28 



Scientific Proceedings (46). 



The tracings speak for themselves. The mixture of adrenalin 

 with spinal fluid in proportion of 1 :20 when kept on ice caused a 

 considerable rise of blood -pressure by a dose of 0.5 c.c, while 

 when this mixture was incubated for an hour in the thermostat 

 at 37 0 C. even 4 times the dose caused no change in blood- 

 pressure. 



10 (629) 



Glucuronic acid determination (Tollens) in duodenal 

 obstruction. 1 



By JOHN WILLIAM DRAPER AND FREDERICK 

 W. SCHLUTZ. 



While the liver generally plays a subordinate part in the syn- 

 thesis of glucuronic acid, it would seem from the experiments of 

 Pohl (1), that upon the incorporation of chloral-hydrate or 

 camphor, the conjugation of these substances with glucuronic 

 acid does take place largely in that organ. 



We have been interested in seeking a measure of the functional 

 activity of the liver before and after experimental duodenal ob- 

 struction. By giving a dog camphor and determining the output 

 of camphor-glucuronic acid, both before and after obstruction, 

 we hoped to measure at least in a relative way any impairment in 

 liver function which may follow this intestinal lesion. 



The experiments were carried out on dogs — the operative 

 portion under complete ether anesthesia. The animals were fed 

 for fully a week on an exclusive meat diet in order to free the urine 

 as much as possible from pentoses. 



For the glucuronic acid determinations we employed one of the 

 two methods described by C. Tollens (2, 3), viz., distillation of 

 the glucuronic acid lacton with dilute hydrochloric acid, and pre- 

 cipitation of the resulting furfurol with phlorglucin. This method 

 seems open to less objection that most of the other quantitative 

 methods which have been proposed. In the hope of further 

 determining the accuracy of our results, we are now experimenting 

 with the CO2 method described by Tollens. 



1 Studies from the Laboratory of the Department of Physiology, University 

 of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and from the Laboratory of Surgical Chemistry and 

 Physiology, Rochester, Minnesota. 



