Intracellular Proteolytic Enzymes of Liver. 97 



excess of a fatal dose and which undoubtedly would have killed 

 every one of these animals in less than an hour. 



The method which we have employed consists (1) in institut- 

 ing and keeping up artificial respiration by the continuous insuffla- 

 tion method ; (2) in the intravenous administration of curarin from 

 time to time in doses sufficient to control the convulsions ; (3) in the 

 injection of a small dose of atropin to meet the slowing of the circula- 

 tion, and (4) in the infusion of a liberal quantity of Ringer's solution. 



Against the fourteen survivors we had thirteen failures. An 

 analysis of these failures, however, shows, first, that in most of these 

 cases the insufflation was improperly adjusted or prematurely dis- 

 continued ; second, that these animals received only a small quan- 

 tity of Ringer's solution and in some instances no atropin. In 

 other words, in the failures the method was not properly carried 

 out. We, therefore, believe that we have good reasons for the hope 

 that the above described method, when carried out properly, will 

 prove successful in most cases of strychnin poisoning. 



61 (471) 



Intracellular proteolytic enzymes of liver. 



By A. R. DOCHEZ. 



[From the Laboratories of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical 



Research.] 



The influence of reaction upon autolysis of animal tissues has 

 been exhaustively studied. All observers agree upon the favor- 

 able influence of a weak acid medium, and upon the inhibitory effect 

 alkaline reaction. As an example of the influence of reaction 

 upon autolysis, 2.5 grams of liver after five days at 37 degrees 

 yield the following equivalents of ammonia by the Kjeldahl 

 method ; in 0.4 per cent, acetic acid, 35.6 cubic centimeters 

 N/10 H 2 S0 4 ; in 0.2 per cent, acetic acid, 34.8 cubic centimeters 

 N/10 H 2 S0 4 ; in neutral, 1 1.3 cubic centimeters N/10 H 2 S0 4 ; in 

 0.2 per cent, sodium carbonate, 4.8 cubic centimeters N/ 10 H 2 S0 4 ; 

 and in 0.4 per cent, sodium carbonate, 0.6 cubic centimeter 

 N/ioH 2 S0 4 . 



When normal liver is allowed to stand on ice for many days, 

 the power to digest in alkaline medium increases markedly from 



