the gamma ray tracks from radium C (214Bi) in a Wilson cloud chamber.
Brucer12 has suggested that the honorary title, “ The father of nuclear medicine,” be shared
by Hevesy and Blumgart, with the emphasis on nuclear for Hevesy and on medicine for
Blumgart.
The use of radiotracers to study the kinetics and the basic processes involved in the
transport of substances across biological membranes has been reviewed by Ussing.13' 14
Among tracer methods, the flux ratio analysis has been used extensively for deciding whether
a certain species penetrates membranes by simple diffusion, exchange diffusion, single file
diffusion, or active transport. Active transport is defined as the transfer of a substance against
a chemical potential gradient, or, in the case of charged ions, from a lower to a higher
electrochemical potential. The combined use of tracers and electrophysiological techniques
proved to be powerful tools in the quantification of basic transport processes as well as in
the elucidation of the nature of these processes. The use of radionuclides such as 24Na and
42K made possible studies of such processes as the coupling of active sodium and potassium
transport across cell membranes. Another contribution made possible by tracers is the de
velopment of a three-compartment model (involving two barriers in series) for transepithelial
transport. Ussing15 16 himself was one of the early and prolific contributors to the field of
membrane transport.
Some aspects of the impact of isotopic tracers on physiological concepts were reviewed
by Robertson.18 In particular, studies of the path of carbon in photosynthesis18 and other
metabolic pathways were made possible by the availability of isotopic tracers.
The development of modem imaging instrumentation has been a major factor in promoting
the growth of the use of radioactive tracers in diagnostic nuclear medicine. Radiopharma
ceuticals which more or less selectively localize in certain organs, or in tumors, or at sites
of infection are commercially available and make the study of many internal processes
possible by noninvasive methods.
analysis of complex systems for which the mathematics would be much too unwieldy to
achieve by desk methods. However, the basic principles underlying the analysis of the
kinetics of tracers have their origins in classical mathematical approaches. Some of these
principles were established by Teorell21’22 in studies of the kinetics of drugs. In his first
paper, Teorell formulated a system of linear simultaneous differential equations describing
the absorption, excretion, and intercompartmental transfer rates of drugs administered by
extravascular modes, and solved these using operator notation and determinants to obtain a
second order differential equation, which in turn was solved to yield a multiexponential
expression. These results were used to predict the time course of the concentration of the
drug in blood and tissues of the body. In his second paper, Teorell presented a similar
treatment for drugs administered intravenously as a single injection, this mode being con
sidered as a limiting form of the modes previously considered, and for continuous infusion.
Some experimental data were presented which showed the validity of the equations in
predicting tissue concentrations of the drugs studied.
Solutions of one-compartment and two-compartment models are readily achieved with
elementary mathematical methods.23 These have been, and are, tremendously useful models.
One of the noteworthy early applications was reported by Zilversmit, Entenman, and Fishier24
who in effect used a two-compartment open system to determine the turnover rates of
substances in biochemical reactions. Their analysis of precursor - product relationships is
formally analogous to the parent-daughter relationship found in radioactive decay chains.
The three-compartment and four-compartment systems are the most complex that can be
solved in closed form. In general, solutions for five-compartment systems involve requiring
solutions of at least fourth degree algebraic equations, and higher-order systems require
correspondingly higher-order equations, for which there are no expressions that give exact
solutions. As will be discussed in other chapters, modem digital computer programs char
acteristically use iterative numerical methods to obtain solutions for the complex systems.
The solutions for three-compartment systems are dependent on the initial boundary con
ditions which specify the initial distribution of the label. The solution for the three-com
partment closed system with the label initially in the center compartment was published by
Gellhom, Merrell, and Rankin.25 This is complemented by the solution with the label initially
in an end compartment published by Cohn and Brues.26 A unified presentation of these two
solutions, with explicit formulas for solving for the parameters of the system (compartment
sizes and intercompartment transfer rates) in terms of observations on the tracer, is given
by Robertson, Tosteson, and Gamble,27 and a solution for the complete three-compartment
open system is given by Skinner et al.28
Sheppard and Householder29 recognized a need for a more fundamental treatment of the
mathematical principles involved in compartmental analysis. Their paper begins by showing
the mathematical analogy between interfusion (defined as the mixing of labeled and unlabeled
species of a substance) and the mixing of a solute with a solvent by diffusion. Earlier,
Sheppard30 had introduced the matrix equation method to express the relationships involved
among the constants appearing in differential equations describing transfers between com
partments. This method is again used in the second paper29 to obtain a formula for the
general solution for an n-compartment system, which is then applied to the two- and three-
compartment systems. They discuss the effect of lumping two peripheral compartments in
the three-compartment system and give expressions for handling a system with a continuous
distribution of peripheral compartments.
Berman and Schoenfeld31 recognized the difficulty of obtaining the data necessary to solve
the systems of equations involved in the higher order multicompartment systems, and began
the development of the computer program now called SAAM which is described in another
chapter of this book. This is an iterative program that is capable of producing least-squares
solutions in multicompartmented systems with incomplete data, and to define the boundaries
5
within which the physically possible solutions can lie. Although this program requires a
large computer for execution, its availability has had a major impact on the utilization of
the methods of compartmental analysis.
