32 CHARLES F. W. MC CLURE 



weighl when immersed in Ringer's solution approximately 

 isotonic with normal resting muscle. As stated above, this 

 behavior would be expected, provided that in red-leg disease 

 the osmotic pressure of the lymph were lower than that of 

 normal resting muscle. An examination of the lymph has 

 shown such to be the case. 



The A or freezing-point depression and hydrogen-ion con- 

 centration of lymph obtained from frogs (Rana catesbiana) 

 with red-leg disease have been determined by my colleague, 

 Doctor Marshall, to be as follows : 



Frog A, A = 0.330° ± O.OKTC. 



pH = 7.5 

 Frog B, A =0.29° ±:0.010°C. 



pH = 8.1 



The value of A in frog B is for a partially coagulated 

 lymph, and may differ from the original value for the same, 

 owing to the absorption of electrolytes from the solution in 

 the process of coagulation. 



A number of other experiments have been made which still 

 further bear out the view that the oedema which accompanies 

 red-leg disease can be explained on the grounds that muscles 

 take up and hold .water as long as the osmotic pressure of 

 the lymph supplied to the muscles continues to remain lower 

 than that of the muscles. 



In table 8 two experiments are shown in which the gas- 

 trocnemius muscle of a frog with red-leg disease was im- 

 mersed in lymph obtained from the subcutaneous sinuses of 

 the ligated leg of a normal frog. In one instance (experiment 

 654) the osmotic pressure of the muscle was higher than that 

 of the lymph, and the muscle gained 13.9 per cent in weight 

 lie fore an equilibrium was established. In the other experi- 

 ment (experiment 659) the lymph was essentially isotonic 

 with the red-leg muscle, and the weight of the latter remained 

 practically stationary. The behavior of the controls — red- 

 leg muscles immersed in Ringer's solution approximately 

 isotonic with normal resting muscle — was typical of that of 

 all such muscles when observed under similar experimental 



