326 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERT. 



external organs through the medium of the corpus striatum. He 

 referred to the diagnostic symptoms of the various forms of defec- 

 tive speech, and proposed a new terminology for their expression, 

 namely, alogia, the loss of speech from defective intelligence ; 

 amnesia, from defective memory of words; aphemia, from a defect 

 in the special faculty of language ; and alalia, from defective ar- 

 ticulation. 



Action of the Pancreas on Fat and Starch. — The influence exert- 

 ed by the pancreas upon fats appears to operate by breaking up 

 the aggregation of the crystals of the fat and altering its hydra- 

 tion. It alters the molecular condition of the fat, mingling it with 

 water in such a way that even ether cannot separate the fat from 

 the water. A permanent emulsion is thus formed, ready to mix 

 with a larger quantity of water whenever it may be added. 



The pancreas, therefore, in acting upon fat, does not decompose 

 it into fatty acid and glycerine, the absence of the glycerine from 

 the watery stratum, and the presence of the glycerine in the pan- 

 creatized fat of the ethereal stratum, having been demonstrated. 



It is well known that, in addition to the influence of the pan- 

 creas upon fat, it has the power of converting starch into glycose 

 by simple mixture. This property remains, to a certain extent, 

 after the pancreas has exhausted its property of acting upon fat. 

 The quantity' of pancreas which before mixture with fat will con- 

 vert about eight parts of starch into glycose, after saturation with 

 fat will still convert about two parts of starch into glycose. 



The Action of Veratria. — Praag has arrived at the following 

 conclusions from his experiments : — 



1. Poisoning by veratria diminishes the intensity of the respira- 

 tion and of the circulation. 



2. The muscles lose their tension. 



3. The sensibility of the peripheral nerves is diminished. 



4. Small doses produce nausea, vomiting, and diarrhcea. 



5. The secretion of urine is slightly, that of saliva markedly, in- 

 creased. 



Kolliker deduced from his observations : — 



1. That veratria excites the medulla oblongata, and the spinal 

 marrow, and causes tetanus that does not last long. 



2. The brain is not alfected, at all events before the spinal mar- 

 row. 



3. It has no influence on the trunks of the motor nerves. The 

 apparent paralysis depends on paralysis of the muscles. 



4. The striped muscular fibre very soon becomes paralyzed and 

 motionless. 



5. The heart soon becomes motionless ; this apparently depends 

 on a direct influence exerted upon the muscular libre. 



6. The topical application of dilute solutions aflects the spinal 

 marrow and the medulla oblonsrata, but not the nerves. 



Glacosuria and Albuminuria. — M. Collas expresses the opinion 

 that diabetic disease depends upon an incapacity of the system to 

 convert sugar into an insoluble modification. This incapacity he 

 attributes to a deficiency of phosphate. His proof he rests on the 

 following observations : — 



