May 10, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



741 



The average rate of the movements is about 

 one per minute, but the rhythm is far from 

 being regular. Various influences suppress 

 cecal peristalsis. Ether applied through the 

 nose stops the movements but they return in 

 about a minute after the ether is removed. 

 Pain, struggle and fright stop the movements ; 

 but they soon return again. The most stri- 

 king effect, however, is the one caused by 

 opening the abdomen: the peristaltic move- 

 ments as a rule disappear completely and 

 permanently. 



The authors found that stimulation of the 

 ceciun by exposing it to abnormal conditions 

 is capable of inhibiting its movements di- 

 rectly. Laparotomy abolishes the movements 

 of the cecum by direct inhibition, assisted 

 probably also by reflex inhibition. Cecal 

 peristalsis ceases after cutting both vagi. 

 Stimulation of the peripheral end of one vagus 

 causes a tetanic contraction of the entire 

 cecum, especially after destruction of the cord. 

 Some of the above mentioned facts were 

 demonstrated on an animal with destroyed 

 cord. 



Deglutition through an Esophagus Partly 

 Deprived of its Muscularis, with demonstra- 

 tion: S. J. Meltzee. 



The author demonstrated a dog drinking 

 milk in perfectly normal manner against 

 gravity from a bowl on the floor, although a 

 large section of the path of deglutition was 

 deprived of all muscle fibers. The author 

 stated that he had completely removed the 

 muscularis from the entire cervical esophagus 

 of a number of dogs. On the day after the 

 oi)eration they drank milk and water like 

 normal dogs. In these cases there were no 

 muscle fibers for quite a long distance to do 

 the slow work of pushing the liquids into the 

 thoracic esophagus. They were apparently 

 squirted through the cervical esophagus by a 

 muscular force located anteriorly to the 

 esophagus. That this force is not due to the 

 constrictors of the pharynx was demonstrated 

 by another experiment. In one dog, besides 

 the removal of the esophageal muscularis, the 

 middle and lower constrictors of the pharynx 

 were cut and completely put out of function. 



This dog, also, drank without any difficulty 

 the day after the operation. The throwing 

 force is apparently exercised by the muscles 

 of the mouth and tongue. 



The function of deglutition is provided with 

 a mechanism for a rapid squirting down of 

 appropriate materials. As to which of the 

 mechanisms comes into play in any specific 

 case depends upon the nature of the material 

 which is swallowed. 



Immunity Against Trypanosomes : F. G. 

 NovY. (See proceedings of Section K of 

 the American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science, this volume, p. 693.) 

 On Secondary Transplantation of a Sarcoma 

 of the Bat: Simon Flexner and J. W. 



JOBLING. 



The results of this series of experiments' 

 show that secondary inoculation succeeds in a 

 high percentage of the rats in which no visible 

 metastases can be seen, and in which visible 

 metastases, in the lungs chiefly, are present. 

 These facts bear upon the view expressed by 

 Sticker, that a primary tumor protects the 

 body from the development of a secondary 

 tumor until the period of metastasis arrives, 

 and upon Ehrlich's negative results in second- 

 ary transplantations of a rapidly growing 

 mouse carcinoma. The sarcoma studied by 

 the authors is characterized by its infiltrative 

 growth, but it increases far less rapidly than 

 the most active of Ehrlich's tumors, and 

 reaches, in relation to the size of the rat, no 

 such large size as the latter does in proportion 

 to the size of the mouse. 



On Certain Chemical Complementary Suh- 

 stances: Hideyo Noguchi. 

 A comparative study of complement and 

 extract lysins under the same conditions, with 

 nizmerous important results. 

 Effects of Experimental Injuries of the Pan- 

 creas: Isaac Levin. 



The author's results lead to the conclusion 

 that the injuries of the pancreas that produce 

 the gravest effect on the organism are those 

 which cause the most serious interference 

 with the circulation of that organ. To pro- 



' Reference to the previous series was made in 

 Science, 1906, XXIV., p. 766. 