Hart32'39 considered a number of applications of the compartmental method to noncon
servative steady-state and nonsteady-state systems and to multicompartment systems imbed
ded in nonhomogeneous inaccessible media. This work extends compartmental analysis to
systems in which diffusion gradients are significant in determining transfer rates.
During the 1950s and 1960s, interest in multicompartmental analysis grew rapidly and
there were many contributors to the theoretical developments. Most of the approaches involve
the use of linear differential equations with constant coefficients, in effect treating the
problems of compartmental systems as applications of linear analysis.40 42 There are, how
ever, some systems that can be represented better with integral equations or integro-differ-
ential equations.39’43'46
Along with the purely theoretical developments in compartmental analysis went numerous
practical applications. Matthews47 applied the theory of Rescigno4849 for an open four-
compartment mammillary system to studies of labeled plasma proteins in humans and ani
mals. Other early applications of compartmental analysis in the determination of transfer
rates in, biological systems were reviewed by Robertson.50 A wide-ranging set of theoretical
and applied articles, some of which have already been cited, were presented at a New York
Academy of Sciences conference in 1962.51 Another collection of applications of compart
mental analysis is found among the articles presented at an Oak Ridge symposium.52 More
recently, Spetsieris and Hart53 and Spetsieris54 have analyzed the requirements for the meas
urements necessary in a complex compartmented system to obtain complete solutions. That
is, for a solution to be mathematically feasible, assuming perfect (error-free) data, there is
a certain minimal amount of data that are required. Using an eigenvector approach, they
attempt to define this minimal information requirement. It is recognized that experimental
errors can make a precise solution impossible.
Excellent summaries of the mathematical methods that have been developed in connection
with compartmental analysis appear in several textbooks.55'58 To a large extent, the math
ematical formalism is not uniquely suited to compartmental analysis. The mathematical
analogy to electrical circuits provides a basis for solving compartment problems by analog
computer methods. Other analogies are to be found in the mathematics of heat transfer and
diffusion.
A relatively recent development in the general methods used for solving linear differential
and integro-differential equations is the use of transform methods. These methods convert
differention and integration problems to ones of multiplication and division and therefore
are often simpler to use than the classical methods, but are not applicable to every situation.
In particular, an exposition of the La Place transform method is given in the book by Cheng.59
Another useful transform, particularly when convolution problems are encountered is the
Fourier transform which is treated, for example, in the book by Bracewell.60
Another recent development is the expansion of the compartmental model concept to
include the use of time-varying or stochastic variables as parameters of the system. Matis
and Tolley61 discuss the need for a stochastic approach and give a good introduction to the
mathematics of this approach. They point out that in the real world the simple deterministic
models involve some unlikely restrictions, and the introduction of modifications to allow
for all possibilities creates a system with an intractable number of variables. A relatively
simple stochastic model can often be substituted for a complex deterministic model with
probabilistic variations supplanting the need for detailed causal mechanisms. Interesting
results with this approach have been obtained by Thakur and Rescigno.62 Other recent
references pertinent to this method are Agrafiotis,63 Mehata and Selvam,64 Karmeshu and
Gupta,65 and Parthasarathy and Mayilswani.66 Stochastic models are considered in some
detail in Chapter 3 of this book.
6 Compartmental Distribution of Radiotracers
Although to a large extent our purpose is to present the positive aspects of compartmental
analysis, users of this method should be aware of the numerous shortcomings and pitfalls
inherent in the method. With dependence on computerized analysis for the more complex
systems, an obvious but often overlooked hazard is the unquestioning acceptance of computed
results. With real data there is usually an error range associated with the nominal fit of the
model to the data, so that multiple configurations of the model are statistically compatible
with the data. In any event, goodness of fit is not by itself an adequate test for whether the
model is correct.
Julius67 showed that multiexponential functions are relatively insensitive to variations in
the individual parameters. Three functions having two or three exponential terms each but
with quite different constants produced calculated values of the functions within 5% of each
other for a given time point.
Cocchetto et al.68 discuss the problems arising from the use of pooled data. Using simulated
data they show that averaging the data (concentration in plasma) before subjecting them to
compartmental analysis tends to underestimate the rate constants. Pooling of mono-expo
nential data can result in the introduction of spurious exponential components because of
intersubject variability. They recommend analysis of the individual data sets before averaging
if the experimental situation permits this.
Some authors are skeptical concerning the merits of compartmental analysis in general.
In particular, Zierler69 presents a critique of many aspects of compartmental analysis, in
cluding a discussion of the origins of the method, a definition of compartment, and a
discussion of the question, “ When is compartmental analysis appropriate?” His answer to
this question is, in part, “ In general, however, with the exception of clear-cut physical
phenomenon known on independent grounds to be described by first-order linear equations,
there is usually no a priori case for compartmental analysis. This means that when com
partmental analysis is used, it must be used only as an exercise in curve-fitting, in which
no real-world meaning is attributed to the coefficients and exponents or to the number of
terms; or, if it is the investigator’s aim to associate these with properties of the biological
system, there must be tests of the validity of these assignments.” The critique continues
with discussions of how to carry out the analysis and a review of common errors. The latter
include violation of assumptions (such as using compartmental analysis when there are no
real compartments), inadequate data, and errors in analysis.
