INFECTIONS OF THE DIGESTIVE TRACT 247 



It was shown by Herter and Wakeman * that the living 

 cells of the body, especially the hepatic and renal cells 

 and the epithelial cells of the intestinal tract, have the 

 power of absorbing considerable quantities of indol as 

 well as of phenol and of tying them loosely in such a way 

 that these bodies cannot be recovered by distillation. 

 Owing to this property of the cells, by which they hold 

 these aromatic bodies while subjecting them to oxidation 

 and pairing, the nervous system is screened from their 

 action. The importance of this screening action is 

 considerable, for the presence of indol or phenol in very 

 slight concentration in the blood of the carotid artery 

 suffices to induce violent nervous excitation followed 

 by a depression of nervous function. It is very notice- 

 able that the capacity of different animals to remove 

 indol from the circulation after intravenous injections 

 differs greatly in individuals of the same species. What 

 is particularly striking is the fact that in those animals 

 which do not possess livers capable of promptly removing 

 the greater part of the indol, the nervous system falls a 

 prey to the action of the poison. Conversely, it is also 

 true that in those animals in which nervous symptoms are 

 very pronounced after such injections of indol, it is found 

 that the blood and brain hold considerable indol, whereas 

 the liver may be shown to have fallen far below its nor- 

 mal capacity in the removal of the poison from the blood. 



organism could be found again in the urine when the doses are 

 moderate in amount. 



1 Herter and Wakeman, "The Action of Hepatic, Renal, and 

 Other Cells on Phenol and Indol," Journ. of Exper. Med., iv, 

 p. 307, 1899. 



