Absorption of Water by the Skin of the Frog. 125 



In plasma diluted 1 : 2 the cells live practically as long (5 to 10 

 days without transfer), as in pure plasma, and show a similar 

 accumulation of fat. 



In a 1 : 5 dilution the fat content is slightly diminished; there 

 is little or no effect on the length of life or on the morphology of 

 the cells. 



In a 1 : 10 dilution the fat content of the cells is definitely 

 reduced; the cells appear smaller and are stained more deeply, 

 and the duration of life is shortened (3 to 5 days). 



In higher dilutions (1:15 and 1 : 20) the accumulation of fat 

 is reduced to a minimum, a majority of the cells showing at the 

 end of two days a complete absence of fat granules. The cells 

 which do contain fat show, as a rule, a single rather large droplet 

 instead of a number of small droplets, as in the controls in un- 

 diluted plasma. Two to three days represents, as a rule, the 

 limit of activity of the preparation. When stained the cells in 

 cultures of high dilution exhibit a rather striking contrast to those 

 in pure plasma cultures: they are smaller, more irregular in 

 shape, and take a deeper stain in both nucleus and cytoplasm. 



In all experiments observations upon the living cells were con- 

 firmed by a study of stained and fixed preparations. Diluted prep- 

 arations and controls were, of course, fixed atthe same moment. 



The results of these studies which show, in brief, that the 

 amount of fat accumulated by cells in cultures varies directly 

 with the fat content of the plasma medium, afford further evi- 

 dence in favor of the view that these fatty accumulations are not 

 degenerative in origin, but are the result of some disturbance in 

 the metabolism of the cells. 



82 (778) 



The rate of absorption of water by the skin of the frog, in relation 

 M. H. Fischer's theory of edema. 



By J. F. McClendon. 



[From the Department of Anatomy, Cornell University Medical 

 College, New York City.] 

 Fischer observed swelling of amputated frog's legs, in water. 

 The question arises: is this a phenomenon of osmosis due to the 

 osmotic pressure of cellular and intercellular fluids? 



