Studies in Edema. Iii. the Influence of Myocarditic Lesions on the Produc- Tion of Ascites, Intestinal Fluid and Urine in Animals Infused with Solutions of Sodium Chloride and of Sodium Chloride and Calcium Chloride.'

According to Lamy and Mayer, (I) and Porges and Pribram (2), the infusion of calcium chloride diminishes the elimination of urine through its influence on the circulatory system; by lowering the blood pressure (Porges and Pribram) or by constriction of the renal vessels and diminution of the amount of blood passing through the kidneys (Lamy and Mayer). We have found in previous investigations (3) that calcium chloride diminishes the urine and intestinal fluid and has the reverse effect upon the transudation into the peritoneal cavity. In order to determine how much of the action of calcium chloride might be due to the lowering of the blood pressure, how much to a direct chemical action on the cells lining the cavities into which the fluid is eliminated, we searched for a method which would in all likelihood lower the blood pressure without exerting any chemical or physico-chemical action on these cells. As we shall describe more in detail in another paper, we found a simple method of produing chronic interstitial myocarditis in rabbits. By a single injection of adrenalin and either sparteine sulphate or sodium caffeine benzoate we were able to produce such lesions in more than 6o per cent. of rabbits used in these experiments. This lesion appeared in the left ventricle after the injection and consisted mainly in an overgrowth of interstitial tissue, hypertrophy of the muscle fibers and some degenerative changes in the muscle cells. We desired to test the action of such hearts under conditions in