414 



SCIENCE 



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



ment of tlie Altmann granules : In the con- 

 necting and convoluted tubules, and in the 

 descending parts of the loops of Henle, the 

 granules are rather coarse, very definitely rod- 

 shaped and arranged in radial rows in the 

 basilar two thirds of the cells, often so closely 

 set end to end that it is difficult to make out 

 the dividing lines between them. In the part 

 of the cells directly adjoining the lumen there 

 are few scattered short rod-shaped granules 

 and none in the " Biirstenbesatz." These de- 

 tails are naturally more plainly shown in the 

 large cells of the convoluted tubules, but in a 

 general way the smaller cells in the connect- 

 ing tubules and in the descending loops of 

 Henle resemble them very closely. Some 

 groups of convoluted tubules have much 

 coarser granules than others. Ophiils has not 

 been able to make out whether this is a con- 

 stant anatomic difference or due to different 

 functional stages. If the granules have any 

 relation to the function of the cells, which 

 seems probable, one would surmise that the 

 connecting tubules can not purely serve the 

 function of conducting urine from one place 

 to another, all the more so since in the large 

 ducts of the pyramids which serve this pur- 

 pose alone, the granules are very scanty and 

 irregularly arranged. In the large light cells 

 of the ascending parts of the Henle loops, the 

 granules are exceedingly small, also slightly 

 rod-shaped, extremely numerous and scattered 

 all through the cells in an irregular fashion. 

 This condition might be used as an argument 

 in favor of a difference in function of this 

 portion of the tubules. In the cells of the 

 liver of these animals the granules vary 

 greatly in size from just visible to quite 

 coarse granules. All of them are rods, some 

 short, others quite long and more or less wavy. 

 The granules are scattered irregularly all over 

 the cells. 



In granular degeneration, the characteristic 

 macroscopic and microscopic pictures of which 

 can be best produced by intravenous injection 

 of potassium bichromate, the granules enlarge 

 in size, become more or less spherical, lose 

 their normal arrangement and stain very 

 deeply with the Altmann stain, contrary to 



what has been generally assumed after the 

 work of Schilling,' who seems to be the only 

 investigator of this question. In the liver the 

 change is similar, all cells being equally in- 

 volved. The albuminous granules in granular 

 degeneration, then, are not newly formed gran- 

 ules, but to a great degree the enlarged and 

 disarranged normal Altmann granules. The 

 author's observations on the kidneys and liver 

 confirm the view that in fatty degeneration, 

 fat in all cases appears first in and around 

 the Altmann granules. It seemed more as if 

 the granules were changed to fat in toto. 



These observations indicate why granular 

 degeneration and fatty degeneration so fre- 

 quently occur simultaneously, for both appear 

 to be the result of abnormal conditions in the 

 Altmann granules. 



The Relation of Anatomic Structure to Func- 

 tion: William OpHiJLs. 

 The kidney appeared to be the organ best 

 suited for the study of this problem, for by 

 collection of the urine directly after its dis- 

 charge from the ureters, the exact moment of 

 the occurrence of the disturbance could be 

 ascertained. It is possible to produce albumi- 

 nuria in dogs within a few hours by intra- 

 venous injection of potassium bichromate 

 (about 2-3 c.c. of a 2-per-cent. solution). If 

 Altmann specimens are made from the kidneys 

 at this time no lesions are found. That the 

 poison, nevertheless, acts upon the epithelial 

 cells and the granules in them is shown by 

 the subsequent development of severe lesions. 

 In phlorhizin glycosuria, likewise, no lesions 

 are demonstrable by this method, although we 

 are fairly certain that the excretion of sugar 

 in this case is due to a lesion in the kidney. 



The author believes that quite a number of 

 the anatomic changes which we now look upon 

 as primary, are the result rather than the 

 cause of the functional disturbances, although 

 the disarrangement brought aboiit by them 

 naturally often aggi-avates the original condi- 

 tion. It is questionable whether the real 

 primary lesion in these cases is of such char- 

 acter as ever to be demonstrable by physical 

 methods. 



' Schilling, YircTi. Arch., 1897, CXXV., 410. 



