ALCOHOL, DISEASE, AND HEREDITARY DEFECTS 271 



Much of our data on this problem is derived from observations 

 on the supposed effect of alcohol and other injurious substances 

 on the offspring of animals or human beings subjected to these 

 influences. In the experiments of Hodge and of Pforringer on 

 dogs, and of Laitenen on rabbits and guinea pigs the animals were 

 given alcohol during pregnancy and the number of stillborn or 

 imperfect young was unusually high. Of the three dogs used in 

 the experiments of Hodge one died during parturition. After the 

 two others had produced several stillborn or abnormal young the 

 alcohol was discontinued. In both cases the litters which were 

 born after alcohol was no longer given were mostly dead. Where 

 there is an opportunity for the foetus to be affected directly by 

 alcohol in the mother's blood there is no evidence of any truly 

 hereditary effect. If alcoholized mothers continued to produce 

 defective young after the use of alcohol is withdrawn, the result 

 may still be due to the direct effect of the injury sustained by 

 the mother. 



There have been some experiments on the direct effect of 

 alcohol on the germ cells. Miss Torelle has studied the influence 

 of alcohol on the sperm cells of the starfish. She found that 

 small amounts of alcohol added to a sea water containing the 

 sperm cells did not diminish their vitaHty and when eggs were 

 fertilized by these sperms they developed rather better than the 

 controls. Ivanow treated the sperms of the rat, sheep, dog, 

 rabbit and guinea pig with alcohol up to as high as seven per cent. 

 The females artificially impregnated with these sperm cells 

 brought forth a normal and vigorous progeny. In the mature 

 condition Ivanow infers that sperm cells are quite resistant to 

 alcohol. This should render us rather skeptical about the sad 

 havoc alleged to be produced in human offspring by paternal 

 drunkenness at the time of conception. The sperms already 

 isolated from any organic connection with the rest of the body, 

 and relatively resistant, would probably be less affected than 

 at any previous time. The experiments of Gee showed that 

 spermatozoa of fishes were relatively uninjured by alcohol up to 

 strengths which were nearly fatal to them. However, with 



