THE ALUMNI JOURNAL. 



113 



naturally arises, may the results of these 

 methods of assay not be vitiated by the 

 presence of certain adulterants ? It 

 would be much more difficult to adulterate 

 than at first sight appears. Any inor- 

 ganic salt added with the intention of in- 

 creasing the ammonia precipitate and 

 neutralizing the volumetric acid, would 

 infallibly give a precipitate with the me- 

 conic acid and so draw attention to its 

 presence by the unusual appearance. 

 Probably all the cheaper alkaloids are 

 soluble in chloroform, and would be re- 

 moved on washing with that menstruum. 

 I am not going to say what I think 

 would be the most likely method of adul- 

 teration to escape detection. But in any 

 case of doubt, it would be well to divide 

 the morphine precipitate into three por- 

 tions ; one to be neutralized with stand- 

 ard acid, the second to be washed with 

 baryta water, and the third to be incin 

 erated and the ash weighed. By so pro- 

 ceeding it is scarcely possible that the 

 result could be in error. In conclusion, 

 I wish to express my indebtedness to the 

 writers of the papers before referred to, 

 and to those who took part in the discus- 

 sions at the New York meetings. — Jour. 

 Soc. Chem. Ind. 



VIVISECTION. 



By H. a. HAUBOLD, M.D. 



Assistant to the Chair of Physiology, Bellevue 



Hospital Medical College, Surgeon to 



Harlem Hospital, etc. 



There is not a single important fact in 

 physiology that does not owe its recog- 

 nition to vivisection. 



The history of vivisection is the his- 

 tory of scientific medicine and surgery. 



There is a story that tells of vivisection 

 being practised as early as fourteen hun- 

 dred years before the Christian era, by 

 one Nebsecht, a native of Egypt. Neb- 

 secht was the son of a famous priest of 

 the Temple of Seti in Thebes. Debarred 



from lecturing by an unfortunate impedi- 

 ment of speech, he threw himself upon 

 the study of organic life. 



It was during his silent musings in 

 the so-called Necropolis, that he con- 

 ceived the plan of making observation on 

 animals, by dissecting them during life. 



Indeed it is claimed by historians, that 

 during that time the heart was seen in 

 action in rabbits who were tied to pieces 

 of board and cut open with scalpels made 

 of flint or stone. 



Of course these experiments were car- 

 ried on in secret, because of religious 

 prejudices prevalent at that time. Neb- 

 secht himself was ultimately discovered 

 at his work, tried by a tribunal of High 

 Priests, and executed for meddling with 

 the "work of the Gods." 



The first genuine result of vivisection 

 is illustrated in Harvey's discovery of 

 the circulation in 1616. 



The classical picture of Harvey illus- 

 trating his discovery to Charles I of 

 England, is a familiar subject to every 

 one. What radical changes this was 

 productive of in the conception of phy- 

 siology, can be readily imagined. 



Up to that time no reasonable explan- 

 ation could possibly have been conceived 

 of the nutritive processes, the convey- 

 ance of those elements of regeneration 

 necessary to the growth and mainten- 

 ance of the body to the tissues, and the 

 taking up of the products of dissimilation 

 and their elimination by the various ex- 

 cretory organs. Nor could the pheno- 

 mena of respiration been even remotely 

 conjectured upon. Knowing now as we 

 do, that the circulating fluid is concerned 

 in carrying oxygen to the tissues and 

 taking up carbonic oxide from them. 



The later day pioneers in vivisection 

 were Magendie, Brachet, and later Claude 

 Bernard in France. 



In fact so extensive were the indulg- 

 ences of the school of Magendie in 1845- 



