January 1, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



31 



yield good results, and that our results almost 

 from the heginning of our worle together were 

 excellent! Indeed, so far as I have been able 

 to determine. Carrel working first with 

 Berard, then with Morel in Erance, and later 

 by himself in Dr. Carl Beck's laboratory in 

 Chicago, claims only one permanently success- 

 ful result/ This was an arterio-venous an- 

 astomosis made with Morel between the 

 jugular vein and carotid artery of a dog. The 

 animal was under observation but a short time 

 and ultimately was lost, so no direct examina- 

 tion of the result was made. But in all prob- 

 ability it would have remained good. He at- 

 tributed his earlier unsuccessful results to 

 " poor asepsis," but since I have observed that 

 moderate infection is of slight importance as 

 regards the result which such blood vessels as 

 he used are united by the methods perfected 

 by him and myself, this, it would seem, is not 

 the full explanation. As to priority, it gives 

 me great pleasure to express my high regard 

 for Dr. Carrel's persistence in the face of a 

 long series of unsuccessful operations and I 

 desire to in no way endeavor to attach any 

 of the credit he deserves for this devotion. 



Many experimenters have endeavored to sew 

 together openings in blood vessels and to unite 

 them end-to-end. To verify this statement 

 one need only to refer to a modern work on 

 surgery, e. g., " American Text-book of 

 Surgery," 1903, p. 292. Murphy, himself the 

 author of a successful method of end-to-end 

 anastomosis — a method used successfully on 

 raan — gives a short but valuable summary of 

 the literature," beginning with the successful 

 suture of a longitudinal incision in an artery 

 in 1762 by Broca. 



The dubious distinction of priority which 

 it would appear is the goal sought by some 

 of our contemporaries, presents slight at- 

 traction to the sincere investigator whose 

 reward largely is the consciousness that his 

 labors may in the end add a line to the ency- 

 clopedia of science. 



* See Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics, March, 

 1906, II., p. 269. 



" " Resection of Arteries and Veins Injured in 

 €ontinuity — End-to-End Suture," Medical Record, 

 January 16, 1897. 



In addition to the references given above a 

 list of the more important papers published 

 conjointly by Carrel and the writer is ap- 

 pended : 



" Functions of a Transplanted Kidney," Sci- 

 ence, N. S., October 13, 1905, XXII., p. 473. 



" Extirpation and Replantation of the Thyroid 

 Gland with Reversal of the Circulation," Science, 

 N. S., October 27, 1905, XXII., p. 535. 



" Transplantation Biterminale Compl6te d'un 

 Segment de Veine sur une Artfero," Comptes 

 Bendus Heb. des s4anoes de la Soci^te de Biologic, 

 Novembre 17, 1905, LIX., pp. 412-13. 



" Successful Transplantation of both Kidneys 

 from a Dog into a Bitch, with Removal of both 

 Normal Kidneys from the Latter," Science, N. S., 

 March 9, 1906, XXIII., pp. 394-5. 



" Results of a Replantation of the Thigh," Sci- 

 ence, N. S., March 9, 1906, XXIII., pp. 393-4. 



"A New Method for the Homoplastic Trans- 

 plantation of the Ovary," Science, N. S., April 

 13, 1906, XXIII., p. 691. C. C. Guthrie 



Depaetment of Phtsiologt, 

 Washington Univebsitt, 

 St. Louis 



william keith brooks 

 To THE Editor op Science : Allow me to call 

 attention to several erroi-s that appeared in my 

 sketch of William Keith Brooks, in Science, 

 for the fourth of December, 1908. On page 

 777 Brooks's college education is ascribed to 

 his own exertions, but in fact not only did his 

 parents put no obstacles in his way but his 

 father sent him to Hobart College and later 

 to Williams College. It was only his subse- 

 quent, post-graduate training, that required 

 Brooks's own labors. Moreover, it is doubtful 

 if his experience in his father's counting-office 

 was not after he had finished his college edu- 

 cation. Again on page 778 Hobart College is 

 confounded with the De Vaux College, a school 

 for boys near Niagara Falls. It seems that 

 Brooks was a student at Hobart, entering in 

 1866, and leaving at the end of his sophomore 

 year to go to Williams College, where he grad- 

 uated in 1870. Buhsequently he taught, as 

 one of the masters, at De Vaux College, from 

 1870 to 1873. On the same page Tyron should 

 read Tryon and H. Tuttle, Albert H. Tuttle. 

 E. A. Andrews 



