Ley de la superficie e indexación alométrica de diversas funciones / Surface law and allometric analysis of several functions

ABSTRACT

Since Rubner stablished in 1883 the surface law, the basal metabolic rate (kcal/24h) is expressed per square meter of body surface. This so-called biological law has been extrapolated to the standarization of several other functions as, for instance, to variables of the cardiovascular, respiratory and renal systems, which may lead to erroneous conclusions. The present paper is an attempt to establish, by means of the dimentional analysis and one of the theories of biological similarity, an allometric indexation procedure, which yields mass-independent numbers (MIN) for all functions which can be defined by means of the MLT system of physics (Mass; Length; Time)