Brown70 gives a concise but comprehensive survey of the definitions, methods, and
applications of compartmental analysis. The methods are discussed under several classes of
compartmental structures:
He briefly reviews the current state of application of compartmental analysis in four major
fields: pharmacokinetic modeling, metabolic modeling, ecosystem modeling, and chemical
kinetic modeling. At least for the first category, he expresses an urgent need for more
empirical data as contrasted to “ black-box” modeling.
7
REFERENCES
1. Hering. E. Ztschr. F. Physiology, iii, 85, 1827; quoted by Blumgart, H. and Yens, 0. C., J. Clin.
Invest., 4, 1, 1927.
2. Stewart, G. H., Researches on the circulation time and the influences which affect it. IV. The output of
the heart, J. Physiol., 22, 129, 1897.
3. Zierler, K. L., Circulation times and the theory of indicator-dilution methods for determining blood flow
and volume, in Handbook of Physiology. Section 2: Circulation, Hamilton, W. F. and Dow, P., Eds.,
American Physiology Society, Washington, D.C., 1962, chap. 18.
4. Hevesy, G., Adventures in Radioisotope Research. Pergamon Press, Elmsford, New York, 1962.
5. Schoenheimer, R., The Dynamic State of Body Constituents, Harvard Press, Cambridge, 1942.
6. Chievitz, 0. and Hevesy, G., Radioactive indicators in the study of phosphorus metabolism in rats, Nature
(London). 136, 754, 1935. (Also reprinted in References 4 and 7.)
7. Myers, G., The first radioactive study in the life sciences with a man-made radionuclide, J. Nucl. Med.,
16, 1105, 1975.
8. Hevesy, G., Historical progress of the isotopic methodology and its influences on the biological sciences,
Minerva Nuclear, I, 182, 1957.
9. Blumgart, H. L. and Yens, 0. C., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. I. The method utilized, J. Clin.
Invest., 4, I, 1927.
IO. Blumgart, H. L. and Weiss, S., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. II. The velocity of blood flow in
normal resting individuals and a critique of the method used, J. Clin. Invest .. 4, 15, 1927.
IOa. Blumgart, H. L. and Weiss, S., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. Ill. J. Clin. Invest., 4, 149, 1927.
I Ob. Blumgart, H. L. and Weiss, S., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. JV. J. Clin. Invest .. 4, 173, 1927.
!Oc. Blumgart, H. L. and Weiss, S., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. V. J. Clin. Invest., 4, 199, 1927.
IOd. Blumgart, H. L. and Weiss, S., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. VI. J. Clin. Invest., 4, 389, 1927.
IOe. Blumgart, H. L. and Weiss, S., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. VII. J. Clin. Invest., 4,399, 1927.
I Of. Blumgart, H. L. and Weiss, S., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. VIII. J. Clin. Invest .. 4, 555,
1927.
IOg. Blumgart, H. L. and Weiss, S., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. IX. J. Clin. Invest., 5, 343, 1928.
I Oh. Blumgart, H. L. and Weiss, S., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. X. J. Clin. Invest., 5, 379, 1928.
IOi. Blumgart, H. L. and Weiss, S., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. XI. J. Clin. Invest., 6, 103, 1928.
IOj. Blumgart, H. L. and Weiss, S., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. XII. J. Clin. Invest., 7, 11, 1929.
11. Blumgart, H. L., Gargill, S. I., and Gilligan, D. R., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. XIII. The
circulatory response to thyrotoxicosis, J. Clin. Invest., 9, 69, 1930.
I la. Blumgart, H. L., Gargill, S. I., and Gilligan, D.R., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. XIV. J.
Clin. Invest .. 9, 91, 1930.
I lb. Blumgart, H. L., Gargill, S. I., and Gilligan, D.R., Studies on the velocity of blood flow. XV. J. Clin.
Invest., 9,679. 1931.
12. Brucer, M., What is nuclear medicine? A historical approach to a definition, Vignettes in Nuclear Medicine,
No. 1, Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, St. Louis, 1966.
13. Ussing, H. H., Transport of ions across cellular membranes, Physiol. Revs .. 29, 127, 1949.
14. Ussing, H. H., Erlij, D., and Lassen, U., Transport pathways in biological membranes, in Annual Review
of Physiology, Comroe, J. H., Sonnenschien, R. R., and Zierler, K. L., Eds., Annual Reviews Inc., Palo
Alto, Calif., 1974, 17.
15. Ussing, H. H., Interpretation of the exchange of radiosodium in isolated muscle, Nature (London), 160,
262, 1947.
16. Ussing, H. H., The use of the flux ratio equation under non-steady state conditions, in Perspectives in
Membrane Biophysics, a Tribute to Kenneth S. Cole, Agin, D. P., Ed., Gordon and Breach, New York,
1972.
17. Ussing, H. H., Life with tracers, Ann. Rev. Physiol., 42, I, 1980.
18. Robertson, J. S., The impact of isotopic tracers on physiological concepts, Brookhaven Lecture Series No.
33, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Ya., 1964.
