142 INTERNAL SECRETION 



after an average of sixty-eight hours ; where the suprarenals were 

 removed in two sittings, death followed after 134 hours ; and 

 where by three, in eighty-eight hours. In rabbits, after removal 

 of both organs at the same time, death followed in five to six days ; 

 where, however, the organs were removed separately, with a long 

 interval between the operations, the animals remained alive for 

 months. These authors also state the remarkable fact that previous 

 castration doubles the length of life of such animals. According 

 to Krychtopenko (1906), rabbits frequently survive the total 

 extirpation of their suprarenals. 



From the results of their very careful experiments, H. Strehl 

 and O. Weiss (1901) concluded that all animals, from which 

 both suprarenals have been removed, die. The following table 

 shows the results of their experiments : 



Length of Life after Number 



Species Operation ; in hours of Animals 



Dogs 22-75 7 



Dogs 75-138 ... . 3 



Cats 15-28 ... . 15 



Cats 28-47 ... . 2 



Rabbits 8-14 ... . '26 



Guinea-pigs 4-9 ... . 20 



Rats 15-19 4 



Mice 8-13 ... . 10 



Hedgehog 14 ... . t 



Weasel 21 ... . i 



Frogs ... 22-45 25 



One cat lived for a week after operation without showing 

 signs of pathological disturbance. After death, a suprarenal of 

 about the size of a pea was found attached to the spermatic 

 vein. The other animals died in every case, and the post- 

 mortem finding was negative. 



Where the suprarenals were removed separately, with an 

 interval of a month between the operations, the animals lived 

 longer. Thus, four dogs lived 109 to 214 hours; five cats 30 to 

 170 hours; nine rabbits 21 to 76 hours; twenty-one frogs from 30 

 to 66 hours. In every case the suprarenal which was removed 

 last was enlarged. 



My own method of extirpation, and one which I have 

 practised on numerous dogs, cats, and rabbits, differs from those 

 of the earlier investigators in certain important particulars. In 

 each case, I first performed a lumbar section by which I was 

 enabled to dislodge the suprarenals in a dorsal direction. Leaving 

 the glands attached by means of the blood-vessels, I sewed them 

 in between the cuticle and the muscular structure of the back. 

 In this way they remained alive, and were readily accessible 

 without the necessity of opening the peritoneum. Three or four 

 days later, they were exposed by cutting through the cuticle; 

 the vessels were ligatured, and the organs removed in the easiest 



