ON THE INFLUENCE OF ALL-NIGHT PLAYING OF MAHJONG ON VARIOUS BODY FUNCTIONS, ESPECIALLY ON THE PHAGOCYTOSIS OF THE LEUCOCYTES

In order to investigate the influences of all-night playing of mahjong, which is experienced not infrequently in our daily life, on various body functions, especially on the disease resistance of the individuals, 4 volunteers were selected to play mahjong all through the night. During the course, gas metabolism, pulse rates and the values of the dermal current were determined according to the lapse of time. Further, specimens of blood and urine were taken at 1 hour's intervals to determine the timely changes in the phagocytic activity of the leucocytes and in the number of the circulating eosinophil cells. In addition to these, oxydation coefficient determination and Donaggio's test were conducted to obtain roughly the following results.<BR>1) with the usual sleeping hours, the values of the phagocytic activity of the leucocytes are roughly the same in each morning. However, in the case of all-night mahjong playing, the activity gradually diminished towards the dawn showing approximately 45 less value in the following morning compared with that of the usual morning. Approximately 4 hours' sleep in the morning, however, helped the value to recover to a certain extent. A good sleep in the following night recovered the value to almost full extent.<BR>2) The number of circulating eosinophil cells showed almost the same fluctuation during the course as that of the phagocytic activity of the leucocytes.<BR>3) Unlike during the sleeping hours, the oxygen up take and the pulse rate were not found diminished, but the flicker value and the value of the dermal current were found diminishing as the time elapsed. The former showed approximately 13% less value at dawn, at which time the volunteers felt most sleepy, with a gradual recovery thereafter. The latter, however, continued lower values during the whole course.<BR>The lowering in the number of circulating eosinophil cells and the phagocytic activity of the leucocytes were found greater when these functions were maintained greatly in adverse to those during the sleeping hours.<BR>4) In the case of all-night playing of mahjong, Vakat's iodic acid coefficient, which usually shows a gradual increase according to the lapse of time. Moreover, this condition teded unrecovered for 2 or 3 days after one all-night sit up.<BR>5) As stated in the above, in the case of all-night playing of mahjong during the night, when usually the excitability of the cerebrum gradually become lowered by the time lapse and when the vagus tends to high tension, various body functions seem not to show their phenomena under sleep, and the bearing degree observed from the changes in the number of circulating eosinophil cells seemed great; further, extreme lowering in the disease resistance observed from the phagocytic activity of the leucocytes seemed to be noted with enhanced dissimilating metabolism.