412 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVI. No. 665 



cheta muris, var. Virginiana, following the 

 principle suggested by Calkins." Its specific 

 relation to that organism must be left for 

 further work to determine. 



Experimental Ligation of Splenic and Portal 

 Veins, with the Aim of Producing a Form 

 of Splenic Anemia: Aldred S. Waethin. 

 The author's results indicate that obstruc- 

 tion of the splenic veins of dogs by ligation 

 is not followed by a fibroid hyperplasia of the 

 spleen but by a partial atrophy. A more or 

 less complete venous collateral circulation is 

 always produced. The picture of splenic 

 anemia as seen in man can not, therefore, be 

 reproduced in the dog, by an obstruction to 

 the venous outflow from the spleen. 



An Experimental Control of Fischer's At- 



traxin Theory: 0. Snow. (Communicated 



by Aldred S. Warthin.) 



Fischer recently reported from Ribbert's 

 laboratory" that by injecting a solution of 

 Scharlach R, Sudan III. or Indo-phenol in 

 olive-oil under the skin of the ears of rabbits 

 he was able to get an epithelial proliferation 

 which was not to be distinguished histolog- 

 ically from a squamous-celled carcinoma in 

 man. He was not able to get this result with 

 other substances acting as irritants, and there- 

 fore assumed the existence of specific bodies — 

 attraxins — in the injected solution, which ex- 

 erted a chemotactic influence on- the epithelial 

 cells. 



His work has been repeated by Snow as 

 nearly as was possible from the meager de- 

 scription given of his technic. Three old and 

 three young rabbits received, under the skin 

 of the ear, injections of the Scharlach R- 

 olive-oil solution, and the injected tissue was 

 excised and examined at times varying from 

 7 to 61 days. The results show that the solu- 

 tion has absolutely no influence on the epi- 

 thelial elements, but acts as a mild irritant, 

 inducing a chronic inflammation with slight 

 reaction on the part of the connective tissue 



' Calkins, Journal of Infectious Diseases, April 

 10, 1907. 



° Fischer, Miinch. med. Wochenschrift, October 

 16, 1906. 



in the ease of the old rabbits, and a greater 

 reaction, with the formation of foreign-body 

 giant cells, in the case- of the young rabbits, 

 the conclusion being that the atfraxin theory 

 is without sound foundation, so far as " Scar- 

 let-oil " is concerned. 



The Effects of Struggle on the Content of 

 White Cells in the Lymph: E. Peyton 

 Rous. (Communicated by Aldred S. War- 

 thin.) 



Preliminary determinations, with the ani- 

 mal (dog) quiet, showed that for any one in- 

 dividual the number of leukocytes per cubic 

 millimeter of lymph, from the thoracic duct, 

 was practically constant during the 1 to 4 

 hours during which observations were made. 

 With struggle, as others have shown, the lymph 

 flow increases sharply in amount for a few 

 minutes. With this the author found a cor- 

 responding increase in cell content, an in- 

 crease marked in " cell concentration " per 

 cubic millimeter of lymph and in the total 

 number of elements passed. 



An additional conclusion was that, for a 

 given individual, the lymph glands seem 

 " set " to produce cells at definite rates. These 

 rates have a wide range for reasons unknown. 

 The cell increase with struggle comes from 

 the peripheral lymph system rather than from 

 sedimented cells in the receptaculum chyli, 

 and is probably dependent on another factor 

 besides increased lymph flow (a supposition 

 upheld by later experiments with lympha- 

 gogues). 



The facts elicited have a bearing on the 

 " physiological mononucleosis " of the blood 

 observed in man following active exercise, on 

 the disappearance of this after prolonged ex- 

 ertion (25-mile run), and the absolute de- 

 crease in mononuclears sometimes seen. 

 A Lipolytic Form of Hemolysis: Hideyo 



ISTOGUCHI. 



Lipase is, under some conditions, an effi- 

 cient hemolytic agent which acts, however, not 

 directly upon the red corpuscles, but indirect- 

 ly through the liberation from available fats 

 of the active fatty acids. Neutral fats are 

 not hemolytic, but they become so under the 

 influence of lipase. 



