The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1912-06-20
LIFE AND Deaf \ IN NEW
LIGHT
Tissues of the Dead Live for Months
Are Joined to the Living.

At the third days session of the
American Medical Association at At
lantic City. DR.. Alexis Carrel of New
York, who is in charge of the re-
search work at the Rockefeller IN
stitute In that city, told the surgical
section, assembled on the Steel Pier,
that any time they had occasion to
blood-yessels, pleen or some of the
smaller glands of the body all they
had to do was to order them from the
institute and they would be accom-
modated forthwith. The cornea OF
the eye, diseased parts of the yari-
GUS bones of the body, cartilages
which have given out and need re-
plenshing can be had from this lab
oratory.
The doctor told the surgeons and
physician that it has become possible
to make these parts live after they
have been removed from the body. He
said that he can make these parts
live and grow nine months after the
life of the human body from which
they have been removed has ceased.
For six years these experiments have
been going on and now that they have
been completed and verified the
world of medicine has the opportun-
ity to avail itself of the discovery.
Dr. Carrel began to experiment
with the lower parts of animals. A
piece of the heart of chicken pulsa-
ted and was alive for as long as 104
days after it had been removed from
the fowl and microscopic examina
ton revealed the fact that connective
tissue was growing from it five
months after removal.
From the chicken he turned to the
guienna pig, and from that to the dog;
then to the horse, later to the babe
and finally to man. In each case
there was no failure and step by
step he improved upon the media in
which he placed these tissues until
he has nine methods of preserving
life of structures which have been
removed from the body. 1t is nee
essary to have as many of these as
possible, DIR. Carrel explained, for
some tissues will grow better in one
medium than they will in another
According to DR.. Carrel, the discov-
cry practically revolutionize the the
cries of animal life Dr. Carrel said
that he has proved that 1t is possible
to transplant after death the tissues
and organs which compose the body
that has ceased to live into other
Identical organisms. In this trans
fer no death of the tissues occurs
and after they have been made
part of another body the life in them
continues as though it had been there
from birth.
Among the media which are used
to preserve these tissues are isotonie
sodium, chloride, chloride solution,
Locks solution, Ringers solution, de-
fibrinated blood serum, confined hui
mid air and vaseline. The color and
consistency of these tissues remain
perfectly normal six, seven and in
some cases ten months after removal.
DR.. Carrel said he made microscopic
examinations In every stage of his
experiments and proved conclusiyely
that life was present in every in
stance. He then placed them in cold
storage and there they continued to
live and grow and were then used to
replace diseased tissues in the human
body to ascertain if they would grow
Clinical reports showed conclusYely
that they did, SO that with the eX-
periments completed and verified, 1t
was possible TO inform the profession
that the institute was prepared to
supply them on short notice
Several of the eountry's famous
surgeons have been using these cold
storage tissues for the past few
DR.. John B. Murphy has oc-
casion only recently TO rush an order
from Chicago to New York for car
tilege which he wanted to use in
case of knee disease that he was
about to operate upon. The cartilage
was shipped by express in a finy re-
arrived safely and was
used The patient recovered the use