646 



PHYSIOLOGY. 



with the appearance of perfect health. One of the 

 latter cases afterward developed into tubercular 

 laryngitis. 



A form of the tubercle bacillus capable of exist- 

 ing in cold-blooded animals, such as the frog, has 

 been described by MM. Bataillen and Terre. A 

 third form of this bacillus, originally human, has 

 now been obtained after a passage of three days in 

 the frog. On solid media this form grows rapidly 

 at temperatures between 12 and 48 C., and is dis- 

 tinguished from the form previously described by 

 three points, appearance of cultures, power of easily 

 developing at high temperatures, and possession of 

 the property of rendering beef broth turbid. The 

 colonies on the potato are brownish and the bacilli 

 are not stained by the methods of Gram or Ehrlich. 

 Experiments on animals have led to the conclusion 

 that many cases of pseudo-tuberculosis are in reality 

 true tuberculosis, having as a cause one of the 

 forms of Koch's bacillus. 



The relations of toxins and antitoxins, particu- 

 larly in the cases of snake poisoning and diphthe- 

 ria, "have been investigated by Dr. C. J. Martin and 

 Dr. T. Cherry with reference to the nature of the 

 substances themselves and the nature of the an- 

 tagonism between them. The first of these two 

 problems has not been satisfactorily answered, but 

 the authors have found that the materials in ques- 

 tion have high molecular weights, and should be 

 classed with proteids or proteidlike substances. 

 Applying a method of separating substances of 

 large "from those of smaller molecular size in a solu- 

 tion containing both, it appeared that the antitoxin 

 of diphtheria did not pass through the filter. Its 

 molecular size was therefore presumed to be of the 

 same order as that of a globulin. When antitoxic 

 serum was filtered in this manner, all the proteids, 

 and together with them all the antitoxic virtue, 

 were absent from the filtrate. Toxin, on the other 

 hand, the molecular size of which is of the albumose 

 order, was not held back by the filter. Correspond- 

 ing results were obtained with the toxin and anti- 

 toxin of snake poison. Concerning the nature of the 

 antagonism between the two substances difference 

 of opinions has prevailed, some authors believing it 

 to be chemical, like that between an alkali and an 

 acid, and others regarding the action as indirect, 

 operating in some way through the cells of the 

 organism. Experiments with cobra poison in which 

 the antitoxin was destroyed by heating the solu- 

 tions to 68 C. for ten minutes, while the venom 

 was not attenuated, have been held to show that 

 the toxin and antitoxin do not act in vitro, but only 

 in corpore, or that the action can not be explained as 

 a simple chemical operation. Such experiments are 

 shown by the authors not to be conclusive, because 

 in them no account is taken of time as a factor in 

 aiding chemical action ; and they present experi- 

 ments of their own, illustrated by a graphic curve, 

 showing that when the antitoxin is allowed to act 

 upon the toxin for more than ten minutes before 

 the solution is applied they completely neutralize 

 one another in vitro. This result was obtained with 

 both snake venom and diphtheria toxin and the 

 antitoxin. 



The chief points noted in a paper by W. B. Hardy 

 regarding Continued observations upon the action 

 of the hyaline cells of frog's lymph upon bacilli, are 

 that actual measurements show that contact with 

 an oxyphil cell of frog's lymph retards or stops the 

 growth of a chain of Bacillus filamentosns ; that 

 the action of the cells upon this organism is gener- 

 ally determined by temperature. Below 19 C. the 

 cells usually completely arrest growth ; between 20 

 and 25 C. the growth is only retarded. The cells 

 exert the action by coating the chain with a slime 

 which is derived from the oxyphil granules. Con- 



tact with a hyaline cell does not necessarily have 

 any effect upon the rate of growth of Bacillus fila- 

 mentosus. If the bacillus is inclosed within vacu- 

 oles developed in the cell substances, then retarda- 

 tion of growth occurs. 



M. S. Arloing has found that the development of 

 the immunizing effects of anti-diphtheric serum is 

 influenced by the place and mode of introduction. 

 When administered separately, its complete anti- 

 toxic action is greatest when it is introduced into 

 the blood, and least when introduced into the con- 

 junctive tissue. 



In a research by J. T. Cash and W. R. Dunstan on 

 the pharmacology of certain alkaloids in relation to 

 their chemical composition, the pure alkaloids acon- 

 itine. benzaconine, aconine, and an aconitine deriv- 

 ative, diacetylaconitine, were examined with refer- 

 ence to their action upon warm- and cold-blooded 

 animals, a similar series of experiments being made 

 with each alkaloid for purposes of contrast. It was 

 found that if the dose of aconitine, which is invari- 

 ably lethal per kilogramme body weight, be repre- 

 sented by the unit, that, in very general terms, di- 

 acetylaconitine would have -fa" f the toxicity of 

 aconitine, benzaconine -5-^0, and aconine ToW The 

 variation in toxicity among these alkaloids is there- 

 fore enormous. The details of the chief results ob- 

 tained and of the points of difference in the action 

 of the several alkaloids are given in the paper of the 

 authors. All the alkaloids examined reduce body 

 temperature, though in varying degree. It is further 

 pointed out that while the toxicity of aconitine main- 

 ly depends on the presence of the acetyl group, the 

 introduction of two additional acetyl groups into 

 the aconitine molecule does not materially alter the 

 pharmacological action, but merely reduces the 

 toxicity of the parent alkaloid. The removal of 

 the acetyl group abolishes the stimulant action 

 upon the respiratory center and pulmonary vagus. 

 It also favors reduced activity in motor rather than 

 in sensory nerve endings. The benzoyl group 

 present in benzaconine, absent in aconine causes 

 a peculiar and distinct modification in the heart's 

 action, associated with a disturbance of sequence 

 never witnessed after aconine. The curarelike 

 effect of aconine and the intermittent failure of 

 the stimulated benzaconine muscle are also trace- 

 able to the modification in chemical constitution 

 arising from the absence or presence of the benzoyl 

 group. Attention is drawn to the practical bearing 

 of the fact that benzaconine and aconine. pharma- 

 cological antagonists of aconitine, occur with it in 

 the root of Aconitum napellus, from which tilt- 

 medicinal preparations of the drug are made. 



In experiments to determine the action of ana^- 

 thetics on vegetable and animal protoplasm, J. B. 

 Farmer and A. D. Waller studied the effects of 

 carbon dioxide, ether, and chloroform with leaf of 

 elodea and other plants and nerve of frog. The 

 action of carbon dioxide was to produce an initial 

 slight acceleration, followed speedily by a com- 

 plete cessation of movement. On disconnecting 

 the carbon -dioxide apparatus and aspirating air 

 through the chamber, the protoplasm, after the 

 lapse of two or three minutes, began to show signs 

 of recovery. Fitful movements of the granules 

 first occurred, and then they soon resumed their 

 processional motion around the cell, at first very 

 slowly. The movements rapidly became acceler- 

 ated and considerably exceeded the normal rate. 

 The acceleration did not last long, and was fol- 

 lowed by a slowing down to the ordinary speed. 

 The results of experiments with chloroform and 

 ether are also given in the authors' paper. 



Conclusions are drawn by E. Overtoil from com- 

 parisons of experiments in growing plants in sugar < 

 with observations made on autumnal leaves in tho 



