The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-08-27
ORGANS LIVE 13 HOURS.
DIR. Carroll Maintains FunctiOnatinu
Processes After Animal Dies.

DR.. Alexis Carrel Of the Rockefeller
Institute for Medical Research, has
devised method by which ghe entire
Visceral organism of an animal NAV
be kept alive for many hours outside
the body, so that the digestive and
other functiOnating processes may be
observed and studied, SAYS a lew
York dispatch. These processes go
on in the eviscerated organs just as
they do in the normal animal.
Il began in June, 1912, to develop
a technique by means of which a sys..
tenn of organs could be made to live
and functiOnate when separated from
the other organs Dr. Carrel writes
in the Journal of Experimental Med
icine.
THE method consists in removing
aseptically the abdominal and thor
acic organs of an animal and in pre-
serving the organs in an incubator at
the temperature Of 38 degrees cent?
grade while the lungs are being arti-
f1cially ventilated The operations
were performed on cats and dogs,
but more often on cats.
The dissection was performed with
such care that the thOracic and alb
dominal viscera remained united by
their blood vessels. They were then
put in tray containing a liquid called
Fingers solution at temperature of
3S degrees centigrade, in such o
manner that the lungs floated on the
surface of the fluid and the heart
was suspended underneath in the
liquid.
THE temperature Of the Ringer So
luton was maintained constant by
means of an electric pad placed under
the tray, or simply by the addition
from time to time of Ringer solution
at the right temperature. Ordinarily
the heart still pulsated slowly and
regularly, but the blood pressure was
low and the appearance of the organs
anaemic. After a few minutes the
blood pressure began to rise and in
few cases became almost normal.
Generally it remained low, and some
times the heart entirely ceased beat
ing. Then TRANSMISSION was made
from the cartOid artery of the first
animal to the inferior vena cava or
ganism.
THE abdominal aOrta pulsated vio-
lently and strong pulsations could be
seen in the arteries Of the stomach,
liver, kidney, intestines and even OF
the Ovaries. Peristaltic contractines
Of the stomach and of the intestines
were observed. The spleen, which
was blush, assumed it's normal APP
pearance. After few minutes all the
viscera were apparently normal.
Artificial arrangements were made
for feeding the organism and for the
resulting processes of secretion and
elimination. Artificial respiration was
carried on by means of an automatic
electric apparatus pumping air into a
tank, from which it was given to the
lungs under proper pressure.
I'm one experiment in which the
stomach was full Of meat at the time
OF death, digestion took place.
After five or six hours hypereuria
(reddening) of the pertoneum of the
intertine appeared. 1t seems as though
peritonitis developed progressively.
and in some cases the intestines be-
came paralyzed after eight or nine
hours. although their circulation was
still very active. Abundant hemor-
rhage could still be produced by sec
ton of a small branch Of the mesen-
teric artery Some of the visceral
organisms died almost suddenly after
three of four hours, but most of them
We're in normal condition 10 and
even II hours after the death Of the
animal to which the organs belonged.
nounced by some irregularities in the
pulsation of the heart, which was also
weaker. Then the heart stopped sud
denly In one experiment the death
Of the visceral organism occurred
IS IA hours after the death of the
cat from which it was taken"