Electrical Resistance and Permeability. 



107 



occurs, and inspiratory dyspnea is always present to a greater or 

 less degree. 



Under these conditions therefore each alveolus which is in 

 connection with a stenosed bronchus or bronchiole will act like 

 a miniature dry cup during inspiration, because the pressure in 

 these alveoli will decrease as the intrathoracic pressure decreases 

 during each inspiration, for little or no air enters through the 

 stenosed air passage. Therefore during each inspiration, which 

 is slow, labored and prolonged in the gassed cat, the capillaries 

 of the alveolar walls are subjected to an aspirating action which 

 facilitates or initiates the passage of a transudate into the alveolar 

 spaces. The production of this transudate is probably also aided 

 by a local damage of the alveolar epithelium which the war gas 

 produces. 



It is thus seen that the fundamental conditions which appar- 

 ently cause the local pulmonary edema of dimethyl sulphate are 

 the same which are also operative in adrenalin pulmonary edema, 

 as Gates and I have described elsewhere. 1 



Practically these observations may be of some value. In 

 gassed soldiers all inspiratory dyspnea should be ameliorated as 

 much as possible, by tracheotomy and artificial respiration if 

 necessary. At another time I hope to report concerning the 

 marked beneficial action of tracheotomy in fulminant cases of 

 pulmonary edema produced by a different type of war gas. 



174 (1352) 



On the electrical resistance and permeability of tumor tissues. 



(Preliminary communication.) 

 By G. H. A. Clowes. 



[From the Gratwick Laboratory , Buffalo, N. Y.] 



Preliminary determinations of the electrical conductivity of 

 primary breast carcinomas in mice (supplied by Mr. Millard C. 

 Marsh) indicate that cancer tissues are more permeable to ions 

 than are normal tissues and that the permeability bears a definite 

 relation to the speed of growth, rapidly growing tumors exhibiting 



1 Jour. Exp. Med., 1917, XXVI, p. 215. 



