740 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXV. No. 645 



Meyer, Murlin, Noguchi, Opie, Salant, Wolf, 

 Tatsu. 



Member elected — O. Ward Orampton. 



Alstracts of Original Communications^ 

 Experimental Studies on Nuclear and Cell 



Division: E. G. Conklin. 



Extensive experiments were made on the 

 segmenting eggs of Crepidida plana. These 

 experiments included a study of the influence 

 on nuclear and cell division of hypertonic and 

 hypotonic sea water, of ether, alcohol, etc., of 

 the lack of oxygen, of the electric current, 

 and of pressure and shaking. Many im- 

 portant conclusions were reported and numer- 

 ous drawings shown. 



Heterotransplantation of Blood Vessels: 



Alkxis Carrel. 



The author's method consisted of removing 

 a segment of the abdominal aorta of a cat, 

 and of reestablishing the circulation in the 

 lower part of the aorta by interposing a seg- 

 ment of the jugular or carotid of a dog and 

 suturing it to the cut ends of the aorta. It 

 was found that a segment of a dog carotid 

 which had been transplanted in a cat could 

 act as artery for seventy-eight days at least. 



Transplantation of the Kidney with Implanta- 

 tion of the Renal Vessels in the Aorta and 

 Vena Cava: Alexis Carrel. 

 The transplantation of the kidney with im- 

 plantation of the renal vessels in the aorta 

 and vena cava consists of extirpating from an 

 animal a kidney with its vessels, together with 

 a segment of the aorta and vena cava ; also of 

 transplanting the kidney into the abdomen of 

 another animal and suturing the edges of the 

 patches to the edges of suitable openings made 

 in the walls of the aorta and vena cava. The 

 author used this method mainly on cats and 

 obtained excellent results from the standpoint 

 of restoration of the circulation. Of seven 

 animals operated on, six remained in good 



^ The abstracts presented in this account of the 

 proceedings have been greatly condensed from ab- 

 stracts prepared by the authors themselves. The 

 latter abstracts of the communications may be 

 found in Number 3 of Volume IV. of the society's 

 proceedings. 



condition. The seventh died of intestinal 

 intussusception four days after the operation. 



Secondary Peristalsis of the Esophagus — a 

 Demonstration on a Dog with a Permanent 

 Esophageal Fistula: S. J. Meltzer. 

 Injections of indifferent solutions or of air 

 directly into the esophagus cause there a 

 regular peristaltic movement. This latter 

 form of peristaltic movement, which for the 

 sake of brevity the author terms secondary 

 peristalsis, differs essentially from primary 

 peristalsis, that which follows deglutition, 

 through the nervous mechanism by which it is 

 controlled. The secondary peristalsis requires 

 the presence of some sort of a bolus within the 

 esophagus, and presupposes the integrity of 

 the latter; whereas the primary peristalsis re- 

 quires neither a bolus nor the integrity of the 

 esophagus. Even if a large section of the 

 latter is removed, the peristalsis appears in the 

 lower segment in due time after each degluti- 

 tion as long as the vagus nerves remain intact. 

 The author demonstrated both forms of 

 peristalsis in a dog with a permanent fistula 

 in the upper half of the cervical esophagus. 



Peristaltic Movements of the Rabbit's Cecum 

 and their Inhihition, with demonstration : S. 

 J. Meltzer and John Auer. 

 When a well-fed rabbit is fastened on its 

 back on a holder and the hair of the abdomen 

 is removed, as a rule movements of the cecum 

 can be seen sooner or later. The movements 

 are well marked and characteristic in their 

 appearance, and leave no doubt as to the organ 

 in which they take place. As a rule, espe- 

 cially in well-fed rabbits, the movements begin 

 in the colon and travel towards the small gut, 

 that is, they are antiperistaltic in character. 

 But frequently at the end of an antiperistalsis, 

 after only a short interval, the wave retums- 

 and runs from the small gut towards the 

 colon; in other words, the antiperistalsis is 

 often followed by a peristaltic wave. The 

 constriction is preceded by a bulging which is 

 more marked than the former. The degree of 

 the constriction (and bulging) is variable. 

 Weaker waves sometimes do not finish the 

 course. A complete course of a wave in one 

 direction lasts from thirty to fifty seconds. 



