Dbcembee 27, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



This is to be interpreted as due to the 

 motor nerve endings under pessimum stim- 

 ulation acting inhibitorily on the muscle, 

 fatigue being excluded. 



Dr. F. Liischer (Berne) described his ex- 

 periments on the laryngeal nerves in con- 

 nection with movements of the oesophagus. 

 Stimulation of the recurrent laryngeal was 

 first found to cause a complete act of swal- 

 lowing. Three fine branches it gives off 

 to the oesophagus were found by localized 

 stimulation to innervate three overlapping 

 segments of it, local contractions of these 

 being produced. Stimulation of the cen- 

 tral end of the divided recurrent, its fel- 

 low of the opposite side being intact, gives 

 rise to a feeble act of swallowing. 



Prof. H. P. Bowditch (Boston) demon- 

 strated a simple model illustrating the 

 mechanism of the ankle joint, Weber's 

 doctrine regarding which was erroneous. 

 The relations between the power and the 

 weight, both when the former (repre- 

 sented by a spring balance) acts from a 

 fixed point external to the system to be 

 moved, and when (as is the case actually 

 in the body) it acts from a point forming 

 part of that system, can be readily shown. 



Discussion by Prof Griitzner. 



Prof. Hensen (Kiel) demonstrated that a 

 stream of air set in vibration by passing a 

 reed cannot sound an organ pipe or reso- 

 nator like a steady stream. If the stream is 

 strong the resonator or organ pipe alone 

 sounds ; if it be weak the reed alone. 



Discussion by Prof. Griitzner. 



Dr. A. White (London) demonstrated 

 his method for artificial circulation through 

 the frog's heart. 



Afternoon demonstrations and papers 

 (Chairmen, Profs. Fredericq and Herzen). 



Dr. 0. Lanz (Berne) showed various 

 animals, some of which had had their thyroid 

 glands removed (' athyreotic '), while the 

 others were having thyroid glands adminis- 

 tered to them ('hyperthyreotic'). Thy- 



roidectomy diminished the egg-laying power 

 of hens, while thyroid feeding increased it. 

 If rodents (which have hitherto been held 

 to be immune to the effects of thyroidec- 

 tomy) are operated on when young, cac- 

 hexia sets in. Hyperthyreotic animals bear 

 apparently normal young, but these soon 

 show disturbances of growth and function ; a 

 kitten taken from its mother and fed on cow's 

 milk, however, henceforward developed 

 normally. A thyroidectomised dog had 

 been kept alive six months by feeding with 

 glands and injections of their extract, ces- 

 sation of which brought on the character- 

 istic cachexial symptoms. Tolerance of the 

 loss of the gland is not established. 



Discussion by Dr. Hanau, Profs. Griitzner 

 and Herzen. 



Prof. E. Drechsel (Berne) gave an ac- 

 count of his investigations into the chemis- 

 try of the hornlike skeletal substance of 

 Gorgonia Cavolinii, a soft coral. This is 

 insoluble in ordinary solvents, but soluble 

 in strong hydrochloric acid. The dried 

 material contains nearly 8 % of iodine, and 

 about 2% chlorine, while the whole ash is 

 only about 7%, the iodine being there- 

 fore at any rate partly in combination with 

 an organic substance. From the solution 

 of the skeletal substance in baryta water, 

 an organic iodine compound was isolated, 

 provisionally called iodogorgonic acid, 

 which is probably moniodoamidobutyric 

 acid. This is the first organic iodine com- 

 pound which has been obtained from an 

 animal. It is derived in all probability 

 from the destruction of a proteid substance 

 containing iodine. 



Prof. C. S. Sherrington (Liverpool) de- 

 monstrated an experiment previously de- 

 scribed by him. After division of the 3d 

 and 4th cranial nerves of a monkey the 

 eye is deviated outwards by the uncom- 

 pensated action of the rectus externus. 

 Stimulation of the cerebral cortex at a 

 point above the 4th frontal convolution 