19. Bassham, J. A. and Calvin, M., The Path of Carbon in Photosynthesis, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs,
N.J., 1957.
20. Brownell, G. L., Berman, M., and Robertson, J. S., Nomenclature for tracer kinetics, Int. J. Appl. Rad
Isotopes, 19,249, 1968.
21. Teorell, T ., Kinetics of distribution of substances administered to the body. I. The extravascular modes
of administration, Arch. Internal. Pharmacodynamie, 57, 205, 1937.
22. Teorell, T., Kinetics of distribution of substances administered to the body. II. The intravascular modes
of administration, Arch. Internal. Pharmacodynamie. 57, 226, 1937.
23. Shore, M. L., Biological applications of kinetic analysis of a two-compartment system, J. Appl. Physiol.,
16,771, 196!.
8 Compartmental Distribution of Radiotracers
24. Zilversmit, D. B., Entenman, C., and Fishier, M. C., Calculation of 'turnover time' and 'turnover rate'
from experiments involving the use of labeling agents, J. Gen. Physiol., 26, 325, 1943.
25. Gellhorn, A., Merrell, M., and Rankin, R. M., Rate of transcapillary exchange in normal and shocked
dogs, Am. J. Physiol., 142, 407, 1944.
26. Cohn, W. E. and Brues, A. M., Metabolism of tissue cultures. III. A method for measuring the permeability
of tissue cells to solutes, J. Gen. Physio/., 28, 449, 1945.
27. Robertson, J, S., Tosteson, D. C., and Gamble, J, L., The determination of exchange rates in three-
compartment steady-state closed systems through the use of tracers, J. Lab. Clin. Med., 49, 497, 1957.
28. Skinner, S.M., Clark, R. E., Baker, N., and Shipley, R. A., Complete solution of the three-compartment
model in steady state after single injection of radioactive trace, Am. J. Physiol., 196, 238, 1959.
29. Sheppard, C. W. and Householder, A. S., The mathematical basis of interpretation of tracer experiments
in closed steady-state systems, J. Applied Phys., 22, 510, 1951.
30. Sheppard, C. W., The theory of the study of transfers within a multi-compartment system using isotopic
tracers, J. Appl. Phys., 19, 70, 1948.
31. Berman, M. and Schoenfeld, R., Invariants in experimental data on linear kinetics and the formulation
of models, J. Appl. Phys., 27, 1361, 1956.
32. Hart, H. E., Analysis of tracer experiments in nonconservative steady-state systems, Bull. Math. Biophys.,
17, 87, 1955.
33. Hart, H. E., Analysis of tracer experiments. II. Non-conservative non-steady-state systems, Bull. Math.
Biophys., 19, 61, 1957.
34. Hart, H. E., Analysis of tracer experiments. III. Homeostatic mechanisms of fluid flow systems, Bull.
Math. Biophys., 20, 281, 1958.
35. Hart, H. E., Analysis of tracer experiments. IV. The kinetics of general N compartment systems, Bull.
Math. Biophys., 22, 41, 1960.
36. Hart, H. E., Analysis of tracer experiments. V. Integral equations of perturbation-tracer analysis, Bull.
Math. Biophys., 27, 417, 1965.
37. Hart, H. E., Analysis of tracer experiments. VI. Determination of partioned initial entry functions, Bull.
Math. Biophys., 27, 329, 1965.
38. Hart, H. E., Analysis of tracer experiments. VII. General multicompartment systems imbedded in non-
homogeneous inaccessible media, Bull. Math. Biophys .. 28, 261, 1966.
39. Hart, H. E., Analysis of tracer experiments. VIII. Integro-differential equation treatment of partly acces-
sible, partly injectable multicompartment systems, Bull. Math. Biophys., 29, 319, 1967.
40. Stephenson, J, L., Theory of transport in linear biological systems. II. Multiflux problems, Bull. Math.
Biophys., 22, 113, 1960.
41. Stephenson, J, L. and Jones, A. P., Application of linear analysis to tracer kinetics, Ann. N.Y. Acad.
Sci .. 108, 15, 1963.
42. Hearon, J, Z., Theorems on linear systems, Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 108, 36, 1963.
43. Bronson, H., Use of isotopes in an integral equation description of metabolizing systems, Cold Spring
Harbor Symp. Quant. Bioi., 13, 32, 1948.
44. Bronson, H., The integral equation representation of reactions in compartment systems, Ann. N.Y. Acad.
Sci., 108, 4, 1963.
45. Hart, H. E., An integral equation formulation of perturbation-tracer analysis, Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 108,
23, 1963.
46. Hearon, J. Z., A note on the integral equation description of metabolizing systems, Bull. Math. Biophys.,
15, 269, 1953.
47. Matthews, C. M. E., The theory of tracer experiments with 131 I-Iabelled plasma proteins, Phys. Bioi.
Med .• 2, 36, 1957.
48. Rescigno, A., A contribution to the theory of tracer methods, Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 15, 340, 1954.
49. Rescigno, A., A contribution to the theory of tracer methods. II. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 21, Ill, 1956.
