484 



NATURE 



[September 15, 1898 



A conjoint communication was made by Prof. Waller, 

 F.R.S., and Miss Sovvton (London), on the action upon 

 isolated nerve of muscarine, chlorine and neurine, commenced 

 at the instance of Prof. Plalliburton. Comparative experiments 

 were made with the hydrochlorides of these two bodies. Occa- 

 sion was taken to bring into the comparison the effect of 

 muscarine, which in previous experiments at a strength of 

 I per cent, had showed itself to be of doubtful action upon 

 nerve. Choline as compared with neurine is inert in relation 

 to nerve. 4 per cent, solution of choline produces no effect, 

 whereas the electromobility of nerve is abolished by neurine at 

 4 per cent., at 2 per cent., at I per cent., and markedly 

 diminished at 0*5 per cent. As regards the substance of 

 cerebro-spinal fluid, if the issue be narrowed to an alternative 

 between choline and neurine, there can be no doubt that 

 neurine is absent, and therefore choline present. The muscarine 

 used was less active upon nerve than neurine. As regards an 

 action upon isolated nerve, the order of efficacy of the samples 

 used was : (i) neurine, (2) muscarine, (3) choline. 



Miss S. C. Sowton (London) gave an interesting report of a 

 large series of galvanometric records of the decline of the cur- 

 rent of injury in meduUated nerve, and of the changes in its 

 response to periodic stimulation. The work had been prosecuted 

 chiefly in Prof. Waller's laboratory, and had for its object the 

 study, by means of prolonged photographic records, of : — 



(a) The progressive modifications of electromotivity described 

 by Engelmann, viz. decline of current of injury with lapse of 

 time, and its restoration by a fresh transverse section. 



{b) The progressive modification of electromobility described 

 by Waller, viz. decline of negative variation and appearance of 

 a positive variation. 



The curve of diminishing electromotivity falls convex to the 

 abscissa. Time being taken in arithmetical progression, the 

 residual electromotivity is in geometrical progression, with a 

 ratio = § per i hour. The negative variation progressively 

 diminishes during the first 2 or 3 hours, and gives place to a 

 progressively increasing positive variation. 



Dr. Bayliss and Dr. E. Starling (London) showed an influence 

 of blood-supply on peristaltic movement. The cutting off of 

 blood-supply from the intestine reduces the peristaltic move- 

 ments after a variable interval. The intestinal inhibition 

 due to the splanchnic may be only secondary to vascular 

 constriction. 



Dr. H. Ito (Bern) reported a research into the place of the 

 heat-production evoked by cortical excitation. 



Physical absorption of isotonic and anisotonic salt solutions 

 was the subject of a communication by Prof. S. P. Budgett (St. 

 Louis, U.S.A.). A dilute solution of egg-albumen placed inside 

 the shell membrane of the hen's egg, and separated by it from a 

 strong solution of sodium chloride, increased in volume at the 

 expense of the latter. An explanation of this phenomenon may 

 be of interest with regard to the intestinal absorption of hyper- 

 I onic salt solutions. The membrane offers so little resistance to 

 the dialysis of sodium chloride, that the osmotic pressure due to 

 the latter is for the most part transmitted through, rather than 

 exerted against, the membrane, and consequently can interfere 

 but little with the absorption of its solvent. Added to these 

 circumstances is the osmotic pressure exerted by the albumen on 

 the inner side of the membrane ; this force and the greater re- 

 sistance presented by the membrane to the exit of water, together 

 overbalance the lesser resistance offered by the membrane to the 

 entrance of water, and the slight resistance to the dialysis of 

 sodium chloride. The solution of egg albumen may be replaced 

 by serum, by milk, by a solution of dextrin, or gum arable, or 

 by an even somewhat hypotonic solution of a crystalloid such as 

 ammonium sulphate, which dialyses less readily than sodium 

 chloride through the egg-shell membrane. 



Dr. F. S. Lee (New York) gave a communication on the 

 fatigue of muscle. He had studied the process of fatigue in the 

 frog, the turtle, and the cat. The increase in the duration of 

 relaxation that occurs in the frog is not found in the case of the 

 two other species. The one essential factor in the phenomenon 

 of fatigue is the diminution of the lifting power of the muscle. 

 Of the two supposed causes of muscle fatigue, viz. decrease of 

 contractile substance, and accumulation of fatigue-products with 

 poisoning of the muscle thereby, the former plays no part in the 

 phenomenon ; the latter is the sole cause. Fatigue is a safe- 

 guard against exhaustion. Attempts to demonstrate histological 

 differences between resting and fatigued muscle had yielded him 

 only negative results. 



