Magendie on Absorption. 295 
fourth minute the effects which [anticipated began to mani- 
fest themselves, feebly at first, but afterwards with so much 
activity that I was obliged to have recourse to pulinonary i in- 
flation to prevent the death of the animal. 
I intended to repeat this experiment, but I was unable to 
procure any other than a full grown dog, much larger 
the former; the coats of his veins were consequently much 
thicker. ‘The same effects were produced, but, as might 
have been expected, their appearance was much more tar- 
dy ; and they were developed only after the tenth minute. 
Satisfied with this result as to the veins, I was desirous of 
ascertaining whether the arteries possessed analogous prop- 
r et the ri ot, in the animal, in the 
same 6 gee condition as the veins; their texture is less” 
spongy and offers more consistence ; ‘their tubes are. much 
thicker in piaipheeibl to their diameter, and they are, more- 
over, constantly distended by the blood thrust forward from 
the heart. It was, therefore, easy to foresee that, if the phe- 
nomenon of neg et re really take place in the arteries, 
the effects would become visible much later than in the 
veins; this belief was fully confirmed by experience in the 
case of two large rabbits; after having stripped with h the 
mer: : ids in each of them, 
vemiea could traverse the sides of the a as 
Although I ceased to wet the artery as soon as the effets 
became visible, one of the rabbits died. And, to assure 
myself that the poison had really traversed the coats (pa- 
rows) of the artery, and that it had not se absorbed by the 
small veins which might have escaped my dissection, I care> 
fully detached the vessel which had setvell for the experi- 
ment, and opened it throughout its whole length ;_ the 
sons who were present tasted with me the small pr 
artery, and we all found in it n= 
extract of the races m : 
eae vessels —_ cane ere: 
Bera, =r as well during aes eas re- 
mained onbp:iuehaniiile Sieger p the re smaller vessels 
possessed the same faculty ; their — at 
iveme tenuity, their thinness and the great extent ny Ee 
coats, were so many conditions which would tend to favour 
the production of the phenomenon. 
