150 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [N.S., XVIII, 
not expand unduly and secrete too vigorously, and I suggest 
that it is this pressure which has led mechanically to the 
encapsulation of the glomeruli and so provided the kidney not 
only with an additional means of limiting the output of urine 
but also a means of avoiding all possibility of extravasation 
through the thin walls of the glomerular capillaries. The pro- 
truding of ‘‘ external glomeruli,’’ and glomi in some Fishes and 
Amphibia into the coelomic cavity instead of into the tubules 
is but an additional illustration of the pressure I have predicat- 
ed. The encapsulation of the glomeruli then may be regarded 
as but one of several of the results due to the development of 
the kidney in a confined space under intense pressure, and may 
therefore be a purely mechanical product initially devoid of 
any physiological significance. 
have in the preceding paragraphs suggested at least three 
explanations regarding the origin of the encapsulated glomerulus. 
all of which are possible in the present state of our knowledge 
and perhaps probable and are at least free from the objections 
which apply to the current hypotheses of glomerular filtration 
or secretion. 
A Consideration of some other Arguments used in support of the 
neo-Ludwig Theory. 


