THE ADRENAL BODIES 201 



0. The Mode of Disposal of Adrenin in the Body 



It was found by Oliver and Schafer that adrenal extracts 

 not only produce a contraction or increase of tone in cardiac 

 and vascular muscle, but that frogs which had received a 

 subcutaneous injection show an increased power of contraction 

 of the skeletal muscles on stimulation of their nerves. This 

 also applies to mammals, and the effect lasts for some time 

 after the effects upon the vascular system have disappeared. 

 It was therefore concluded that the active substance is 

 probably taken up by, and remains for a time stored within, 

 muscle, and that this may in a measure account for its 

 disappearance from the blood. It is not excreted by the 

 urine, nor is it at once reabsorbed by the capsules. Its 

 ultimate disappearance is probably due to a process of 

 oxidation in the tissues. Oxidation of the active principle 

 does not occur in the blood. 



Langlois found that the rate of destruction is proportional 

 to the activity of the tissues generally. Thus, in hibernating 

 or cooled animals, the process of destruction is slow. Accord- 

 ing to the author, destruction of the active principle occurs 

 throughout the whole body, though chiefly in the liver. The 

 injection into the mesenteric vein of a dose sufficient to raise 

 the blood-pressure considerably, if injected into the general 

 circulation, produces no effect. Athanasiu and Langlois also 

 found that Frankel's " sphygmogenin," when injected, is 

 destroyed in the liver. It was also stated that adrenal extracts 

 are rendered inactive by ozone or other oxidizing agents. 



The experiments of Embden and v. Furth show that digestion 

 of adrenin for two hours with normal blood, laky blood, or 

 blood-serum, causes a considerable destruction of the active 

 principle. On the other hand, addition of muscle, liver, or 

 lung extract to the blood (as also perfusion experiments) causes 

 a less destruction or none at all. Comparative experiments 

 with weak alkaline solutions teach that the destruction in the 

 blood is essentially due to the alkali, and the hindrance to 

 destruction in the organs to the formation of acid. Neverthe- 

 less, these authors are not of opinion that the rapid cessation of 

 action on the vessels is to be attributed to a rapid oxidation ; 

 they consider, rather, that the contraction of the muscles of 



