OBJECTIONS OF GLAUS AND EMBDEN 333 



Objections of Glaus and Embden. E. Glaus and G. Emb- 

 den 13 after subjecting Gohnheim's experiments to careful 

 control investigation, came to believe that they are dealing 

 with an action due to contaminations, probably of bacterial 

 nature. The apparent increase of glycolysis on addition of 

 pancreatic material might possibly be due to nothing more 

 than that corpuscular elements may withdraw some of the 

 toluol from the fluid saturated with this substance, and in 

 this way really favor the development of bacteria. The 

 writers named also express the opinion that toluol, as well 

 as other antiseptics, if not added in large amounts affords 

 no very great protection against bacteria, and that the com- 

 mon method of studying the action of glycolytic ferments 

 in tissue pulp with antiseptics added is not a serviceable one 

 and should be abandoned. 



There is no doubt of the very great difficulty of entirely 

 excluding confusion of results because of the influence of 

 microorganisms in experiments of this sort, and this has 

 been confirmed from another point of view. 14 The convic- 

 tion is borne in upon us that even if we do not employ a 

 tissue pulp, but work with acetone-precipitates from the 

 expressed juices, and whether toluol or chloroform be used 

 as an antiseptic, we are by no means sure of not finding 

 scattered bacteria in the sediment. 15 



However impressed the writer may be that the greatest 

 scepticism for all the discoveries in this field is apropos, that 

 moreover many of them are merely without objection, and 

 that especially all estimates of the quantity of glycolytic 

 enzyme in the tissues are apparently extremely problem- 

 atical, he would not willingly be persuaded that everything 

 which has been observed and noted here is actually nothing 

 but the effect of bacteria. 



13 R. Glaus and G. Embden (Frankfurt a. M.), Hofmeister's Beitr., 6, 214, 

 343, 1905. 



"G. C. E. Simpson (Liverpool), Biochem. Jour., 5, 126, 1910. 



18 L. Rapoport ( First Med. Clinic, Berlin ) , Zeitschr. f . klin. Med., 57, 208, 

 1905. 



