82 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XX. No. 498. 



three dogs -without alcohol the rate of secre- 

 tion corresponding to the alcohol periods was 

 as follows : A decline during the fourth, fifth 

 and sixth periods, succeeded by a rise in the 

 next period. In the second experiment the 

 rate of secretion remained practically steady 

 during the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth 

 periods. In the third experiment there was a 

 variation, but the average rate of secretion was 

 about the same in the fifth, sixth and seventh 

 periods as in the preceding two experiments. 

 It would seem, therefore, that the diminished 

 secretion following intravenous injection of 

 alcohol might be due to the effect of alcohol. 

 A study of the effect of alcohol on biliary 

 secretion after injection into the stomach was 

 also begun. It would seem a priori, in the 

 light of recent investigations by Bayliss and 

 Starling, Fleig and Henriot, on the relation 

 of secretin to the secretion of bile, that the 

 author's method of administering alcohol 

 ought to provoke secretion of bile. In the 

 few experiments the author has made thus 

 far he has observed that when sixty per cent, 

 alcohol was introduced into the stomach there 

 was a slight, transitory increase of biliary 

 secretion. With thirty per cent, alcohol there 

 was in some cases an increase, in some a de- 

 crease, of the secretion of bile as compared 

 with prealcoholic periods. At this stage of the 

 work it would be premature to form any con- 

 clusion regarding this point. Whether this 

 slight increase is due to increased gastric 

 secretion and consequent formation of secre- 

 tin, or is reflex in nature, will next be in- 

 vestigated. 



The Influence of Repeated External Hemor- 

 rhages on the General Composition of the 

 Blood. G. M. Meyer and W. J. Gies. 

 Various observers have noted the fact that 

 the composition of the blood changes after 

 hemorrhage, but no systematic study has been 

 made of these modifications. The authors 

 have begun such an investigation for the pur- 

 pose of establishing a more definite basis for 

 comparative blood analysis. They reported the 

 results of their observations on posthemor- 

 rhagic changes in the percentage content of 

 water, total solids, organic solids and ash. 

 Further study is in progress. 



Healthy, well nourished or fasting dogs, in 

 light morphia-atropin narcosis were used and 

 quantities of blood ranging from 0.2 to 1.0 

 per cent, of body weight were taken. These 

 amounts were drawn from the femoral artery 

 and approximately the same quantity was 

 taken in each experiment at regular intervals, 

 varying from fifteen minutes to two hours, 

 until death ensued. In one experiment a 

 continuous fatal hemorrhage was effected and 

 the blood analyzed in portions. Thus far 

 twenty exijeriments have been carried out. In 

 some of them the serum was also analyzed. 



The following conclusions were reported: 

 Hemorrhage causes increase of water and de- 

 crease of solids in the remaining blood. 

 Hemorrhages of about 0.6 per cent, of tody 

 weight cause little or no change in general 

 composition of the blood until after 2.5 per 

 cent, has been taken. Under the conditions of 

 these experiments it was generally found that 

 the longer the intervals between withdrawals 

 the less the maximal differences between com- 

 position of the first and last fractions. Short 

 intervals between bleedings, all other condi- 

 tions being equal, favored the largest total 

 withdrawals before death ensued. 



The differences in the serum ran parallel 

 with those in the blood, but were less marked. 

 The ash did not vary very much in either the 

 blood or the serum, no matter how much blood 

 was taken. The blood ash and that from the 

 serum were practically the same in relative 

 amount, though different in composition. 



When small qiiantities of blood equal to 

 about 0.2 per cent, of body weight were re- 

 moved at intervals of about a half -hour, little 

 change was noted in either blood or serum 

 until after 3 per cent, had been taken. After 

 this quantity had been lost the changes fol- 

 lowing further hemorrhage were such as usu- 

 ally occur. The maximum differences in 

 percentage composition of the first and last 

 fractions varied somewhat. The differences 

 in the amounts of solids, for example, ranged 

 from 1.5 to 3.5 per cent. 



In fasting animals the influence of hemor- 

 rhage on chemical change in the remaining 

 blood was somewhat more marked than in well 



