144 THE LTSmS. 



and liver of normal guinea-pigs, was not able to secure a kidney- or 

 liver-serum which had a specific effect upon homologous cells. 

 N6f(ldieff has gone over this work with great care and has not only 

 confirmed all the statements made by Lindemann, but has pushed 

 the investigation farther along interesting lines. He tied the ureter 

 of one side in each of two healthy rabbits. These animals bore the 

 operation well, the wounds healed without suppuration, and there 

 was marked gain in weight. Twenty-four days after the ligature 

 had been applied he took blood from the artery of one of these 

 animals and injected the serum obtained from it (four c.c. per kilo) 

 into the auricular vein of a healthy rabbit. The urine of the rab- 

 bit thus treated contained on the next day a notable quantity of 

 albumin which, however, progressively diminished and disappeared 

 after five days. Forty-one days after the ligature was tied blood 

 was taken from the second rabbit and its serum (five c.c. per kilo) 

 was injected into another healthy rabbit whose urine at that time did 

 not contain albumin, which, however, appeared in laige quantity 

 immediately after the injection, and continued for four days, rapidly 

 diminishing. The presence of a large amount of albumin in the 

 urine of this animal for three days after the injection led the investi- 

 gator to kill the animal and make a post-mortem examination. This 

 was done on the seventh day after the injection. The kidneys were 

 found slightly increased in volume ; section showed slight hyperemia ; 

 and the capsule was easily removed. Microscopical examination 

 revealed the presence of marked lesions in every part of the organ. 

 The vessels of the glomeruli and all the capillaries of the intersti- 

 tial spaces were greatly distended. The epithelium of the convo- 

 luted tubules showed necrosis, vacuolization, and modifications in the 

 nuclei ; while the tubules themselves were filled with casts. The 

 nuclei of the epithelial cells were irregular and more or less broken. 

 The epithelium of the straight tubules was less altered ; but in these 

 tubules there were casts consisting of epithelial cells so completely 

 broken down as to be devoid of structure. In general, the patho- 

 logical conditions found were similar to those which exist in diffuse 

 infiammation of the kidney when accompanied by the presence of a 

 large quantity of albumin in the urine. These experiments demon- 

 strate that the blood of animals in which one ureter has remained 

 tied for some time becomes laden with a nephrotoxic substance. 

 Evidently ligature of the ureter is followed by absorption into the 

 circulation of certain specific substances which have a destructive 

 action upon renal cells. What the nature of the nephrotoxin is has 

 not been determined, but the above-mentioned investigation shows 

 that it is an isotoxin. 



Landsteiner * placed the spermatozoa of the bullock and of guinea- 

 pigs in the peritoneal cavities of guinea-pigs ; and removing them 

 • CemiraJblcM f. Bakteriologie, 25. 



