952 Zentralblatt für Physiologie. Nr. 7 
work of previous investigators, this author presents the record of 
numerous injection trials with cholin preparations on curarized dogs. 
The intravenous introduction of Merk’s cholin was followed by a 
profound fall of pressure, together with characteristie effects on the 
pulse and on various secretions. The depressor effects could be 
abolished by the administration of atropin. Freshly prepared speci- 
mens of cholin chlorid, as well als older preparations which were 
purified by repreeipitation as the platinum double salt failed to show 
any depressor effects whatever. On standig a decomposition sets in, 
according to Modrakowski; and the familiar action of blood pres- 
sure is asceribed to some contaminating (muskarinartiges) deriva- 
tive which arises in this secondary process. He concludes: „Hierbei 
sei nochmals betont, daß die Wirkung des reinen Cholins nur in 
a RN: $ Ä RL ' ARE! 
RER, RER 
N Y ul 
nn, 
Cat. 2 kgm. Ether anaesthesia. Injection of 1 c. ec. solution containing 2 mgm. 
of choline chloride. The exceptionally pure product had been fractionated 
about 15 times, an was used within 24 hrs. after its preparation. 
einer kurzdauernden Erhöhung des Blutdruckes besteht. Zwar habe 
ich das in dieser Arbeit nur für die synthetisch erhaltene Base nach- 
gewiesen, doch ist anzunehmen, daß die Wirkung des aus Leeithin 
abgespaltenen Cholins keine andere sein wird.” 
Inasmuch as the action of cholin on the eirculation has been 
regarded as sufficiently characteristic to afford an index to the pre- 
sence of this substance in animal fluids!), we were concerned, first 
of all, to ascertain to what extent, if any, the typical blood pres- 
sure pieture obtained by Halliburton and others after cholin in- 
jections in mammals was due to impurities in, or derivatives of, the 
!) Vgl. Halliburton: Die Biochemie der peripheren Nerven, Ergeb- 
nisse der Physiologie, 1905, IV, 66. 
