368 THE INFLUENCE OF THE ORGANS ON ONE ANOTHER 



otherwise eliminated. But it has been observed that patients who suffer with 

 anuria for weeks may not show any signs of uraemia. Brown-Sequard explains 

 this failure of abnormal results by supposing that only the excretion of urine, 

 but not the production of the " internal secretion " of the kidneys, has ceased. 

 In support of this view he carried out experiments, in which animals whose 

 kidneys were removed and which showed the uraemic symptoms were very much 

 benefited by injection of an aqueous extract of kidney. Moreover E. Meyer has 

 shown that nephrectomized animals which exhibited the periodic respiration 

 resulting from uraemia, again began to breathe normally after intraperitoneal 

 injection of a kidney extract or intravenous injection of blood of a normal ani- 

 mal. Other authors have reached entirely negative results with similar experi- 

 ments. The view of Brown-Sequard therefore cannot be regarded as by any 

 means established in fact. 



I. THE SPLEEN 



Extirpation of the spleen produces no serious effects; it is therefore not a 

 vitally important organ. According to Schiff and Herzen, the spleen is in some 

 way concerned in the formation of trypsin from the zymogen formed in the 

 pancreas, and this has recently been confirmed by Gachet and Pachon (cf. page 

 252). The quantity of bile pigments formed in the liver is also said to fall 

 considerably after extirpation of the spleen (Pugliese). This is in line with the 

 view arrived at by many authors, and latterly by Jawein, that the spleen removes 

 from the blood and transforms the worn-out red blood corpuscles. 



An intravenous injection of splenic extract at first lowers the blood pressure 

 and later raises it slightly ; it also appears to be able to regulate the rhythm of 

 the excised heart. Again, it is said to have the same effect as an infusion of 

 red bone marrow in raising the number of red blood corpuscles and the content 

 of haemoglobin in the blood (Danilewsky). 



Since we have no data as to the effect of the venous blood from the spleen, 

 these results furnish no definite point of vantage for the explanation of the 

 physiological purpose of this still very enigmatical organ. 