50. Robertson, J, S., Theory and use of tracers in determining transfer rates in biological systems, Physiol.
Revs., 37, 133, 1957.
51. Hart, H. E. (Conference Chairman), Berger, E. Y., Berkowitz, J, M., Berman, M., Britten, R.,
Bronson, H., Brownell, G. L., Callahan, A. B., Callahan, R., Chance, B., Cohn, S. H., Gardner,
D. G., Garfinkel, D., Gregg, E. C., Hearon, J, Z., Hetenyi, G., Jr., Higgins, J., Higginbotham, W.
A., Jones, A. P., Landahl, H. D., Perl, W., Potter, D. W., Rescigno, A., Robertson, J. S., Schoenfeld,
R. L., Schwartz, L., Sheppard, C. W., Sherman, J, L., Shore, M. L., Sharney, L., Stephenson, J.
L., Sugarman, R. M., Tendler, D., Wasserman, L. R., Wrenshall, G. A., and Zierler, K. L.,
Multicompartment analysis of tracer experiments, Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci .. 108, I, 1963.
52. Berger, P. E. E. and Lushbaugh, C. C., Eds., Compartments, Pools and Spaces in Medical Physiology,
AEC Symposium Series No. II, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1967 (Available as CONF-661010
from National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22151).
9
53. Spetsieris, P. and Hart, H. E., Complete sets of experimental measurements in multicompartmental tracer
analysis, Phys. Can., 32 (Abstr.), 22.6, 1976.
54. Spetsieris, P., Complete measurement sets in multicompartment systems analysis — a reference com
partment criterion, Diss. Abstr. Int., 41, No. 1214B, 1980.
55. Sheppard, C. W., Basic Principles of the Tracer Method, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1961.
56. Rescigno, A. and Segre, G., Drug and Tracer Kinetics, Blaisdell, Waltham, Mass., 1966.
57. Jacquez, J. A., Compartmental Analysis in Biology and Medicine, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1972.
58. Lassen, N. A. and Perl, W Tracer Kinetic Methods in Medical Physiology, Raven Press, New York,
1979.
59. Cheng, D. K., Analysis of Linear Systems, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1961.
60. Bracewell, R., The Fourier Transform and its Applications, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1965.
61. Matis, J. H. and Tolley, H. D., On the stochastic modeling of tracer kinetics, Fed. Proc., Fed. Am. Soc.
Exp. Biol., 39, 104, 1980.
62. Thakur, A. K. and Rescigno, A., On the stochastic theory of compartments. III. General time-dependent
reversible systems, Bull. Math. Biol., 40, 237, 1978.
63. Agrafiotis, G. K., On the stochastic theory of compartments: the leaving process of the two-compartment
systems, Bull. Math. Biol., 43, 201, 1981.
64. Mehata, K. M. and Selvam, D. D., A stochastic model for the n-compartment irreversible system, Bull.
Math. Biol., 43, 549, 1981.
65. Karmeshu, K. and Gupta, C. K., A one-compartment model with stochastic parameters, Bull. Math.
Biol., 43, 503, 1981.
66. Parthasarathy, P. R. and Mayilswami, P., Stochastic compartmental model with branching particles,
Bull. Math. Biol., 43, 347, 1981.
67. Julius, R. S., The sensitivity of exponentials and other curves to their parameters, Comput. Biomed. Res.,
5, 473, 1972.
68. Cocchetto, D. M., Wargin, W. H., and Crow, J. W., Pitfalls and valid approaches to pharmacokinetic
analysis of mean concentration data following intravenous administration, J. Pharmacokinetics Biopharm.,
8, 539, 1980.
69. Zierler, K., A critique of compartmental analysis, Ann. Rev. Biophys. Bioeng., 10, 531, 1981.
70. Brown, R. F., Compartmental system analysis: state of the art, IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng., 27, 1, 1980.
11
Chapter 2
BASIC PRINCIPLES
James S. Robertson
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction............................................................................................................... 12
II. Tracers........................................................................................................................12
III. Compartments............................................................................................................ 12
V. Transfer Rates............................................................................................................ 13
X. Complex Systems..................................................................................................... 23
References 27
12 Compartmental Distribution of Radiotracers
I. INTRODUCTION
In this chapter some very elementary applications of tracers will be discussed, as a way
of introducing the subject of compartmental analysis. More complicated applications will
be discussed at appropriate locations in following chapters.
II. TRACERS
For the moment, a tracer will be considered to be any substance that remains detectable
by the observer when mixed with other substances.
In general, the purpose of a tracer experiment is to deduce certain properties of the system
being studied from observations of the behavior of the tracer when it is introduced into the
system. In particular, the distribution kinetics of tracers provide a basis for determining the
volumes or masses of components of the system and the rates of transfer of substances
among these components.
III. COMPARTMENTS
(1)
where Q is the quantity of the substance used as a tracer, V is the volume within which Q
is distributed, and C is the concentration of Q in V.
Solving Equation 1 for V gives Equation 2
( 2)
It is apparent that if mixing is incomplete the measured concentration in the above example
could be either too high or too low, depending on the sampling point, and the resulting
estimate of the volume would have a corresponding error.
