194 H. G. HOSKItfS 



ing body.. As a matter of fact, the buffer properties of the blood would 

 seem to vitiate any such experiment as Kretschmer reported. 



Oliver and Schafer believed that epinephrm injected into the blood 

 stream is removed by the tissues especially muscle stored, and subse- 

 quently oxidized. That such is the case has not been demonstrated. Lang- 

 lois reported that epinephrin was rapidly rendered inert when added to 

 freshly pounded liver or intestinal tissue. Livon obtained similar results 

 with liver and skeletal muscle. Other observers, however, have failed to 

 corroborate these findings and have reported destruction of epinephrin 

 under such conditions takes place only when concentration grossly trans- 

 cending physiological limits are employed. For a time much stress was 

 laid on the fact that fresh pancreas pulp rapidly causes the destruction 

 of epinephrin. Largely upon this fact an elaborate theory of pancreas- 

 suprarenal antagonism was founded. The destruction of the epinephrin 

 by pancreatic material seems definitely to be ascribed to its alkalinity. 



Sajous(c) has brought together numerous observations which have led 

 him to infer that epinephrin is joined to hemoglobin and serves to catalyze 

 respiratory activity, but no proof has been offered that such is the case, 

 beyond the fact that venous blood is oxidized somewhat more rapidly in 

 the presence than in the absence of epinephrin. The fact that epinephrin 

 augments the affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen would seem to indicate 

 that it would thereby impede the more important respiratory process, 

 namely, the discharge of oxygen from the hemoglobin to the tissues. 



That epinephrin introduced into the blood-stream is destroyed by the 

 particular tissues in which reactions occur is widely believed. Battelli 

 noted a disappearance of epinephrin when perfused through the liver. 

 Other observers, however, have failed to corroborate this. Langlois found 

 that a given quantity of epinephrin, which, when injected into the jugular 

 vein produced a marked systemic reaction, was without effect if intro- 

 duced into a mesenteric vein. Carnot and Josserand found that if epi- 

 nephrin was injected into a carotid or femoral artery and thus sent through 

 the capillary bed, little systemic reaction followed; that is, only such as 

 would result from the local action. Circulation of the drug through the 

 capillaries supplied by the mesenteric artery was even more effective in 

 reducing the pharmacodynamic activity. These latter observations were 

 confirmed by Elliott, who proposed the view that epinephrin disappears 

 from the blood at a rate directly proportional to the local reaction pro- 

 duced. It is to be kept in mind, however, that larger doses of epinephrin 

 thus administered by artery cause a marked vasoconstriction and hence 

 partial or almost complete occlusion of the local blood-stream. It is pos- 

 sible, therefore, that the assumed "disappearance" means merely a holding 

 back of the epinephrin and feeding it into the blood-stream at so slow a 

 rate as to prevent its detection. 



That epinephrin persists in the blood-stream for a considerable period 



