GLYCOGEN AND ITS FORMATION. 



357 



animal more must be given than in the case of another to pro- 

 duce approximately the same excretion is undecided and re- 

 mains to be determined." Dwelling upon the presence in the 

 adrenals of a diastatic ferment, he states that "two possibilities 

 may present themselves, viz.: either the suprarenals manu- 

 facture a diastatic ferment or they retain the diastatic ferment 

 that is formed elsewhere in the body (pancreas, salivary glands) 

 when it is carried to them in the blood- or lymph- stream." 

 The author also refers to the investigations of F. Blum, 24 who, 

 "testing the effects of suprarenal extract empirically," discov- 

 ered "glycosuria in 22 out of 25 animals .that he operated on." 

 Our interpretation of the manner in which these investigators 

 reached their results is, of course, not that of Croftan, since, 

 as we view the process, the oxidizing substance constitutes the 

 active suprarenal agency as a compound of suprarenal secretion 

 and oxygen. 



We are dealing with enhanced physiological activity some- 

 where. Indeed, Croftan says: "In order that hyperglycosuria 

 be produced the amount of sugar normally poured into the 

 blood must be increased, or the amount normally destroyed 

 must be decreased." That excessive activity was either pro- 

 cured by the injected extract or by overstimulation of the 

 adrenals, both leading to total insufficiency, is shown by the 

 brief history of one of the animals: "The second rabbit died 

 in one hour and ten minutes; here some spasmodic symptoms, 

 involving chiefly the posterior extremities, preceded the coma." 

 Referring to two rabbits, including the latter, the first having 

 died in two hours and forty minutes and to "all others to be 

 spoken of presently" (six, all told), he says: "Dextrose was 

 identified in the urine by its cupric-reducing powers and the 

 phenylhydrazin test; in one of the dogs in addition by circum- 

 polarization and yeast fermentation. The substance excreted 

 was undoubtedly dextrose. The amount excreted would be far 

 too large to be explainable by a splitting of the jecorin-like 

 substance mentioned above; it would, not, moreover, be pos- 

 sible for considerable quantities of dextrose derived from this 

 source to appear in the urine for several days after the injec- 



24 F. Blum: Deutsche Archiv f. klin. Med., Oct. 31, 1901. 



