Evening star., 1941-03-04
Of Sturs, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henry.

Ano Stuoy
BIZ Thomas r. Henry.
A Russian surgeon has succeeded in
grating the amputated leg Of one rat
on the stump Of another and the graft
has grown naturally for three months.
He also has extracted teeth from
the jaw of one rat, planted them In
one Of the leg bones of another, and
grown O normal set of teeth.
The source of this information
which, If true, may well be q crude
beginning Of one Of the most revolu-
tionary advances In the history Of sur
gery-is the Complies Rendus, ofdcial
journal of the Soviet Academy of
Sciences, q stack of recent issues OF
which nas just come to scientific insti-
tutions in Washington through Siberia.
The report, youched for by a member
Of the academy which includes Russia's
foremost scientists, is by DR.. A. G. Lap
chinsky, known abroad as one of the
countrys foremost experimental biolo-
gists.
He stresses that his leg results should
prove eventually of great significance
In human surgery and that the teeth
transplanting experiment may have
practical applications in dentistry in
short time. What can be done with
rat, he points out. usually can be done
with q man.
This is apparently the first time, If
DR.. Lapchinsky's report is to be given
full credence, that a successful graft
ever has been made between one warm
blooded animal and another-except in
the case CT the cornea of the eye as a
treatment for certain types of blindness.
In the past, he stresses, transplants
have been possible only in the same
individual. This Is well known in the
art Of plastic surgery where skin from
one part of the body is grated on the
face. Experimentally, embryonic teeth
have been taken from a rats jaw and
made to grow on other bones. Crafts
from one individual to another have
been attempted with some of the glands
of internal secretion, such as the thy
roid, but they never have persisted
more thar q few weeks. In the mean
time they may have stimulated the
activity of the recipients own glands.
The transplants, however, always are
eventually absorbed and do not con-
tinue as active glands, part Of q
persons own body.
The trouble probably has been with
the blood supply, DR.. Lapchinsky says.
Probably the blood of no two indi-
viduals-rats or mems matched quite
closely enough In all Its minute chemical
details so that tissues accustomed to
one blood can get along on another.
The details Of his own operation, as
he recounts them, are rather narrowing.
He made the graft rapidly, but using
great care to connect the major muscles.
He then connected the grated limb
with the blood supply Of the animal
from which 1t had been taken by means
of "pedicle made Of skin and muscles"
This assured that the major part Of
the limbs blood supply would be Of
the type to which 1t was accustomed.
There was no time to be lost. The
"pedicle" had to be ready before the
grating started, so that the graft would
not be without its own blood for any
sppreciable period.
Then he transformed the two rats
into temporary Siamese twins. He says:
ITO keep the animals together they
e,,t1, a1ARn
the side of the whole body Through
the skin without cutting ID from the
ear to the hind limbs. In addition to
this the adjacent forelirnbs and the
bases of the tails were kept together
with the help Of adhesive plaster, the
backs of both animals also being con-
nected with O band Of this plaster.
The young rats require continual and
very careful nursing every mistake
usually resulting in failure Of the
operation
After 10 days he started shutting of
the blood supply through the pedicle
for 10 minutes twice day. This was
continued for from to 10 days more,
when the pedicie was severed and the
stitches cut apart.
The CRAFTS worked, he said, In 4 out
of 4e cases. All the other pairs died.
Three OF the rats on whom legs were
grated are alive at the end of three
months, he reports. The new legs show
some stiffness, but the rats are able
to run about on them. All the animals
used we're young and had not attained
their full growth. The grated limbs
have grown almost normal, in relation
TO the growth of the rest Of the body
showing that they actually have become
integral parts Of the individuals to
whom trey were transplanted. They
appear to have normal sense Of pain.
DR.. Lapchinsky points out certain
drawbacks Ali his rats were brothers
and sisters. They were only 40 days
old and he is not sure the operations
could have been made to work If they
had been fully adult. In every case
of success the graft was made from
male to female.
The teeth gratis were Of embryonic
teeth. In the leg bone they erupted
naturally and grew normally to sizes
indistinguishable from those Of the
animals adult teeth.