RENDERING RESI-IAM -TAKII-H EGGS NORMAL. .VU 



active and \ i^op.u- bla-tula- and gastrula-, while of the untreated 

 control > _- left in -ca-water and fertili/ed at the -ame time as 

 tin- other- It--- than one per cent, formed larva- and the-e \\en 

 tcel.le and .iliiiormal. It thu- appeared that the abnormal condi- 

 tion \\hirh render- the egg inca] >al ile of re-ponding fully to the 

 tertili/i . :ioii of the -permato/oon mi^ht In- removed by 

 treatment \\ith sea-water containing ether in certain concentra- 

 tion-. which are con-ider.ibly lower than tho-e required for 

 typical an.i-theiic or protective action. 



What are the condition- of thi- effect? In a recent paper 1 I 

 ha\f pre-ented evidence indicatm- that the pr"iecii\c anil 

 an. i -tin tie a< lion- exerted by ether and other lipoid-solvents in 

 certain ( OIK duration- .in- due primariU to i the 



pltuniii iiif)nl>rnnt^ of the < ell- . ,r irritable i-!einent-. of Mich a 

 kind .1- to render the-e membrane- more n-i-tant toward 

 ncies that under the n-n.il condition- rapidK imie.i-e their 

 |M |-me.diilit\ : cytolysis ami -t imnlat ion, both of \\hit h di-pi-nd 

 on -IH h ii, ibility. an- hence clu-( kel or |.re\eiited. 



I 1 ' in the re.idine-- \\ith \\hich the |)erme.ibilit \ i- in- 



I thus involves for an irritable tissue d d irritabilit\ ; 



thi- ellei i i- (iroduced by \ariou- salts, of ma^ne-ium. and 



b\ ether and other lipoid-solvent anaesthetics in certain not too 



hi^hi concentrations. In lo\\er concentration- it ha- been ob- 

 -i i \ ed that i-tlu-r and other lipoid--i >1\ ent- frequently hci-Jitcn 

 irritability; 7 . . expressed in term- of the membrane theory 

 of -ti mu la tion. they incn-a-e the readme-- \\ith \\hich the |n-rmea- 

 bilit\ and hence tlu-i-lectric.il ]iol.iri/.ition of the pla-ma mem- 

 brane line 1 change. It -eem- clear that for irritable ti--ue- 



the -tale of the li]>oid- in the pla-ma membrane largely ilelermiiu - 

 the readiiu \\ith \\hich change- of permeability- -and of the 

 dependent electrical polarization are induced by external agen- 

 cies. Mijn perme. ition of the- lipoid- \\ith a lipoid--ol\ cm like 

 ether a]>parenil\ often facilitate- -nch change- and hence in- 



K - I illi I": ' HI .' ./:;. /' | . .' ,\, ]ijI-\ \"il. JO. P- .i7-'- 



1 in my roeciu | 

 ill . I ' P .'. \ ' - -im-rul.u 



in i)l iiiariiu- aninuils n\~ >li.\v- it; r'. .1;.. Hrtln lOund that aloili"! (o 5 | i 

 in -.-a-u.itri i ili-i-iilr.lly in> . MMM--! tin- iin-i-hanii-al irritability of tin- i-i>l.iti--l o-ntral 

 l>"iti<>n Hi tin- inrtlu t. ". \ll.m-i7H-iiu- Anatoinii- uinl I'liysiilo.i;i' 



1 -' ( M- I'- 359- 