Of course in a beaker it is easy to obtain good mixing, but if the volume of interest is in
the body, for example the blood plasma volume, the application of the dilution principle is
somewhat less straightforward. Mixing in the blood is attained as the blood circulates through
the various organs and returns to the central blood pool. Each round trip of the blood takes
of the order of 10 to 20 sec. In normal subjects, mixing in the blood is essentially complete
in 20 min or less after an intravenous injection of the tracer, but under some pathological
conditions it can take longer.
In the above example, it is assumed that the tracer does not leave the circulation. In
practice this assumption is often not valid. However, if the rate of leakage out of the
circulation is relatively slow, a correction can be introduced by determining the apparent
volume of dilution in several serial samples taken at intervals of time and extrapolating back
to time zero.
The dilution principle is applicable to masses as well as to volumes. In particular, the
concentration of a radioactive isotope relative to the total mass of the labeled element is
called the specific activity. For example, if 100 |xCi of the radioactive species is mixed with
a quantity of that element and the specific activity is found to be 1 |xCi/g, the total mass is
100 g. This principle has been used to determine the exchangeable masses of electrolytes
in the body from measurements of the specific activity in blood samples.
V. TRANSFER RATES
The rates of flow of substances between compartments are called transfer rates. Other
terms are also used in certain situations. In particular, when the transfer rates in opposite
directions between two compartments are equal they are called the exchange rate. When the
rate of flow of a given substance into a compartment equals its rate of flow out of the
compartment, so that the quantity present in the compartment remains constant, the com
partment is said to be in a steady-state and the flow rates in and out are called the turnover
rate. The ratio of the turnover rate to the quantity present in a compartment is defined as
the turnover rate constant.
The steady-state is of special interest. Although the quantity present in a compartment is
constant, the identity of this amount is continuously changing when it is described in terms
of its atomic or molecular content. Before tracers became available it was difficult or
impossible to study turnover rates in steady-state systems.
An ideal tracer would be identical with its unlabeled counterpart, the tracee, except for
being detectable by the observer. This ideal is most closely attained with isotopic tracers
although even with these there is a slight difference in the masses of any two isotopes. For
most physiological processes this slight difference produces a negligible effect in the kinetics,
but in some biochemical reactions what is called the isotope effect can be significant.
For the development of the mathematical theory of compartmental analysis, ideal tracers
are assumed. In symbols, the relationship between an ideal tracer and the tracee is expressed
in Equation 3
( 3)
where k is the transfer rate constant, R is the transfer rate of the tracee, Q is the quantity
of the tracee in the compartment, r is the transfer rate of the tracer, and q is the quantity
of the tracer in the compartment. In words, this states that for an ideal tracer the transfer
rate constant (or turnover rate constant) for the tracer is equal to that of the tracee. This
14 Compartmental Distribution of Radiotracers
important relationship makes it possible to deduce the transfer rates for the unlabeled material
in compartmented systems from observations made on the behavior of tracers in these
systems.
(4 )
from which:
(5 )
where q(t) is the amount of tracer present at time t, k is the transfer rate constant, dq(t)/dt
is the rate of change of q(t), and e is the base of the natural logarithms (e = 2.71828...).
Equation 5 provides the basis for determining k from experimentally obtained values of
q(t). A semilogarithmic plot of several values of q(t) vs. time can be fitted by a straight
line. The slope of this line is usually most conveniently characterized by its half-time,
Tl/2. The exponential constant, which in this case is also the transfer rate constant, k, is
then obtained by use of the relationship
(6)
(7 )
Then:
(8)
(9)
The solution of Equation 9 depends on the explicit form of f(t). A particularly simple solution
is obtained if f(t) represents a constant rate of inflow of the tracer:
( 10 )
giving:
(11)
A plot of q(t) has a value of zero at time zero and approaches r/k as a limiting value as time
extends to infinity. It should also be apparent that the final concentration in the compartment
approaches that in the inflow.
Again, k can be determined by use of a semilogarithmic plot. However, instead of q(t),
the value to be plotted is the limiting value r/k minus q(t):
( 12)
This serves to determine k and r. The calculation of the flow rate R requires either that the
concentration of the tracer relative to that of the tracee in the inflow be known or that Q is
determined independently.
Another important form of the input function for an open compartment is
(13)
where C and \ are constants. Since the outflow from an initially labeled compartment has
this form, it is convenient to treat this case by considering two compartments in series.
