148 ADVENTUftES IX JtAUIOISOTOrE RESEARCH 



Comment on papkrs 1(3, 17 



Ijst the early twenties dermatologists became much interested in the therapeutic 

 application of bismuth compounds. This induced us, together with Christiansen 

 and LoMHOLT (the latter being a dermatologist) to investigate the distribution 

 of administered bismuth in the rabbit. We applied in our study RaE-labelled 

 bismuth. This work was then extended to the study of the distribution of labelled 

 lead. The first -mentioned investigation was the first application (1924) of radio- 

 active tracers in animal physiology, shortly following their first application in 

 plant physiology. 



While participating at the Liverpool meeting of the British Association for 

 Advancement of Science, the writer learned that the gynaecologist Blair Bell 

 obtained good results by applying lead salts in cancer therapy. This induced 

 us (Hevesy and Wagner, 1930) to compare the distribution of lead between 

 normal and cancerous tissue, applying labelled lead. The great Freiburg patholo- 

 gist AscHorr on my request delegated a Japanese collaborator of his to help us 

 in this work, and later Schoenheimer to assist the latter. This was the first 

 oxperifcnce of schoenheimer in the field to which he later made, jointly with 

 his eminent colleague Rittenberg, a very great number of unsurpassed classical 

 contributions. 



References 



U. Hevesy and O. H. Wagner (1930) Arch. Exp. Pathol, and Pharmacol. 

 149,336. 



R. Schoenheimer (1942) The Dynamic State Of Body Constituents-. Cambridge, 

 j\lass. 



