Transplantation of Parathyroid Glands. 



75 



Leischner 1 succeeded in a small percentage of his cases in 

 transplanting praeperitoneally parathyroids in rats. These were 

 allotransplantations, the donor being the donee. Pfeiffer, Her- 

 mann and Mayer 2 made two successful autotransplantations in 

 puppies. 



Beidl, commenting on the unsuccessful attempts of Foges, 

 Kreidl and himself to transplant ovaries, testicles and suprarenal 

 glands contrasts these failures with his success in the transplanta- 

 tion of the parathyroid glands. He states that a year prior to his 

 reports, 3 he transplanted in two dogs, into the spleen, " foreign " 

 parathyroids and " after a time " removed both thyroid lobes as 

 well as the parathyroids. One animal lived seven months without 

 a trace of tetany and finally died of what seemed to be " cachexia 

 thyreopriva." The spleen contained, the report states, two well 

 healed, intact parathyroid glands. The second dog had tetany of 

 short duration. It recovered, however, entirely, still lives and 

 consequently has, the author believes, parathyroids in the spleen 

 which are functionally sufficient. 



With the exception of the two cases of Beidl I find no report 

 of the successful isotransplantation of the parathyroid glands, 

 and, besides my own, the only successful autotransplantation of 

 these glandules in dogs are, perhaps, the two reported by Pfeiffer, 

 Herman and Mayer. As to the successful isotransplantations of 

 Professor Beidl I confess to a little surprise in view of the facts 

 that no deficiency was created before the transplantation and that 

 both parathyroid glands survived in both cases. The absolute 

 functional proof is lacking in these cases, inasmuch as the trans- 

 planted glands were not excised during life. 



First Series of Results (Winter of 1906-7). Autotrans- 

 plantation. — Parathyroid deficiency is of necessity created in the 

 autotransplantations. Of five autografts into the thyroid lobes 

 of three dogs, three were successful (macroscopic and microscopic 

 proof). Of eight autografts into the spleens of three dogs one 

 only succeeded (macroscopic proof). In no instance was functional 



1 Leischner : Archiv fur klinische CAirurgie, 1907, Ixzxiv, p. 208. 

 8 Pfeiffer, Hermann and Mayer : Mitteilungen aus den Grentgebieten der Medhin 

 und CAirurgie, 1907, xviii, p. 377. 



'Beidl: Wiener klinische Wochenschrift, Feb. 27, p. 304. 



