PRACTICE OF MEDICINE AND HYGIENE 



this destructive process is due to tuberculosis. 

 No cure for the disease is known. Busch, 

 Leonard, and Wright have succeeded in trans- 

 planting from one rabbit to another this organ, 

 and then removing the natural organs from 

 the recipients. They have performed enough 

 of these experiments to demonstrate the practi- 

 cability of the operation, and we may hope that 

 it may succeed when applied to Addison's 

 disease in man. 



Diabetes holds less mystery, than it did be- Diabetes, 

 fore the physiology of the pancreas was studied 

 by Claude Bernard. Mering and Minkowski 

 removed the pancreas from dogs, and found 

 that the animals could not oxidize sugar; and 

 the sugar normally formed in the body circu- 

 lated in the blood, and was eliminated by the 

 kidneys. It was found that if a small bit of 

 pancreas was left in the body, diabetes either 

 did not occur or was less pronounced than when 

 the whole gland was removed. Minowski re- 

 moved a piece of a dog's pancreas and trans- 

 planted it under the skin ; later he removed the 

 whole pancreas, and found that the dog's 

 urine remained free from sugar for two 

 months; and upon removal of the piece trans- 

 planted beneath the skin extreme diabetes 



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