682 



PHYSIOLOGY. 



f tin- larg' 



those in which the |mncrva- li.i-i . ...u-ly 



removed showed, for all practical purposes, an 

 equal breaking up f tin- neutral fnt. 



In i toetnn : ''m. 



ii bridge, assumed that the action of tin- lm-r 

 on the an: taiirinc. Jeiicin. 



sin, etc., is one of dehydration similar t<> thai by 

 which glycogcn I- produced by I In- dchvdrati 

 glucos,.. ' Again, in a. < -ordain w ilh PMi. 

 amiuonm- 6 of living an-: 



ail nitrogen, tin- conxersion ..f i he former inio 

 th.- latter being an image of the eatential eh 

 which takes place when a living proteid di. -. 

 Further, in inaii> "f the . ompotffldl 



dentation of three molecules lakes place, funning 

 und* mu h more stable than those c< : 



..-rule only, such as i- exemplified 

 .1. which re-ult- from the c<.n<len-a- 



.dc> of cvailic a< id. I >ead Jll- 



biiinin may IK- built up on UM evidence furnished 

 <>n the lines here suggested. The change from 

 the dead to living albumin may IN* similarly -up- 

 posed to take place a- from urea into ammonium 



.:-. The author adduces evidence explana- 

 tory of the change which takes place as the living 



id lies. Jlis latest conclusion- are that the 

 living proteid "consists of a series of cyan-alcohols 

 with one tliio-aleoliol united to a U-n/.ine nucleus: 

 that when a protei.i \.->lT carbonic and 



lactic ..-id-. the thio-alcohol by oxidation being 



rti-il into a sulphonatc which combines with 

 ammonia, and by the conversion of <'.\<HI int.. 

 Nil < <> the c\aiio-alcohols are changed into a 

 eries of amide bodies; that by condensation ..f tin- 

 lower cvan-alcohol and the separation of CnNII 

 the higiier cyan-alcohols arc formed : and that 

 urea is formed by the separation of carbonic an- 

 hydride (('0 = Nil), which either combines with 

 ammonia to form urea or i- hydrated to forn. 

 bonic acid and ammonia. 



The function of glycogen in the formation of 

 tissue is dealt with by Dr. Charles ('reighUm in a 

 work recording his microscopie researches on tin- 

 subject. The author finds that glycogen is present 

 and may be abundant in the liver of animals in 

 hibernal ion. which is again-t the rule of starving 

 animaU : and that it is present in some peculiar 

 way in the muscular and pulmonary ti ne-. and is 

 found in granules in fat cell-. ""Any attempted 

 interpretation of the-e fad- can not bift be ha/ard- 

 oii-. while so many other relevant fad- remain to 

 be determined exactly; but it seem- probable, at 

 Vort ha* conjectured for the hepati- . that 



re of fat i* utili/.ed by being converted into 

 A- to the hibernating gland, it- function 

 appear* in some way correlated to the wasting of 

 the fat -t..re during the winter, the gland substance 

 becoming phjsiotogioalrT most active in corre- 

 spondence with the wasting of the animal'- fat in 

 raL* 1 



M* --f pep-in and pancreatin 



ii|in fibrin in the presence of on.line yellow, saffo- 



DB, magenta, and methyl orange were separately 



1 by II. A. \\V1.. r . of the coloring substance^ 



w retanled the action "f the pep- 



*in: but saflolin* magenta, and methyl orange inter- 



fTe-i Mth the ferment illg net io|| r.f 



pancreatin. The use of >.j--h color- in articles of 

 footl and drink in ther.-f-.r.- objectionable. 



The action of th- ,,M,,n..n coloring mat- 

 flavoring extract*, and preserrativee on the digestive 

 ferments has been studied by Frank H. "-ym-.n-. 

