130 



Scientific Proceedings (119). 



Our chief results can be enumerated as follows: 



1. By maintaining a brisk diuresis by means of intravenous 

 injections of Ringer's solution it is possible to keep dogs alive 

 indefinitely (at least two months) even when fed daily on a diet 

 consisting chiefly of meat. The animals usually remain in a good 

 state of nutrition. We have one animal which survived complete 

 parathyroidectomy 51 days. In this animal we could induce 

 symptoms of marked parathyroid tetany (hyperpnoea, anorexia, 

 spasticity, tremors, and mild clonic convulsions) at will by stop- 

 ping the injections and feeding the animal meat. Other animals 

 have been kept alive for 14, 17, and 31 days. As far as we know 

 they died because of an inability on our part to introduce enough 

 Ringer's solution to maintain a vigorous diuresis. 



2. Calcium-free Ringer's solution is quite as effective as 

 ordinary Ringer's solution in prolonging the otherwise short life 

 of a parathyroidectomized animal. After preventing the reap- 

 pearance in one animal of severe tetany by the intravenous in- 

 jections of Ringer's solution over a period of 26 days, we continued 

 our treatment with calcium-free Ringer's solution for seven days 

 with no change in condition of the animal. We next induced 

 severe tetany by stopping all injections and feeding the animal a 

 considerable amount of meat and cured the animal rapidly by 

 forced injections of calciutn-jree Ringer's solution. The animal 

 has been kept free from symptoms on calcium-free Ringer's solu- 

 tion up to the time of wiiting (eight days). It appears then that 

 an active diuresis, however produced, with the elimination of 

 toxic compounds (guanidine compounds, perhaps, as indicated by 

 previous investigations) is more important than the administration 

 of calcium compounds. 



3. Marked appetite and consumption of food and a diuresis 

 greater than one might expect on the basis of the known quantity 

 of fluid injected seem to be consequences of the treatment. These 

 and kindred phenomena are reserved for further investigation. 

 A more detailed report of this work with a discussion of the possible 

 importance of this method of treatment not only in parathyroid 

 tetany but of allied conditions and diverse toxemias will appear 

 shortly. 



