146 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [N.S., XVIII, 
may not serve for moderate control of the excretion, since, as is 
well known, the kidney can function efficiently when all its 
nerve connections are severed; moreover, itis equally well 
known that only strong stimulation of the splanchnic contracts 
the renal capillaries and this by abolishing or seriously diminish- 
ing the excretion would not remedy matters; on the other hand, 
weak stimulation allows the few dilator fibres to have effect and 
matic regulation of the blood supply in relation to the secre- 
tion pressure—the latter can never much exceed the former 
because the act of doing so reduces the latter by diminishing 
the blood supply. In short this conceivable réle of the 
encapsulated glomeruli somewhat resembles the regulation of 
temperature employed in connection with embedding baths and 
incubators—the temperature (=urine) becomes excessive, eXx- 
pands the mercury (=urine in the capsule) and the expan- 
sion of the mercury diminishes the temperature by cutting 
down the gas supply (= blood). : 
There is some evidence that this suggested réle of the 

! As Brodie(11) says, ‘* \ pressure within Bowman's capsule greater 
than the blood pressure would at once lead to the closure of the glome- 
rular lo ” The expansion of the tubules 
will first compress the adjacent intertubular capillaries and therefore 
cause the glomeruli to swell, but the limit to the distension of the tubules 
s soon reached and consequently to the compression of the tubular 
nephritis and by the exp2rimonts of Bro lis and Mackenzia (13), there is 
no limit - the compression of the glomeruli when the output of the urine 
* 
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