RELATIONS OF THE ORGANS TO ONE ANOTHER. 601 



of the blood may be due to this fact. It is perfectly unjustifiable to 

 assume that substances appearing after the extirpation of an organ are 

 in any way to be regarded as normal products, and that they are simply 

 not removed because a certain organ is missing. It is possible that such 

 an assumption does represent the truth, but at the same time it is equally 

 probable that the injurious substances are formed because the organ is 

 not present. 



It has only quite recently been shown that the suprarenal bodies do 

 actually give up to the blood a specific substance. It has been found 

 possible to isolate this substance and crystallize it. Oliver and Schafer 1 had 

 observed that extracts of the suprarenal capsules when injected into the 

 veins gave rise to a marked increase in the blood-pressure. These investi- 

 gators traced this increase of pressure to a strong contraction of the blood- 

 vessels, and also to the fact that the suprarenal extract had an action upon 

 the heart. Long before this, in 1856, Vulpian 2 had his hands upon this 

 active principle. He found that the suprarenal bodies contained a sub- 

 stance, the so-called chromogen substance, which turned dark on exposure 

 to the air, and gave with ferric chloride solution a green coloration. It 

 is only recently, however, that it was found possible to prepare this active 

 principle in a pure state. Its discovery was not alone of physiological 

 interest, but at the same time a remedy was added to our store, which 

 met with a favorable reception such as is but seldom accorded to a new 

 preparation. It is used especially to prevent bleeding in surgical opera- 

 tions. The composition of the substance corresponds to the formula 

 C 9 H 13 N0 3 . 3 



According to E. Friedmann 4 it has the following structure : 



H 

 C 



^ \ 

 HOC C - CH(OH) . CH 2 . NH . CH 3 



I II 

 HOC CH 



^ / 

 C 

 H 



1 J. Physiol. 16 (1894); 17, IX (1894-95). 



2 Compt. rend. 43, 663 (1856). 



3 Cf. von Fiirth: Z. physiol. Chem. 24, 142 (1898); 26, 15 (1898-99); 29, 105 (1900); 

 Hofmeister's Beitrage, 1, 243 (1901) ; Sitzber. kais. Akad. Wissensch. in Wien. Math.- 

 natur. Klasse 112, Abt. 3 (March 5, 1903). Abel and Crawford: Johns Hopkins Hosp. 

 Bull, No. 76 (1897). J. Abel: ibid. No. 90-91 (1898); Am. J. Physiol. March, 1899; 

 Z. physiol. Chem. 28, 318 (1899); Johns Hopkins, Bull., No. 120 (March, 1901); No. 

 128 (Nov. 1901); No. 130, 131 (Feb.-March, 1902); Am. J. Physiol. 8, 2 (1903); 

 Ber. 36, 1839 (1903). J. Takamine: Am. J. Pharm. 73 (1901). H. Pauly: Ber. 36, 

 2944 (1903). Abderhalden and Bergell: ibid. 37, 2022 (1904). 



4 Hofmeister's Beitrage, 8, 94 and 118 (1906). 



