ON THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF PEPTONE. 533 



means of Schafer's spleen box, or by a modification of it, made for the 

 writer of this report, which allowed the organ to be surrounded by a 

 layer of warmed oil, and thus prevented a loss of heat, otherwise liable to 

 occur. This method of recording splenic undulations of volume was found 

 to be much more satisfactory than that of Roy, and fully merits all that 

 Professor Schafer has elsewhere said about it. Side by side with the 

 spleen curve a tracing of carotid blood-pressure was recorded. 



Six experiments were performed, the dogs varying in weight from 

 7 to 11-7 kilos. In most of the experiments a dose of 0-15 grm. per kilo 

 was employed. In one this was increased to 0'2 grm. The left splanchnic 

 nerve in two of the experiments was divided and excited during the injec- 

 tion. In the remainder either the spinal cord or the splanchnic nerves 

 were excited, before and after the injection, with the same strength of 

 stimulus, and the results compared. 



The results showed that the effects of Witte's peptone on the blood- 

 vessels of the spleen were somewhat different from the effect of the same 

 substance on renal and limb blood-vessels. 



In the first place it was noted that the spleen volume suffers less of a 

 diminution from the fall of blood-pressure which immediately succeeds 

 an injection of Witte's peptone, and that this fall of the lever was soon 

 replaced by a return to its ordinary level. 



Agreeing with this, it was found that the early effects of this substance 

 on the peripheral irritability of splenic blood-vessels was very slight, 

 decidedly less than the same effect on splanchnic vessels generally. Later, 

 however, the contrary result was observed ; the splenic blood-vessels 

 seemed then to be more influenced by Witte's peptone than other vessels 

 in the abdominal cavity. This was shown in the later stage by a decided 

 rise of carotid blood-pressure on excitation of the spinal cord, unaccom- 

 panied by any effect on spleen volume, while the contrary obtained at an 

 earlier part of the same experiment. 



II. Effects of r%ire Peptone. 



(a) On Mood coagulation. — This was observed in four experiments, 

 the peptone used being prepared according to the directions of Grosjean ' 

 and supplied to me by Dr. G. Griibler. The dogs used weighed from 

 85 to 18'45 kilos, and in each case a dose of 0-2 grm. per kilo was 

 employed. 



In all four cases coagulation was delayed from two to several hours. 

 In one case coagulation occurred at the end of the former period ; in two 

 others it had supervened next morning, the experiments having been per- 

 formed in the afternoon. In the fourth case the onset of coagulation was 

 not observed. 



These results agree with those of Grosjean, who found that pure pep- 

 tone delayed but never wholly destroyed the coagulability of blood. 

 Previous to Grosjean, Pollitzer had obtained inconstant results with 

 ampho-peptone — sometimes no efiect, sometimes a variable amount of 

 delay, on the whole his experiments leading to the conclusion that ampho- 

 peptone exerts but slight influence on blood-coagulation. 



Whether peptone in smaller doses is capable of producing hastening of 

 coagulation has not as yet been in^^eetigated. 



' Grosjean, ' L'action physiologiqiie de la propeptone et de la peptone,' Travaux 

 du laboratoire de Leon Iredericq, tome iv. 1891-92, p. 45. 



