Physiology. — “The Action of Atropin on the Intestine depending 
on ils amount of Cholin”. By Dr. J. W. Le Hevux. (Commu- 
nicated by Prof. R. Manus). 
(Communicated in the meeting of September 27, 1919). 
The action of atropin on the intact, isolated small intestine of 
mammals has been the subject of a considerable amount of experi- 
ments, but no explanation, could be found for the various and widely 
different results achieved by the several authors. *) 
While Magnus’) established that the isolated intestine of the cat, 
in’ Rinewr’s solution, is paralysed in large doses of atropin (0,3 °/,), 
but mostly reacts on moderate quanta of atropin (0,025 —0,075 °/,) 
with symptoms of stimulation, the pendulum movements, executed 
by the intestine, getting more regular, especially when the movements 
of the intestine were previously insignificant, also an inhibiting 
effect of very small atropin-doses (0,005—0,05 °/,) was demonstrated 
by Unerr®). Other researchers also sometimes found this (paralysing) 
effect, sometimes they did not. In the isolated small intestine of 
rabbits and dogs Kress *) noted stimulation consequent on moderate 
amounts of atropin, paralysis through large quanta, whereas others 
again obtained widely varying results. In most cases small quantities 
of atropin caused inhibition in the small intestine of rabbits, whereas 
moderate atropin-doses alternately stimulated and paralysed the gut 
without any regularity. 
According to P. TRENDELENBURG °) the intact intestine of the rabbit 
reacts regularly on small quanta of atropin with paralysis, but on 
moderate quantities now with symptoms of stimulation, now with 
paralysis. 
According to the same writer *) an exception. to irregular behaviour 
1) An extensive survey of the literature is given by G. LILJESTRAND, Pflüger's 
Archiv, Bds lva, op. Waly Pore: 
2) R. Maanus, Versuche am überlebenden Dünndarm von Säugetieren. I. Mitt. 
Pflüger's Archiv. Bd. 108, pag. 1, 1905. 
3) M. Urerer, Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Wirkungsweise des Atropins und Physo- 
stigmins auf den Dünndarm von Katzen. Pflüger's Archiv. Bd. 119, pag. 373, 1907. 
4) K. Kress, Wirkungsweise einiger Gifte auf den isolierten Dünndarm von 
Kaninchen und Hunden. Pfltiger’s Archiv. Bd. 109, pag. 608, 1905. 
6) P. TRENDELENBURG, Physiol. u. Pharmacol. Untersuchungen über Dünndarm- 
peristatiek. SCHMIEDEBERG’s Archiv. Bd. 81, pag. 55, 1907. 
