664 FRANK C. MANN 



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moved. It has been known for many years that animals and even man can 

 live without the spleen, and that the loss of the organ produces few changes. 

 The fact that the spleen is not essential to life and good health has been 

 demonstrated on the adult and young of many species. 



The Spleen and the Digestive Function 



The intimate anatomic relationship of the spleen to the organs of 

 digestion first led observers on the physiology of the spleen to attribute to it 

 an important digestive function. The direct venous connection of the 

 spleen and stomach in all species of vertebrates and their particular rela- 

 tionship in some species of birds call attention to their possible relation- 

 ship in all animals. Inlow has made an extensive review of the literature 

 on the subject. 



Some of the first vague hypotheses concerning the function of the 

 spleen are : The function of the spleen is to draw the watery part of the 

 food from the stomach (Hippocrates) ; the spleen acts as a prop to the 

 stomach (Aristotle) ; it keeps the body warm (Galen) ; and it acts as a 

 heart to maintain a circulation through the stomach (Stukeley). 



With the development of experimental methods many investigators, 

 of whom Bacelli is supposed to have been the first, devised methods to 

 test the hypothesis of a functional relationship between the spleen and 

 the stomach. Very contradictory results were obtained (Tarulli and 

 Pascucci, Gallonga, Silvestri (a.) (&), Betti, Gross, Trampedach, Rusca 

 (a) (&), Soler and Mtidero). 



The most recent work is that of Inlow whose experiments were carried 

 out on dogs. In careful study of the gastric secretion before and after 

 splenectomy it was found that no changes were produced in the quality 

 but the quantity was slightly decreased ; this could possibly be attributed 

 to damage of the blood supply of the stomach as has been noted following 

 operative procedures on human beings. 



A critical review of all experiments on this question, particularly 

 of the most recent, conclusively shows that a functional relationship be- 

 tween the stomach and the spleen has not been established. 



The Spleen and the Pancreas. The fact that the spleen becomes con- 

 gested and undergoes marked variation in size during digestion (Leuret 

 and Lassaigne, Dobson, Landois, Dittmar and Vogel) beginning about 

 the time of the pancreatic activity, has led to the belief, first advanced by 

 Schiff (a) (b) and promulgated by Herzon (a) (&) (c) (d), that an in- 

 ternal secretion of the spleen affects the pancreas, but this hypothesis has 

 not been substantiated. Investigations on the subject have been made by 

 Lussana (a) (b), Gachet, Gachet and von Pachon (a) (&), Popielski, Bes- 

 bokai'a, Bellamy (a) (&), Mendel and Rettger, Frouin (a) (6), Prym 