It will be assumed that the outflow from compartment 1 is the inflow for compartment 2
(Figure 2). The mathematics describing this case is analogous to that for the production and
decay of radioactive daughter products. The Bateman1 equations are applicable to chains of
such relationships. The parameters of the two compartments will be distinguished by the
subscripts 1 and 2. For k x ^ k2:
(14)
giving:
( 15)
It is also of interest to consider the corresponding equations for specific activity, x, instead
of the quantity of the tracer. These variables are related by the formula:
16 Compartmental Distribution of Radiotracers
(16)
(17)
(18)
and
(19)
In either Equation 15 or Equation 19 the variable starts at time zero with a value of zero
goes through a maximum at time f , and then approaches zero as time extends to infinity
The time f corresponding to the maximum value is given by the formula:
(20)
(2 1 )
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
place. I was convinced that the greatest calamity that ever befell the
benighted nations of the ancient world was in their having passed
away without a knowledge of the actual existence of Duluth; that
their fabled Atlantis, never seen save by the hallowed vision of the
inspired poesy, was, in fact, but another name for Duluth; that the
golden orchard of the Hesperides, was but a poetical synonym for the
beer-gardens in the vicinity of Duluth. I was certain that Herodotus
had died a miserable death, because in all his travels and with all his
geographical research he had never heard of Duluth. I knew that if
the immortal spirit of Homer could look down from another heaven
than that created by his own celestial genius upon the long lines of
pilgrims from every nation of the earth to the gushing fountain of
poesy opened by the touch of his magic wand, if he could be
permitted to behold the vast assemblage of grand and glorious
productions of the lyric art called into being by his own inspired
strains, he would weep tears of bitter anguish that, instead of
lavishing all the stores of his mighty genius upon the fall of Illion, it
had not been his more blessed lot to crystalize in deathless song the
rising glories of Duluth. Yes, sir, had it not been for this map, kindly
furnished me by the legislature of Minnesota, I might have gone
down to my obscure and humble grave in an agony of despair,
because I could nowhere find Duluth. Had such been my melancholy
fate, I have no doubt that with the last feeble pulsation of my
breaking heart, with the last faint exhalation of my fleeting breath, I
should have whispered, “Where is Duluth?”
But, thanks to the beneficence of that band of ministering angels
who have their bright abodes in the far-off capital of Minnesota, just
as the agony of my anxiety was about to culminate in the frenzy of
despair, this blessed map was placed in my hands; and as I unfolded
it a resplendent scene of ineffable glory opened before me, such as I
imagined burst upon the enraptured vision of the wandering peri
through the opening gates of Paradise. There, there, for the first
time, my enchanted eye rested upon the ravishing word, “Duluth!”
This map, sir, is intended, as it appears from its title, to illustrate the
position of Duluth in the United States; but if gentlemen will
examine it, I think they will concur with me in the opinion, that it is
far too modest in its pretensions. It not only illustrates the position
of Duluth in the United States, but exhibits its relations with all
created things. It even goes further than this. It hits the shadowy vale
of futurity, and affords us a view of the golden prospects of Duluth
far along the dim vista of ages yet to come.
If gentlemen will examine it, they will find Duluth not only in the
center of the map, but represented in the center of a series of
concentric circles one hundred miles apart, and some of them as
much as four thousand miles in diameter, embracing alike, in their
tremendous sweep the fragrant savannas of the sunlit South and the
eternal solitudes of snow that mantle the ice-bound North. How
these circles were produced is perhaps one of those primordial
mysteries that the most skilled paleologist will never be able to
explain. But the fact is, sir, Duluth is pre-eminently a central point,
for I am told by gentlemen who have been so reckless of their own
personal safety as to venture away into those awful regions where
Duluth is supposed to be, that it is so exactly in the center of the
visible universe that the sky comes down at precisely the same
distance all around it.
I find, by reference to this map, that Duluth is situated somewhere
near the western end of Lake Superior, but as there is no dot or other
mark indicating its exact location, I am unable to say whether it is
actually confined to any particular spot, or whether “it is just lying
around there loose.” I really cannot tell whether it is one of those
ethereal creations of intellectual frostwork, more intangible than the
rose-tinted clouds of a summer sunset; one of those airy exhalations
of the speculator’s brain which, I am told, are very flitting in the form
of towns and cities along those lines of railroad, built with
government subsidies, luring the unwary settler as the mirage of the
desert lures the famishing traveler on, and ever on, until it fades
away in the darkening horizon; or whether it is a real, bona fide,
substantial city, all “staked off,” with the lots marked with their
owners’ names, like that proud commercial metropolis recently
discovered on the desirable shores of San Domingo. But, however
that may be, I am satisfied Duluth is there, or thereabouts, for I see it
stated here on the map that it is exactly thirty-nine hundred and
ninety miles from Liverpool, though I have no doubt, for the sake of
convenience, it will be moved back ten miles, so as to make the
distance an even four thousand.
Then, sir, there is the climate of Duluth, unquestionably the most
salubrious and delightful to be found anywhere on the Lord’s earth.
Now, I have always been under the impression, as I presume other
gentlemen have, that in the region around Lake Superior it was cold
enough for at least nine months in the year to freeze the smoke-stack
off a locomotive. But I see it represented on this map that Duluth is
situated exactly half way between the latitudes of Paris and Venice,
so that gentlemen who have inhaled the exhilarating air of the one,
or basked in the golden sunlight of the other, may see at a glance that
Duluth must be the place of untold delight, a terrestrial paradise,
fanned by the balmy zephyrs of an eternal spring, clothed in the
gorgeous sheen of ever blooming flowers, and vocal with the silvery
melody of nature’s choicest songsters. In fact sir, since I have seen
this map, I have no doubt that Byron was vainly endeavoring to
convey some faint conception of the delicious charms of Duluth
when his poetic soul gushed forth, in the rippling strains of that
beautiful rhapsody—
“Know ye the land of the cedar and the vine,
Whence the flowers ever blossom, the beams ever shine;
Where the light wings of Zephyr, oppressed with perfume,
Wax faint o’er the gardens of Gul in her bloom;
Where the citron and olive are fairest of fruit,
And the voice of the nightingale never is mute;
Where the tints of the earth and the hues of the sky,
In color though varied, in beauty may vie?”
