54 INTERNAL SECRETION 



Vitzou found that in rabbits and dogs the injection subcu- 

 taneously and intravenously of defibrinated blood from the 

 renal vein of a normal animal prolonged the life of a nephrec- 

 tomized animal in a very striking manner. Thus in one rabbit 

 the survival was forty -two and a half hours longer than was 

 the case with the control, which had, like the first, undergone 

 double nephrectomy. Vitzou concludes that the kidney has 

 an important internal secretion, the absence of which plays 

 an important part in the causation of uraemia. 



Many experiments of a similar character have been per- 

 formed. Some of these have been in favour of the views ex- 

 pressed by Meyer and Vitzou, some have been opposed to them. 

 The results obtained have been in fact very contradictory. 

 Thus Chatin and Guinard investigated the question as to 

 whether, by injection of blood from the renal vein of normal 

 dogs into nephrectomized animals, there was any lengthening 

 of life, or a diminution of the ursemic symptoms. The results 

 were completely negative that is to say, the animals treated 

 with the serum died on the whole sooner than those not treated. 

 Chatin and Guinard do not, however, definitely deny an internal 

 secretion on the part of the kidney, for which they think there 

 is a certain amount of clinical evidence. 



It is doubtful if much importance can be attached to the 

 results obtained by Vitzou. His work has been severely 

 criticized by Lewandowsky, who points out that as a matter 

 of fact animals can live from three to five days after double 

 nephrectomy ; whereas Vitzou states that he succeeded by his 

 treatment in causing them to live sixty to sixty-nine hours 

 instead of thirty-four ! As pointed out by Biedl, the duration 

 of life of nephrectomized animals is extremely variable. Accord- 

 ing to his own experience in some cases dogs and rabbits 

 may survive as long as five or six days after extirpation of 

 both kidneys, while in other cases they may die in thirty-six 

 hours. Again, the incidence and course of the symptoms of 

 uraemia in such animals is no criterion of their actual condition. 

 It frequently happens that nephrectomized animals show no 

 characteristic symptoms for two, three, or even four days, 

 and then suddenly succumb. Others, on the other hand, on 

 the day after the operation, suffer from vomiting and dyspnoea, 

 then cither recover or remain in a chronic condition of urn in ia 

 evera] days, Su< -h experiments are of little value as 



