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Dr. P. J. Cammidge. Observations on the [Apr. 5, 



clinical symptoms of pancreatitis, and its absence in those whose pancreas 

 was not apparently diseased, together with the post-mortem evidence I had 

 been able to obtain, suggested that it was due either to some degenerative 

 change in the tissues of the pancreas or to a disturbance of metabolism set 

 up by disease of the gland. To decide this question, and also to obtain 

 confirmation of the dependence of the reaction upon disease of the pancreas, 

 I arranged a series of experiments upon animals, the surgical part of which 

 was kindly carried out for me by Mr. H. C. Gr. Semon, in the Pathological 

 Department of the University of Freiburg. A detailed account of these 

 experiments will be given subsequently, and I shall now only deal with those 

 points that bear upon the questions at issue. 



The urine from the dogs employed for the experiments was drawn by 

 catheter both before and after the operations. Each specimen was shaken 

 with a few drops of chloroform, sealed in a glass vessel, marked with a 

 distinguishing number and letter for subsequent reference, and despatched 

 to me in London. 



The normal urine, taken before operation, gave no reaction in any of the 

 dogs examined. 



(I) A sub-acute pancreatitis was set up in the first dog by injecting a very 

 small quantity of turpentine, less than 1 c.c., into the pancreatic duct. 

 A specimen of the urine withdrawn 16 hours after the operation gave an 

 exceedingly well-marked reaction, the whole bulk of the fluid being filled 

 with a light yellow flocculent precipitate, which on microscopical examination 

 was found to consist of long fine crystals that dissolved in 33-per-cent. 

 sulphuric acid in 5 to 10 seconds. Filtered off, and purified by re-crystallisa- 

 tion from 10-per-cent. alcohol, it was found to melt at 178° to 180° C. 

 A second specimen taken 24 hours after the operation gave a similar, but 

 less marked, reaction. 



Three days later a much larger dose of turpentine (1*5 c.c.) was injected, 

 but by mistake this was introduced into the common bile duct instead of the 

 pancreatic duct. The urine withdrawn six hours after this operation 

 contained a large amount of urobilin, but gave no " pancreatic " reaction. 

 Two other samples taken at the end of 18 and 24 hours respectively after 

 the operation also yielded no osazone crystals. 



A small piece of the pancreas was excised at the time of the second 

 operation. Microscopical examination of this showed no small celled 

 infiltration or over-growth of connective tissue, but the nuclei of the acinar 

 cells were indistinct and the protoplasm was highly vacuolated. When the 

 animal was killed 48 hours later examination of the pancreas revealed no 

 pathological changes. 



