288  '   Pharmacology  of  Cotton  Root  Bark.     {^"^  ^°May^%™: 
THE  ISOLATED  UTERUS  METHOD. 
The  isolated  uterus  method  consists  in  recording  the  move- 
ments of  isolated  horns  of  the  virgin  guinea  pig's  uterus.  These 
muscular  segments  are  kept  bathed  in  warm,  oxygenated  Locke's 
solution,  and  at  intervals  the  drug  to  be  tested  is  added  to  the  Locke's 
solution  in  quantitative  manner.  The  segment  being  attached  to 
a  writing  lever,  any  contractions  or  relaxations  caused  by  the  applica- 
tion of  the  drug  are  recorded  on  a  smoked  surface.  (A  more  detailed 
description  of  the  method  and  apparatus  may  be  found  in  This 
Journal,  89:  195,  191 7;  and  in  the  Jour.  Lab.  and  Clin.  Med.,  2 :  819, 
1917.) 
The  isolated  uterus  method  is  commonly  employed  for  determin- 
ing the  value  of  pituitary  extracts.  The  method  is  also  used  for  test- 
ing ergot  and  other  drugs  which  cause,  by  their  application,  a  change 
in  the  contractility  of  involuntary  muscle. 
THE  INTACT  uterus  METHOD. 
The  intact  uterus  method  consists  in  recbrding  the  movement 
of  the  uterus  in  situ  caused  by  the  intravenous  injection  of  the  drug, 
usually  by  way  of  the  jugular  vein.  The  animal,  anaesthetized  with 
one  of  the  soporific  drugs  such  as  acetoform  or  paraldehyde,  is  partly 
immersed  in  a  saline  bath  of  body  temperature.  The  uterus  is  ex- 
posed under  the  salt  solution  and  attached  to  a  Cushny  single  myo- 
cardiograph  or  similar  instrument,  which  records,  on  a  smoked  sur- 
face, any  movement  of  the  organ. 
The  intact  uterus  method  is  a  very  useful  one  for  studying  the 
qualitative  action  of  those  drugs  which  are  used  in  medicine  for  their 
effect  on  this  organ.  It  seems  to  be  the  most  logical  one  for  this 
purpose.  As  a  method  of  quantitative  assay,  where  many  injec- 
tions have  to  be  made,  it  is  perhaps  less  serviceable  than  the  isolated 
uterus  method,  for  the  factors  governing  the  uterus  are  less  under 
control  and  the  organ  is  influenced  to  a  greater  extent  by  the  cumula- 
tive action  of  previous  doses  of  the  drug. 
results  of  cock's  comb  experiments. 
The  fowls  to  be  used  for  the  testing  of  cotton  root  bark 
were  either  given,  or  had  been  given,  doses  of  ergot.  The  re- 
sults of  these  tests  were  desired  to  serve  as  a  control.  Fowls 
