54 



Scientific Proceedings (96). 



quantity of uric acid in saliva from men amounted to 2.10 mg. per 

 100 c.c. of the secretion; in saliva from women it amounted to 

 I.I I mg. per 100 c.c. We also succeeded in separating uric acid, 

 in crystalline form, from saliva. 



For normal individuals, the proportion of uric acid in saliva 

 was independent of the diet, speaking generally, but was influenced 

 by the rate of secretion as well as by the nature of the stimulant 

 employed to accelerate the flow of the saliva. 



Saliva appears to register promptly the variations in the endo- 

 genous metabolism of uric acid. We noted an almost immediate 

 rise in the proportion of uric acid in saliva after increased muscular 

 exertion, and after the ingestion of purine-free food following a 

 brief fast. We also observed a definite relationship between the 

 quantity of uric acid excreted in saliva, and the quantity elimi- 

 nated simultaneously in the urine, in normal people on an ordi- 

 nary diet. 



The details of this study, and those related to it, will be pub- 

 lished in the Journal of Dental Research. 



34 (1409) 



The effect of large doses of X-rays on the resistance of monkeys 

 to experimental poliomyelitis. 



By H. L. Amoss, H. D. Taylor and W. D. Witherbee. 



[From the Laboratories of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical 

 Research, New York.] 



After a few passages through monkeys poliomyelitic virus be- 

 comes adapted and virulent for these animals. Hence slight vari- 

 ations in the susceptibility of these animals are not usually 

 observed in experimental work. The original strain adapted to 

 monkeys by Flexner and Lewis has been passed through many 

 monkeys and stored in 50 per cent, glycerol in the ice-box, and its 

 power to infect monkeys is very much diminished. This strain 

 offers the opportunity of detecting variations in the susceptibility of 

 the experimental animal to this infection. In two experiments an 

 intracerebral injection of 1 c.c. of a Berkefeld filtrate of a 5 per 

 cent, suspension of poliomyelitic cord containing the attenuated 



