504 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



In order to show the biliary passages, Prof. Ranvier injected silver solu- 

 tion (1 : 500) into the hepatic duct (in frogs from the gall-bladder) of a 

 recently killed animal (40 mm. pressure). The duration of the injection 

 was three hours. Small pieces of liver were then placed in osmic acid, 

 others in alcohol, and the sections, made in 24 hours, were mounted in 

 dammar or in formic acid glycerin. 



The author also employed the " natural " injection. 60 c.cm. of a cold 

 saturated indigo-carmin solution were injected into the jugular of a live 

 rabbit, 15 c.cm. at a time, wdth 20 minutes' interval between the injections. 

 Ten minutes after the last the animal was killed, and through the portal 

 vein a solution of potassium was injected in order to fix the colouring matter 

 in the biliary canals. Hardening was done in alcohol. Osmic acid is not 

 advisable, as it destroys the blue colour. 



Embryonic livers were treated by hardening small pieces for 15 hours 

 in osmic acid, then, after washing, hardening in 40 per cent, alcohol. They 

 were then set in a mixture of wax and oil, and afterwards in elder pith. 



When examining the glands of the hepatic duct these were injected 

 with osmic acid (1 : 100). Small pieces were teased out in a physiological 

 salt solution (7 : 1000 aq.). Sections of the hepatic duct stained with picro- 

 carmin were mounted in formic acid glycerin. The glands of the hepatic 

 duct showed up much better with gold chloride than with osmic acid. 

 Freshly expressed lemon juice was injected into the hepatic duct, and 

 10 minutes later gold chloride 1-100. To reduce the gold, small pieces 

 were kept for 24 hours in formic acid (1 : 3 aq. dest.). The glands were 

 stained a bright violet. 



The author then passes to the examination of the gall-bladder (guinea- 

 pig) the epithelium of which he obtained by maceration in iodized serum. 

 Lastly, it may be mentioned that the muscle-fibres of the gall-bladder 

 were demonstrated by injecting therein freshly expressed lemon juice and 

 leaving it therein for five minutes. The gall-bladder is then placed in 

 osmic acid for some minutes, then washed, and the epithelium removed 

 with a brush. Sections stained with picrocarmin show striped muscular 

 fibres. 



The Resorcin derivative Phloroglucin.* — Dr. J. Andeer communicates 

 the following interesting properties of phloroglucin or trioxyhydro-benzol. 

 It prevents the coagulation of the blood and other animal juices, keeping 

 them fluid and undecomposed for a long time. In certain fermentations 

 it acts as a deodorizer, but as an antiseptic and antimycotic it is quite 

 useless. 



In conjunction with hydrochloric acid it renders bone sectionable in a 

 few hours. (It has, however, no action on elastin or keratin.) The addi- 

 tion of hydrochloric acid to the saturated watery solution of phloroglucin 

 bears a direct relation to the hardness, i. e. to the amount of phosphate, in 

 bone. The acid must be pure, but not fuming. For bones of Batrachia, 5- 

 10 per cent. ; of Eeptilia and Aves, 10-20 per cent.; of mammals, 20-40 

 per cent, additions of hydi-ochloric acid are recommended. The softening 

 of mammalian bones may be hastened by increasing the quantity of 

 hydrochloric acid. After the desired consistence is attained, all trace of 

 acidity must be removed by frequent washing in water, and the prepara- 

 tion treated by any of the ordinary methods of hardening. 



The foregoing process has been further elaborated f as follows :- -The 



* Centralbl. f. d. Med. Wiss., Nos. 12, 33, pp. 195, 579. Cf. Zeitschr. f. Wiss. Mikr., 

 ii. (1885) pp. 375-6. 



t Internat. Monatachr. f. Anat. u. Ilistol., i. (188G) pp. 350-3. 



