894: REPORT—1899. 
It further explains all my results and, as far as I can see, is not opposed to 
any of the numerous observations recorded in the literature of diabetes, which is 
very extensive. 
Pancreatic diabetes thus consists, in my view, of the balance between this 
toxic substance and the internal secretion of the pancreas being upset; and I 
should be inclined to explain the majority of cases of human diabetes similarly, 
seeing that several observers have proved that the internal secretion of the 
pancreas is under nervous influences. 
What this toxic substance is, I do not know. How exactly it exerts its 
action is also uncertain; but my experiments tend to show, that if the liver con- 
tains no glycogen, not only is excision of the pancreas not followed by glycosuria, 
but also injection of thoracic lymph from a digesting dog causes no glycosuria. 
2. The Physiological Effects of Extracts of the Pituitary Body. 
Sy Professor E. A. ScHirer and SwaLE VINCENT. 
1. Extracts of the pituitary body, when intravenously injected, have a marked 
effect upon the blood-pressure, producing, according to the nature of the extract, 
either a marked rise or a marked fall. The pituitary body contains, therefore, two 
active substances, one pressor and the other depressor. Of these the pressor 
substance is soluble in salt solution and insoluble in absolute alchol and ether: 
the depressor substance is soluble in salt solution, in absolute alcohol, and in 
ether. The active substances are not destroyed by boiling, and are dialysable. 
2. The pressor substance produces its action both upon the heart and upon 
the peripheral arteries (confirmatory of Oliver and Schiifer); the depressor sub- 
stance probably mainly on the arterioles. The action of the pressor substance is 
a prolonged one (confirmatory of Oliver and Schiifer), and during the period of | 
its action a second dose is inactive or nearly so (confirmatory of Howell). The 
action of the depressor substance is evanescent, and can be repeated at short 
intervals. 
3. The pressor effect of the extract may be accompanied by cardiac slowing. 
This is probably in large part incidental to the contraction of arterioles and rise 
of aortic pressure, but is in part due to direct action upon the peripheral cardiac 
mechanism (confirmatory of Oliver and Schiifer, Howell, and Cleghorn), 
4, The active substances are contained only in the infundibular, not in the 
hypophysial part of the pituitary body (confirmatory of Howell). 
5. Subcutaneous injection of the extracts in small mammals causes paralytic 
symptoms similar to those obtained by injecting suprarenal extract. 
6. The characteristic effects produced by extracts of the infundibular body are 
probably not due to the grey nervous matter of which this is largely composed 
(confirmatory of Howell). 
3. On the Theory of Hearing. By A. A. GRay. 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16. 
The following Papers were read :— 
1. On the Resonance of Nerve and Muscle. By Dr. F. C. Busca. 
| [From the Physiological Institute of the University of Bern). 
It is known and shown in the work of N. Wedensky,’ that the pitch of an 
artificial muscle tone (Helmholtz) corresponds to the frequency of the stimuli 
which are given to the nerve or to the muscle directly. ; 
1 A more extended account will be found in the Journ, of Physiol, vol, xz. p. 1, 
® Du Bois-Reymond’s Arch, 1883, p, 313; 4 . 7 ETE: | 
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