464 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLV. No. 1167 



nerves accompanying the coeliac axis and the 

 superior and inferior mesenteric arteries are 

 then carefully severed, a rise of blood pres- 

 sure taken from the carotid must be mainly 

 due to contraction of the splanchnic area 

 which is now denervated. If a vigorous cat 

 is operated upon in this way under light 

 urethane anesthesia, asphyxia for one minute 

 will result usually in a rise of blood pressure 

 at the end of forty seconds and a very con- 

 siderably greater rise as soon as respiration 

 begins again. These results do not occur if 

 the adrenal glands are removed. If these 

 glands are left in the body, but disconnected 

 from the central nervous system, a rise of pres- 

 sure may still be produced if the asphyxia is 

 continued for a considerably longer period 

 than is required when the splanchnic nerves 

 are intact. 



If the heart is completely denervated by 

 severing both vagi in the neck and removing 

 both stellate ganglia, it becomes a very delicate 

 indicator of increased adrenin in the blood. 

 Stimulation of the central end of the cut 

 sciatic nerve (in a cat under urethane) will 

 then cause the heart rate to increase, in some 

 instances 50 beats a minute. The phenomenon 

 does not occur if the adrenal glands are re- 

 moved or if the splanchnic nerves are cut. 

 The method is advantageous in that it shows 

 the latent period and the duration of the 

 secretion. The effect on the heart of asphyxia 

 is not so great as the effect of afferent stimu- 

 lation, in all probability because of the antag- 

 onism between the influence of carbon dioxide 

 and of adrenin. 



A great deal of care must be taken in oper- 

 ating on the abdominal cavity to avoid manip- 

 ulation. As was shown many years ago, such 

 operations produce changes which can be best 

 accoiuited for by continuous discharge of the 

 nerve impulses along splanchnic courses. 

 Thus the adrenal glands would be persistently 

 stimulated. A potent source of error in previ- 

 ous work, in which the abdominal cavity has 

 been opened, has doubtless been the failure 

 to exercise extreme care to avoid rough 

 manipulation. 



A full account of this investigation will be 



published in the American Journal of Physi- 

 ology. W. B. Cannon 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



The 567th regular meeting of the society was 

 held in the assembly hall of the Cosmos Club, Sat- 

 urday, March 10, 1917, called to order by President 

 Hay at 8 p.m., with 45 persons in attendance. 



On recommendation of the council Mrs. L. O. 

 Howard and Dr. Martha Brewer Lyon were elected 

 to active membership. 



Under the heading book notices, brief notes, etc., 

 Dr. H. M. Smith exhibited a manuscript and hand- 

 illustrated book dealing with beetles. It was about 

 60 years old. Dr. Smith presented it to Dr. L. O. 

 Howard. Professor W. P. Hay presented some 

 notes on the flying squirrels of this vicinity with 

 observations on their habits and behavior as pets. 

 Dr. H. E. Ames called attention to a newspaper 

 clipping recording the flight of two tagged ducka 

 a distance of 2,000 miles in about 60 hours. He 

 sought verification of the statement. 



The regular program consisted of two commimi- 

 cations : 



Precipitins : M. W. Lton, Jr. 



Dr. Lyon described an anti-beef serum he had 

 lately prepared, and set up a series of test tubes 

 containing dilutions of beef, sheep, hog and human 

 servims, and demonstrated the action of the anti- 

 beef serum on these, viz., specific precipitation 

 when added to the diluted beef serum, group pre- 

 cipitation with dUuted sheep serum, and the non- 

 precipitation with diluted hog and human serums. 

 He mentioned briefly the history and theory of 

 precipitating serums and explained their use in 

 identifying suspected animal proteins and in show- 

 ing the blood relations of various animals. In dis- 

 cussing this communication A. H. Jennings ex- 

 plained how he had made use of the precipitin re- 

 action in determining the kinds of animals bitten 

 by biting flies. Dr. George W. Field and H. IP. 

 Taylor also took part in the discussion. 



Porpoises and Steamers: William Palmes. 



Mr. Palmer commented on the frequency with 

 which porpoises are found about the bows of steam- 

 ers and advanced explanations as to their presence 

 there and methods of progression. His communi- 

 cation was Illustrated by diagrams and lantern 

 views of porpoises and other cetaceans. It was 

 discussed by Dr. H. E. Ames. 



M. W. Lyon, Jk., 

 Recording Seeretary 



