416 ANNUAL KEPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1912. 



and for the same reason, because it can be readily seen whether or 

 not they are alive. 



The striated muscles survive for quite a long time after removal, 

 especially if they are preserved at the temperature of the body 

 and care is taken to prevent their drying. By this method many 

 investigations have been made of muscular contractions in isolated 

 muscles. Landois has noted that the muscles of man may be made 

 to contract two hours and a half after removal, those of the frog 

 and the tortoise 10 days after. Recently Burrows (1911) has noted 

 a slight increase in the myotomes of the embryo chick after they 

 have been kept for 2 to 6 days in coagulated plasma. 



The organs supphed with smooth muscular fibers also survive, 

 at least so far as regards their muscular coat; the small intestine 

 shows peristaltic movements a long time after the death of the ani- 

 mal; Cohnheim, Magnus (1904), and others have prolonged the dura- 

 tion of this action by bathing the intestine in defibrmated blood. 

 Recently, Camot and Glenard (1912) have studied digestion and the 

 action of purgatives in the isolated small intestine ; Hedon and Fleig 

 have succeeded m obtaming contractions of the intestine 7 days after 

 having placed it in cold storage. The stomach, preserved by Hof- 

 meister and Schutz at a temperature of 37° C, in a moist chamberj 

 showed regular periodic movements proceeding from the cardia to 

 the pylorus. The large intestme, including the rectum, exhibited, 

 according to Iledon and Fleig (1904), spontaneous rhythmic con- 

 tractions after removal. Fleig (1910) was able to excite electrically 

 the oesophagus of the rabbit after it had been kept in cold storage for 

 12 days, the pharjTix and oesophagus of the frog after 17 days. 



The ureter seems to be quite as resistant. Miss Stem (1903) noted 

 its contractions in a solution of chloride of sodium; Hedon and Fleig 

 (1904) in an artificial serum. 



The uterus shows similar properties (Iledon and Fleig, 1904). 

 Kurdinowski (1904) was able to preserve the life of that organ when 

 detached from the body for 49 hours and 40 minutes, and succeeded 

 twice in studying the mechanism of labor in it when isolated. 



Nonmuscular organs may also survive a removal from the parent 

 organism, but the proofs of their survival are more difficult to estab- 

 hsh because of the absence of movements. Carrel (1906) grafted 

 fragments of vessels that had been in cold storage for several days 

 upon the course of a vessel of a living animal of the same species; in 

 1907 he grafted upon the abdominal aorta of a cat a segment of the 

 jugular vein of a dog removed 7 days previously, also a segment of the 

 carotid of a dog removed 20 days before; the circulation was reestab- 

 hshed normally; these experiments have, however, been criticized 

 by Fleig, who tliinks that the grafted fragments were dead and 

 served merely as supports and directors for the regeneration of the 



