i6o 



Scientific Proceedings (54). 



experiments the animals were merely paralyzed and had not lost 

 any sensation; in short, magnesium acts, according to Wiki, like 

 curare, although he admits the significant difference that curare 

 paralyzes the respirator}- motor nerves before the motor nerves of 

 the other parts of the body, while magnesium paralyzes all other 

 motor nerves before it attacks the motor nerves concerned in the 

 respiration. The statement that magnesium paralyzes motor 

 nerve endings is perfectly correct; we have seen it ourselves 

 numerous times. While it is true that many other inorganic salts 

 have also a curare-like action upon the motor nerve endings, it 

 has to be admitted that the effect of magnesium salts upon the 

 motor nerve endings exceeds that of any of the other salts. This 

 fact, however, is rather in harmony with our assumption that 

 magnesium depresses all parts of the nervous system. The ques- 

 tion is only whether it affects also the central part of the nervous 

 system. Wiki and two or three others deny it; we assume it, 

 and have many good reasons for this assumption. We shall, 

 however, not enter here upon a discussion of the entire subject. 

 Our sole purpose in the present communication is to report the 

 results of a series of experiments which make it probable that 

 magnesium affects also the central nervous system. In these 

 experiments rabbits and dogs received one half, or less, of the effect- 

 ive dose of magnesium sulphate. It was found that such animals 

 are readily deeply narcotized by inhalations of small doses of ether 

 which are insufficient to narcotize normal animals. You see here 

 a picture of three rabbits. The dose of magnesium sulphate 

 necessary to narcotize a rabbit is about 1.2 gm. per kilo body- 

 weight. Rabbits No. 1 and 3 each received intramuscularly 0.6 

 gm. MgS0 4 per kilo. Rabbits Xo. 2 and 3 inhaled through trache- 

 otomy tubes, connected by means of a T-tube with the tube of a 

 bottle containing ether. Each rabbit received exactly the same 

 amount of ether which was insufficient to cause complete narcosis. 

 The animals were photographed soon after the discontinuation of 

 the etherization. Rabbit No. I which had only magnesium, and 

 No. 2 which had only ether are sitting up. Rabbit No. 3 which 

 had magnesium and ether is deeply narcotized and is limp. You 

 see here a similar picture of three dogs treated in the same manner. 

 If magnesium would have had only a peripheral effect there could 



