Am-/u°iy);-]9Po3arm-}    Reviews  and  Bibliographical  Notices.  349 
which  he  has  published  in  the  Annual  of  the  Universal  Medical 
Sciences,"  and  in  the  "  Analytical  Cyclopedia  of  Practical  Medicine." 
The  results  of  these  years  of  labor  have  given  Dr.  Sajous  an  insight 
into  what  may  be  considered  the  essential  elements  in  the  construc- 
tion of  a  more  rational  system  of  medicine,  and  while  we  may  not  be 
prepared  to  accept  or  reject  Dr.  Sajous'  conclusions,  his  ability  as  a 
thinker  and  student  entitle  his  views  to  the  respect  and  considera- 
tion of  men  of  science.    To  say  the  least,  his  theories  are  ingenious. 
The  secretion  of  the  adrenals  was  traced  as  far  as  the  pulmonary 
alveoli,  but  not  beyond.  Here  it  was  found  to  hold  in  combination 
the  various  constituents  of  haemoglobin,  and  to  endow  both  the 
latter  and  the  plasma  with  their  affinity  for  oxygen.  Prevailing 
views  as  to  the  chemistry  of  respiration  were  thus  radically  trans- 
formed, and  our  knowledge  of  the  manner  in  which  the  blood-pig- 
ments were  held  together,  likewise.  This  portion  of  the  inquiry 
also  revealed  that,  while  haemoglobin  absorbed  its  share  of  adrenal 
secretion  and  oxygen,  the  plasma  did  likewise.  It  thus  became  evi- 
dent that  the  red  corpuscles  were  not  only  carriers  of  oxygen,  and 
that  the  blood-plasma  played  an  important  part  in  the  distribution 
of  this  gas.  Indeed,  he  subsequently  ascertained  that  the  red  cor- 
puscles were  secondary  factors  in  this  important  function,  i.e.,  mere 
carriers,  pack-mules,  as  it  were,  and  that  it  was  the  oxygen-laden 
adrenal  secretion  dissolved  in  the  plasma  itself  which  carried  on  all 
the  oxidation  processes  of  the  organism. 
The  many  physiological  problems  awaiting  solution  appear  in 
quite  a  new  light.  The  ease  with  which  the  oxygen  carried  by  the 
plasma  could  penetrate  the  minute  vascular  net-works  of  all  cellular 
elements  not  only  furnished  a  clue  to  the  physiological  chemistry  of 
the  latter,  but  it  also  led  to  the  discovery  that  various  structures, 
the  functions  of  which  were  unknown,  were  in  reality  blood- chan- 
nels, or  rather  plasma-channels. 
The  functions  of  the  other  ductless  glands  were  studied.  Inves- 
tigations then  showed  that  the  adrenals  were  directly  connected 
with  the  anterior  pituitary  body,  and  that  this  diminutive  organ, 
hardly  as  large  as  a  pea,  and  now  thought  to  be  practically  function- 
less,  proved  to  be  the  most  important  organ  of  the  body,  as  govern- 
ing centre  of  the  adrenals,  and,  therefore,  of  all  oxidation  processes. 
In  general  diseases  what  has  been  termed  the  patient's  "  vitality," 
or  "  vital  resistance,"  thus  became  ascribable  to  fluctuations  in  the 
