478 SECRETION. 



Extirpation of the Spleen. There is one experimental fact that has presented itself 

 in opposition to nearly every theory advanced with regard to the function of the spleen ; 

 which is, that the organ may be removed from a living animal, and yet all the functions 

 of life go on apparently as before. The spleen is certainly not necessary to life, nor, as 

 far as we know, is it essential to any of the important general functions. It has been 

 removed over and over again from dogs, cats, and even from the human subject, and 

 its absence is attended with no constant and definite changes in the phenomena of life. 

 If it act as a diverticulum, this function is not essential to the proper operation of 

 the organs of digestion and absorption ; and, if its office be the destruction or the forma- 

 tion of the blood-corpuscles, the formation of leucocytes, of uric acid, of cholesterine, or 

 of any excrementitious matter, there are other organs which may perform these functions. 

 What renders this question even more obscure is the fact that we have no knowledge of 

 any constant modifications in the size or the functions of other organs as a consequence 

 of removal of the spleen. This is not surprising, however, when we reflect that one 

 kidney may accomplish the function of urinary excretion after the other has been removed, 

 and that the single organ which remains does not present enlargement of the Malphigian 

 bodies and the convoluted tubes. 



There are certain phenomena that sometimes follow removal of the spleen from the 

 lower animals, which are curious and interesting, even if they do not afford much posi- 

 tive information. Extirpation of this organ is an old and a very common experiment. 

 In the works of Malpighi, published in 1687, we find an account of an experiment on a 

 dog, in which the spleen was destroyed, and the operation was followed by no serious 

 results. Since then it has been removed so often, and the experiments have been so 

 universally negative in their results, that it is hardly necessary to cite authorities upon the 

 subject. There are numerous instances, also, in which it has been in part or entirely 

 removed from the human subject, which it is unnecessary to refer to in detail ; but, in 

 nearly every case, when there was no diseased condition to complicate the observation, 

 the results have been the same as in experiments on the inferior animals. 



One of the phenomena following extirpation of the spleen, to which we desire to 

 call attention, is a modification of the appetite. Great voracity in animals after removal 

 of the spleen was noted by the earlier experimenters, and this formed the basis of some 

 of their extravagant theories. Later experimenters have observed this change in the 

 appetite and have noted that digestion and assimilation do not appear to be disturbed, 

 the animals becoming unusually fat. Prof. Dalton has also observed that the animals, 

 particularly dogs, sometimes present a remarkable change in their disposition, becoming 

 unnaturally ferocious and aggressive. "We have frequently observed these phenomena 

 after removal of the spleen ; and, in the following experiment, performed in 1861, they 

 were particularly marked : 



The spleen was removed from a young dog weighing twenty-two pounds, by tho 

 ordinary method ; viz., making an incision into the abdominal cavity in the linea alba, 

 drawing out the spleen, and exsecting it after tying the vessels. Before the operation 

 the dog presented nothing unusual, either in his appetite or disposition. The wound 

 healed rapidly, and, after recovery had taken place, the animal was fed moderately once 

 a day. It was noticed, however, that the appetite was excessively voracious ; and the 

 dog became so irritable and ferocious that it was dangerous to approach him, and it 

 became necessary to separate him from the other animals in the laboratory. He would 

 eat refuse from the dissecting-room, the flesh of dogs, fa?ces, etc. On February 11, 1861, 

 about six weeks after the operation, having been well fed twenty-four hours before, the dog 

 was brought before the class at the New Orleans School of Medicine, and he ate a little 

 more than four pounds of beef-heart, nearly one fifth of his weight. This he digested 

 perfectly well, and the appetite was the same upon the following day. This dog had a 

 remarkably sleek and well-nourished appearance. 



The above is a striking example of the change in the appetite and disposition of ani- 