Prof. W. W. Thompson (Belfast) reported observations on the 

 diureric effects of small quantities of normal saline solution. 

 Sodium chloride solution ("6 per cent. '6 per cent, and '9 per 

 cent.) 2-4 c.c. per kilo was injected into the external saphenous 

 vein. The quantity of urine was greatly increased, far beyond 

 the amount injected. The urea and total nitrogen was in- 

 creased when measured hour by hour, though the urine was 

 more dilute. At first this might be thought due to absorption 

 of water into blood-vessels causing a dilute blood. This can- 

 not, however, be the explanation, .since sp. gr. of blood in 

 many cases is higher than normal during period of greatest 

 diuresis. It is also not due to excretion of surplus NaCl — for 

 in many cases this is diminished, though urine is increased, i.e. 

 the two phenomena do not run parallel. 



Dr. Brunton Blaikie (Edinburgh), with Prof. Gottlieb's co- 

 operation (at Heidelberg), had examined" the muscle of dogs 

 which had been bled to death, the bleeding being of a very 

 thorough nature. The estimation of urea was conducted accord- 

 ing to von Schroeder's method, and urea in crystalline form 

 was conclusively demonstrated in all cases. 



Prof. Hagemann (Bonn-Poppelsdorf) gave an account of his 

 researches on the actual nutritional value of the feed of the 

 horse. Each weighed-out " feed " can be divided into a per cent, 

 which is absorbed, aqd 100 - a per cent, which reappears in the 

 fseces. The portion a per cent, is often regarded as digested, 

 that is, completely usable by the organism for its nutrition. 

 Such a view is only partly justified. From it there has to be 

 substracted that digestion-work consumed in absorbing it, and 

 also that part which is broken up by fermentation processes in 

 the intestine. 



Drs. F. G. Hopkins and W. B. Hope (London) dealt with 

 the questions of the nucleo-proteids as dietetic precursors of 

 uric acid. They confirmed Mares that after a meal the in- 

 crease of uric acid in the urine is immediate and has a duration 

 shorter than that of the increase of urea. They called attention 

 to the difficulty of reconciling this fact with an origin from 

 nucleins which are unaffected by the earlier (gastric) period of 

 digestion. In testing this matter it was found that taking 

 filtered pepsin-hydrochloric acid extracts of the thymus gland 

 as test meals produces a large increase of uric acid, though the 

 extracts could be shown to contain no more than traces of 

 nuclein ; whereas the administration of pure nuclein prepared 

 from the gland gave (in the authors' experiments) no increase at 

 all. The ascription of all uric acid production in the mammal 

 to the breakdown of nucleins is over hasty. 



Dr. Martin Hahn (Munich) gave a communication on the 

 chemical and immunising properties of plasmines. By plasmines 

 the author denotes the substances contained in animal cells. 

 He pointed out that it is now possible to express from yeast- 

 cells a cell-free juice or plasmine which ferments sugar. This 

 yeast plasmine contains also a proteolytic enzyme. The in- 

 jection of the plasmines of cholera and typhoid bacilli in the 

 guinea-pig establishes a specific immunity against intraperitoneal 

 infection with cholera or typhoid. The same immunity can be 

 obtained by injecting an alcoholic precipitate of the plasmine, 

 or a precipitate thrown down from the plasmine by acidifying 

 with acetic acid. 



Prof. Livon (Marseilles) communicated observations on the 

 action of extract of the pituitary body upon the function of the 

 vagus nerve, illustrated by a number of kymograms. The 

 inhibitory action of the vagus on the heart he found to be 

 distinctly weakened temporarily after the injection of doses of 

 pituitary extract. 



Dr. Medwedew (Odessa) reported his studies concerning the 

 oxidation of salicyl aldehyde in tissue-extracts. The oxidising 

 principle contained in the extracts seems to be one or several 

 peroxidised substances that can give up their oxygen in a 

 molecular form. 



Drs. Bedart and Mabille (Lille) read a paper on the action of 

 arsenic upon the intoxication produced by ingestion of the 

 thyroid body. The acceleration and irregularity of heart-beat 

 produced in the dog by feeding with thyroid gland are removed 

 by treatment with arsenic. 



Dr. de Saint- Martin (Paris) made a communication on the 

 absorbent power of the blood for oxygen and for carbonic oxide. 

 Setting out from the statement of Claude Bernard that carbonic 

 oxide displaces the oxygen from the blood volume for volume, 

 he makes use of the following method of analysing the oxygen 

 content of the blood. In a glass bulb are placed the blood to 

 be examined, pure COj, and a saturated aqueous solution of 



NO. 1507, VOL. 58] 