Sir, the great conflict now raging in the Old World has presented a
phenomenon in military science unprecedented in the annals of
mankind, a phenomenon that has reversed all the traditions of the
past as it has disappointed all the expectations of the present. A great
and warlike people, renowned alike for their skill and valor, have
been swept away before the triumphant advance of an inferior foe,
like autumn stubble before a hurricane of fire. For aught I know the
next flash of electric fire that simmers along the ocean cable may tell
us that Paris, with every fibre quivering with the agony of impotent
despair, writhes beneath the conquering heel of her loathed invader.
Ere another moon shall wax and wane, the brightest star in the
galaxy of nations may fall from the zenith of her glory never to rise
again. Ere the modest violets of early spring shall ope their
beauteous eyes, the genius of civilization may chant the wailing
requiem of the proudest nationality the world has ever seen, as she
scatters her withered and tear-moistened lilies o’er the bloody tomb
of butchered France. But, sir, I wish to ask if you honestly and
candidly believe that the Dutch would have overrun the French in
that kind of style if General Sheridan had not gone over there, and
told King William and Von Moltke how he had managed to whip the
Piegan Indians.
And here, sir, recurring to this map, I find in the immediate
vicinity of the Piegans “vast herds of buffalo” and “immense fields of
rich wheat lands.” [Here the hammer fell.]
[Many cries: “Go on!” “go on!”]
The Speaker—Is there any objection to the gentleman from
Kentucky continuing his remarks? The chair hears none. The
gentleman will proceed.
Mr. Knott—I was remarking, sir, upon these vast “wheat fields”
represented on this map in the immediate neighborhood of the
buffaloes and Piegans, and was about to say that the idea of there
being these immense wheat fields in the very heart of a wilderness,
hundreds and hundreds of miles beyond the utmost verge of
civilization, may appear to some gentlemen as rather incongruous, as
rather too great a strain on the “blankets” of veracity. But to my mind
there is no difficulty in the matter whatever. The phenomenon is very
easily accounted for. It is evident, sir, that the Piegans sowed that
wheat there and ploughed it in with buffalo bulls. Now, sir, this
fortunate combination of buffaloes and Piegans, considering their
relative positions to each other and to Duluth, as they are arranged
on this map, satisfies me that Duluth is destined to be the best
market of the world. Here, you will observe, (pointing to the map),
are the buffaloes, directly between the Piegans and Duluth; and here,
right on the road to Duluth, are the Creeks. Now, sir, when the
buffaloes are sufficiently fat from grazing on those immense wheat
fields, you see it will be the easiest thing in the world for the Piegans
to drive them on down, stay all night with their friends, the Creeks,
and go into Duluth in the morning. I think I see them, now, sir, a vast
herd of buffaloes, with their heads down, their eyes glaring, their
nostrils dilated, their tongues out, and their tails curled over their
backs, tearing along toward Duluth, with about a thousand Piegans
on their grass-bellied ponies, yelling at their heels! On they come!
And as they sweep past the Creeks, they join in the chase, and away
they all go, yelling, bellowing, ripping and tearing along, amid clouds
of dust, until the last buffalo is safely penned in the stock-yards at
Duluth.
Sir, I might stand here for hours and hours, and expatiate with
rapture upon the gorgeous prospects of Duluth, as depicted upon this
map. But human life is too short, and the time of this house far too
valuable to allow me to linger longer upon this delightful theme. I
think every gentleman upon this floor is as well satisfied as I am that
Duluth is destined to become the commercial metropolis of the
universe and that this road should be built at once. I am fully
persuaded that no patriotic representative of the American people,
who has a proper appreciation of the associated glories of Duluth and
the St. Croix, will hesitate a moment that every able-bodied female in
the land, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, who is in favor
of “woman’s rights,” should be drafted and set to work upon this
great work without delay. Nevertheless, sir, it grieves my very soul to
be compelled to say that I cannot vote for the grant of lands provided
for in this bill.
Ah, sir, you can have no conception of the poignancy of my
anguish that I am deprived of that blessed privilege! There are two
insuperable obstacles in the way. In the first place my constituents,
for whom I am acting here, have no more interest in this road than
they have in the great question of culinary taste now, perhaps,
agitating the public mind of Dominica, as to whether the illustrious
commissioners, who recently left this capital for that free and
enlightened republic, would be better fricasseed, boiled, or roasted,
and, in the second place, these lands, which I am asked to give away,
alas, are not mine to bestow! My relation to them is simply that of
trustee to an express trust. And shall I ever betray that trust? Never,
sir! Rather perish Duluth! Perish the paragon of cities! Rather let the
freezing cyclones of the bleak northwest bury it forever beneath the
eddying sands of the raging St. Croix.
Henry Carey’s Speech on the Rates of
Interest.