338 PHYSIOLOGY CHAP. 



Post-mortem examination of operated dogs that have perished 

 from auto-intoxication show in addition to advanced atrophy of 

 the liver, a grave alteration of the renal parenchyma, probably 

 different in character from that of ordinary nephritis. This renal 

 alteration, however serious, is not accompanied by albuminuria. 

 Once only De Filippi found in the urine of a dog 0*05 grm. per 

 cent of albumin. Complete anuria may appear in the extreme 

 period of intoxication that precedes death. 



This special renal alteration explains the whole of the irregu- 

 larities in the toxic phenomena presented by the different animals 

 operated on, which vary greatly in the different periods following 

 the operation. According to De Filippi the deflection of the 

 portal system from the liver includes the principal paths by which 

 the injurious metabolites absorbed by the intestine are rendered 

 innocuous by the liver. So long as the kidneys function normally, 

 the toxic circulating substances can be removed from the blood by 

 an excess of work of the kidneys. But this excess of work and 

 the constant passage of toxic substances finally affect the renal 

 parenchyma, so that compensation fails, and intoxication sets in. 

 The choice of diet is very important in delaying this renal 

 alteration ; a diet of raw meat is harmful, owing to the extractives 

 which it contains, since these produce rapid alterations of the 

 renal epithelia, and cause an accumulation of toxic substances 

 in the blood. Hence the importance of a milk diet in the treat- 

 ment of hepatic cirrhoses and nephritis. 



The above data show that while many highly important 

 problems are still unsolved, the theory of the protective functions 

 of the liver is firmly based upon innumerable experiments, which 

 are of great interest, from both the physiological and the clinical 

 point of view. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



Gastro-intestinal Absorption of Crystalloid Substances : 



C. VOIT and BAUER. Zeitschr. fiir Biologie, 1869. 



ZAWILSKI. Ibidem, 1876. 



ROHRIG. Ber. d. sach. Ges. d. "VVissensch. zu Leipzig, 1877. 



VON MERING. Du Bois-Reymond's Archiv, 1877. 



SCHMIDT-MULHEIM. Ibidem, 1880. 



I. MUNK and ROSENSTEIN. Ibidem, 1890. 



HEIDENHAIN. Pfiiiger's Arcliiv, Ivi., 1894. 



HAMBURGER. Du Bois-Reymond's Archiv, 1895-96. 



O. COHNHEIM. Zeitschr. fiir Biologie, 1897, 1899, 1900. 



HOBER. Pfliiger's Archiv, Ixx., 1898. 



Absorption of Fats : 



KOLLIKER. Verhandlungen der physikalisch -medic. Gesellsch. in Wiirzburg, 1856. 

 BRETTAUER and STEINACH. Sitzungsber. der math. -naturw. Classe der k. Akad. 



d. Wissensch. zu Wien, 1857. 

 LETZERICH. Virchow's Archiv, 1866. 

 VON THANHOFFER. Pfliiger's Archiv, 1874. 

 WILL. Ibidem, 1879. 



