DR THOMAS R. FRASER ON STROPHANTHUS HISPIDUS. 



369 



Time. 



Mm. of Secondary Coil. 



Effect of Stimulus. 



Nerve. 



Muscle. 



In 1 hour 19 niin., . 



„ „ 20 „ . . 

 „ „ 26 „ . . 

 36 „ . 



„ 2 hours 9 ,, 

 12 



» !> 35 „ . 



340 



340 

 340 



300 

 100 



130 



130 



70 



No movement at 0. 



No reflex, only faint movement 

 of left leg. 



Only faint contraction. 



Only faint contraction. 



Only faint contraction ; 70 applied 

 to the back, near the head, caused 

 faint movements of both legs. 



Faint movement of toes of left leg, 

 and, even when the secondary 

 was at 0, the movements were 

 equally faint. 



This strong current, when applied 

 to the thigh muscles, however, 

 produced faint twitches of one 

 toe, obviously because of conduc- 

 tion to the trunk of the sciatic 

 nerve ; and a current of 70, 

 applied to the back, produced 

 the same effect. 



Very faint of one left toe, and no 

 greater effect when the nerve was 

 stimulated with the secondary 

 atO. 



The muscles of the thighs and legs, and also of thorax and thoracic extremities, were 

 now distinctly hard, and faintly acid in reaction. They were carefully removed from 

 the body, placed immediately in absolute alcohol, cut into small portions, and macerated 

 for several hours in the alcohol. The extract obtained by the evaporation of the filtered 

 alcohol was then mixed with a little distilled water, and on filtration a nearly colourless 

 acid fluid was obtained. When this fluid was tested with Uffelmann's carbolic acid and 

 iron reagent, the violet colour of the reagent was immediately changed to a pale yellow. 

 Lactic acid in considerable amount was thus indicated to be present in the muscles ; but 

 no attempt was made to determine the amount. 



Although these experiments, on the whole, indicate that in frogs Strophanthus 

 produces paralysis, in so far as motor nerves and muscles are implicated, by an action 

 on the muscles rather than on the motor nerves, and that the marked impairment and 

 the final loss of the power of the motor nerves to produce contraction of muscles is due 

 to an action on the muscles rather than on the nerves, it might still be the case that the 

 motor nerves themselves have their conductivity lessened and even destroyed by 

 Strophanthus, for the detection of such an action was necessarily rendered difficult, if 

 not impossible, by the rapidly advancing paralysis of the muscles. 



The appreciation of a paralysing action on motor nerves would be possible only if, 

 by some means, the muscle-action were prevented or delayed. As some previous 

 experiments had indicated that this delay could be produced by soaking the muscle in 



