CoGHiLL, Structure of the Nej've Cell. 179 



Soukhanoff's experiments include also poisoning by rabies and 

 tuberculin and a case of thyroidectomy. In a rabbit infected with rabies 

 during eighteen days and fatally, the varicose degeneration of the 

 dendrites was slight. The experiment upon the influence of tubercu- 

 lin was performed upon a dog that had some time previously been 

 inoculated with tuberculin for immunization. It was then inoculated 

 with an emulsion of the Bacillus of Koch. From his study of this case 

 SouKHANOFF coucludes that the varicose condition occurs in many 

 dendrites of the cerebral cortex but that this is due to derangement in 

 nutrition. In the case of thyroidectomy, upon a dog which lived a week 

 after extirpation of the thyroid gland, profound changes were observed 

 in both large and small dendrites of the cerebral cortex. This also 

 SouKHANOFF attributes to nutritive derangements which are known 

 to follow thyroidectomy. 



In general Soukhanofp concludes that although some dendrites 

 in the normal nervous system are found in the varicose condition, the 

 large numbers found changed under certain conditions are indicative 

 of a morbid process; and that all poisonings which cause profound de- 

 rangement in general nutrition cause a pronounced varicose degenera- 

 tion of the dendrites. 



The condition of the dendrites in the spinal cord of the rabbit has 

 been studied by Soukhanoff and Czarniecki ('02). The spinal 

 cord of two specimens, which were killed quickly with chloroform 

 were treated by the Golgi method. To bring about quicker penetra- 

 aion of the fluid incisions were made along the cord. The authors 

 find that the cells of the cord show very pronounced differences in the 

 form of the dendrites. The cells of the anterior horns differ strikingly 

 in this respect from all other cells in the cord. Some of the dendrites 

 of the anterior horn cells have comparatively regular contour, others 

 are in a distinct varicose condition while the majority are in a condi- 

 tion intermediate between the two extremes. On the other hand, the 

 dendrites of many of the small cells of the cord were found in a very 

 marked varicose condition. 



Geier ('01) reports a series of experiments which are especially 

 noteworthy for their thoroughness. They were made upon mammals and 

 birds killed with chloroform or ether, and involved an examination of 

 at least an entire cerebral hemisphere in each case. He describes each 

 case in detail and draws the general conclusion that anesthesia by chlo- 

 roform or ether does not of itself cause a moniliform condition of the 

 dendrites, but that such a condition must be considered as the expres- 

 sion of a morbid or fatigued state of the cell. He holds also that the 