 Among his most interesting results are the deter- 

 minations that |H-ptic dige.i|,.n > .-natly retard, d 

 by picric acid, tropa-ohn (X>O. and metahil yellow, 

 less so by salicylic acid and oil of wintergnen, and 



that -ii. .H Is retarded by Bismarck 



:i. cinnamon, and formal. The action 

 sence of jep|N-rmint on both the peptic and nan- 

 . ferments was |racti<-ally nil; and the three 

 col. .ring matter- chry-oidine. safranine, and meth- 

 yl. -ne blue had no apparent effect 



* crciiun.-Tlie internal secretions, products of 

 what are railed the duct lev. or vascular glands, wen^ 

 the subjects ,f papers read by li. II. < hiltcnden and 

 \N'. II. llowell before the fourth triennial meeting 

 of th. QS, It has 



long been recogni/ed that the-e gland- |n> e n<> 



ory dud-. and that therefore what. 

 lion they may produce probably enter- the blood 

 directly or through the lymph.' These secretions 

 .: gland-, and their functioii- 



beeli the -llbject of much -tud\.ilp..|i which 



fai-tory information has only recently been gained, 

 and tfn-ir functional activity is UOW re< 



.-ssar element for the welfare of the > 



Their femoral or the impairment of their function 

 may produce even more di-t urban ce of ph\ -],.! 

 equilibrium than a corresponding disairangemenl 



of glands formerly considered of greater phy-i-.lo^- 

 i al \alu\ \\"hate\er |...\\er they po-x..., ;i |,|,, 

 be the elaboration of definite product- w hich are 

 distributed through the body by the bl ..... 1 and 

 lymph. In the ca-e of the thyroid' gland and ti uc 

 ii i- found that its complete removal is followed 



ion- di-t urbances of nutrition that an- imme- 

 diately or ultimately fatal. Moreover, in the-e 



the reintroduc'tion of thyroid material into 



the body result- in in amelioration or ereo entire 



removal of the symptoms of malnutrition. Among 

 the effects of the administration of thyroid gland 

 and thyroid extract- to normal individuals and to 

 those in whom the thyroid gland- are <li- 

 Prof, ('hitteiiden mention- a \ery n.t iccable eiTect 

 upon the metabolism of the body, leading 

 marked loss of body weight, an increa-ed excretion 

 of water, nitrogen, carbonic acid, and -odium chlo- 

 ride. The fact of quantitative change- in the pro- 

 teid metabolism renders it probable that thci- 

 also qualitative changes, and that the p 

 ab-ence of the thyroid gland or il- equivalent from 

 the body may modify the //// of mdaboli-m. I'ut 

 upon this point we' know very little. Tin- experi- 

 ments show that the thyroid is' concerned in ha-ma- 

 and that ihere i- apparent 1 v a connect ion be- 



tween the thyroid gland and phosphorio-acid me- 

 tabolism. BridenOC i- al-. affordeil that it ; 

 Otne important part in the katabolic prores- 

 the body. S.me uncertainty still prevails respect- 

 ing the chemical and physiological diarae; 

 the protective products manufactured by thyroidal 



tl lie. 'I he epithelial eel Is of t lie gland appear to 



manufacture a colloid secretion which finds its way 

 to the blood through the lymph, presumably carry- 

 ing with it the active principle-. Thi- mallei 



-iieral proteid reactions, i- very soluble in 

 dilute alkaline fluid-, is readily di olve<l by ga-iric 

 ion. and is regarded by Prof. Chittendei 

 live constituent of the'gland. Itha-l 1 

 markable property of hoc. 'ain amount of 



inline in combinai ion. and vields on decomposi- 

 tion a peculiar nonproteid -nb-iaiice. carrying with 

 it mo-t of the iodine and endowed with marked 

 physiological action. This *ub*tanc< thvroidin or 

 i'Hl'othyrin i- e-pecially chara-teri/cr| chemically 

 by it-" great re-i-tance" to ordinary decomp 



It i- fairly well e-tabli-hed that iodothyrin 

 possesses all the peculiarities as^K-iated \\ith thy- 

 roid therapy. The physiological activity of tin- 

 thyroid gland was ascribed by Frankel to" another 

 Mice which he called thyreo-antitoxin, a cr\ - 

 talline bo<ly of neutral react ion obtained from the 

 proteid-free extracts; but Prof. Chittenden finds 



