Action of Sodium Citrate on Nervous System. 325 



citrate per kilo given intravenously stimulated the contractions 

 of the small as well as of the large intestine, the effect lasting sev- 

 eral minutes. Tonus and the rhythmic contractions were in- 

 creased, but in dogs the effect on tonus predominated. Repeti- 

 tion of dose usually produced greater effects in cats and dogs, but 

 in the rabbit it caused relaxation of the intestine and abolition of 

 the rhythmic movements. This depression was followed, how- 

 ever, by gradual recovery. After intramuscular injections of very 

 large doses of sodium citrate marked and prolonged stimulation 

 occurred ; both tonus and rhythmic movements were greatly aug- 

 mented. 



The action of citrate was also tested after the division of both 

 vagi. The effect was usually the same as when the salt was given 

 to animals with both vagi intact. Sodium citrate injected after 

 atropine failed to stimulate the intestine, but when pilocarpine 

 was injected after atropine, the subsequent administration of 

 citrate produced temporary inhibition of the intestinal move- 

 ments and marked decrease of tonus. If more pilocarpine is given 

 and a sufficient interval of time allowed to elapse after the atro- 

 pine, the usual effect upon the intestine may occur after the injec- 

 tion of citrate. 



152 (1899) 



The action of sodium citrate on the central nervous system. 



By WILLIAM S ALA NT and NATHANIEL KLEITMAN. 



[From the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, 

 University of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia.] 



Maxwell 1 reported experiments in which sodium citrate ap- 

 plied to the cortex of the cerebrum in rabbits was without any 

 effect, but when injected into the white matter underneath pro- 

 duced some of the symptoms of citrate poisoning. These obser- 

 vations were extended later by Robertson and Burnett 2 who made 

 similar studies on the cerebellum. They likewise found that a 

 reaction was obtained only when the solution of sodium citrate 



1 Maxwell, Jour. Biol. Chem., 1906, ii, 183. 



2 Robertson, Journ. Pharm. Exp. Therap., 1911-12, iii, 635. 



