286 



Oil the Relative Sizes of the Organs of Bats and Mice hearing- 

 Malignant New Growths. 

 By Dr. F. Medigreceanu (Bucharest). 



(Communicated by Dr. J. Eose Bradford, Sec. R.S. Eeceived December 21, 1909,. 



—Read February 3, 1910.) 



(From the Laboratoiy of tlie Imperial Cancer Research Fund.) 



The object of the present investigation has been to determine the effects of 

 the growth of tumours on the weight of-the principal organs of the body. 

 The fundamental conception on which the work is based is that the weights 

 of the different organs of normal animals bear a relatively constant ratio to 

 the total weight of the body. 



Such investigations are capable of throwing light on many debatable 

 points of cancer metabolism, and give important indications of promising 

 directions for future more detailed work. The previous investigations of 

 workers in the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (Cramer, Haaland, Murray), 

 and recently by Moreschi, in Ehrlich's Institute, have dealt with tliis subject 

 from the standpoint of the ratio of tumour-weight to total body-weight and 

 the influence of the former on the latter and on the normal growth of the 

 body. In the present investigation a closer analysis of the factors is 

 attempted, in reasonable expectation that under the influence of the physical 

 and chemical changes taking place in the bodies of animals bearing tumours, 

 definite aberrations from the normal relations may be produced. From 

 a consideration of these aberrations* it may be possible to infer the nature 

 of these changes. 



Method. 



The following precautions have been taken to avoid the sources of error 

 Which would impair the comparability of the numerical data. Normal and 

 tumour-bearing animals (tumour-animals) were chosen which were free from 

 obvious illness, looked healthy and strong even when bearing large tumours. 

 They were killed l)y fracture-dislocation of the cervical vertebrae. Estima- 

 tions were made on 300 animals. With few exceptions the mice were taken 

 tliree at a time, tlie rats singly. In all cases the comparisons are made with 

 total body-weight less Uic contnits of thr, aJlmcntarij raiud. 



'J'Ik; abdominal organs were removed in llio order — H|)lceii, alimentary 

 canal, kidneys, liver. The thorax was I.Ikmi opened, Ijlood-clots removed, and 

 lungs and heart excised. 'I'he heart was s(!parat(Ml from the lungs and the 



