THE ETIOLOGY OF BEKIBEKI. 71 



polyneuritis. We did not succeed in proving them to be present. Neither 

 was it possible to find antigen in any of the various organs. We desire 

 to draw attention to this work as giving further confirmation of the 

 identity in the character of the experimental polyneuritis of fowls and 

 polyneuritis epidemica, or beriberi, in man. 



The following conclusions are drawn from the above-mentioned in- 

 vestigations. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



1. The disease described as beriberi, or polyneuritis epidemica, bears 

 a very great resemblance in its etiology, prophylaxis, and therapeutics 

 to the polyneuritis which can be artificially produced in animals, prin- 

 cipally in fowls. 



2. Just as is the case in the latter, the former is almost always the 

 result of eating cleaned rice, that is, rice deprived of the whole of its 

 pericarp, although other articles of food, prepared in a special manner, 

 may also cause an outbreak of the disease. 



3. The pericarp of the rice and also some parts of the grain are 

 removed in the manipulation, by which unhusked rice becomes cleaned 

 rice. Certain constituents of the greatest importance in securing normal 

 nutriment of the peripheral nervous system are lost during this operation. 



4. The constituents are neither salts, nor nucleins. 



5. Their character is still unknown. 



REFERENCES. 



C. Eykman. Polyneuritis bij hoenderen. Genees. Tyds. v. Ned. Ind. (1890), 30; 



(1893), 32, and (1896), 36. 

 A. G. Vordekman. Onderzoek naar het verband tusschen den aard der rijstvoed- 



ing in the gevangenissen op Java en Madoera en het voorkomen van beri-beri 



onder de geinterneerden. 1897. 

 G. Geijns. Over Polyneuritis gallinarum. I en II. Genees. Tyds. v. Ned. Ind. 



(1900), 41, and (1909), 49. 

 Axel Holst. Experimental studies relating to ship beriberi and scurvy. Journ. 



Byg. (1907), 7, 619-671. 

 H. Schatjmanh". Beri-beri und Nucleinphosphorsiiure in der Nahrung. Arch. f. 



Schiffs-u. Trop.-Byg. Beiheft (1908), 12, 37. Weitere Beitrage zur Aetiologie 



der Beri-beri. Arch. f. Schiffs-u. Trop.-Byg. Beiheft (1909), 13, 82. 



F. Hulshoff-Pol. Beri-beri, voorkoming en genezing door toediening van katjang 



idjo (1904). 



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