SCIENTIFIC PROCEEDINGS. 



Abstracts of the Communications. 



Forty eighth meeting. 



Cornell University Medical College. April ij, IQI2. President 

 Ewing in the chair. 



50 (659) 



The influence of alcoholism on the offspring. 

 By Charles r. stockard. 



[Department of Anatomy, Cornell University Medical College, 



N. Y. City.] 



Two years ago I showed that almost all known gross deformities 

 of the brain could be produced by treating developing fish embryos 

 with alcohol and a number of anaesthetics. 



Since that time these experiments have been extended to birds 

 and mammals. The work of Fere with hen's eggs has been repeated 

 and his results confirmed. When these eggs are subjected to the 

 fumes of alcohol the shell is penetrated and the developing embryo 

 is affected. The rate of development is reduced and a large num- 

 ber of monstrosities occur. 



Guinea pigs have been put into a state of chronic alcoholism 

 by treating them for six days per week with alcohol fumes to 

 almost the point of intoxication. Forty full-term matings of 

 various combinations have been made with these alcoholic animals. 

 Treated males have been paired with normal females (test of 

 paternal influence on offspring), treated females paired with normal 

 males (maternal influence plus the direct effect on the developing 

 embryo) and finally treated males and females were paired. The 

 outcome of these matings has been most striking. 



Twenty-five matings gave no result or the embryos were 

 aborted early and eaten by the mother. Fifteen matings pro- 

 duced in all 25 young, of these two have lived to reach maturity 

 and are apparently normal, four are still young but seem normal. 

 Of the other 19, eight were stillborn or aborted shortly before 



71 



