Harlan D. Root

Protection against Naja naja Venom in Dogs by Hydrocortisone.

Summary Hydrocortisone in large doses reduces the lethality of Naja naja venom for dogs.

The effect of hypotherxia on experimentally induced hemorrhagic pancreatic necrosis.

Summary 1.Pancreatic secretion in the dog following pilocarpine stimulation was markedly reduced by pancreatic hypothermia (15° to 23° C.) 2.The mortality rate for pancreatic necrosis evoked by injection of bile salts or duodenal juice into the pancreatic duct, or by the Shwartzman reaction, was enhanced slightly by use of systemic (25° to 30° C.) or local (15° to 23° C.) hypothermia. 3.Permeability of the cat esophagus to perfused human bile enriched with ox bile salts was not significantly altered by hypothermia (18° to 20° C).

Digestive action of human gastric juice.

Summary 1. The digestive capacity of human gastric juice, adjusted to pH 1.6-1.7, has been measured by perfusion of the cats esophagus. 2. The gastric secretions of patients with duodenal ulcer, patients in the early postoperative period, and acutely ill patients showed significantly increased necrotizing effects on the esophagus as compared with controls. Gastric secretions from patients with gastric cancer and benign gastric ulcer showed no such increased digestive activity. 3. Peptic activity measured in vitro was significantly increased in duodenal ulcer patients and patients in the postoperative period. The mean pH values were significantly lower than control values in duodenal and gastric ulcer patients, postoperative patients and acutely ill patients.

Assessment of antral protective mechanisms and intestinal susceptibility gradient to ulcer formation.

Summary and conclusions 1) In Group II type of preparation described herein (antral exclusion with 50% of acid peptic secreting tissue attached to antrum) no abettment of ulcer diathesis was noted. Ulcer was not observed at either neostoma. 2) When, however, a similar fundic pouch was attached to the duodenum (Group I preparation) ulcer occurred at this neostoma in 50% of dogs studied and interestingly not in the short duodenal segment, but just over on the jejunal side, an occurrence which suggests an increased gradient of susceptibility to peptic ulceration.

Sensitivity of the Common Bile Duct to Acid Peptic Digestion.

Summary 1. The glandular mucosa of common bile duct shows a sensitivity to acidpeptic digestion at least as great as that of the esophagus. 2. Admixture of bile and pancreatic juice incubated from 1/2 to 48 hours failed to demonstrate evidence of digestive injury to either the common bile duct or the esophagus during a 2-hour period of perfusion. 3. There would appear to be a possibility that acid-peptic erosion of the biliary papilla may play a role in the genesis of stricture of the bile duct in some disease states.

Submergence of bleeding coronary artery in myocardial tunnel: experimental study

Summary 1) An experimental technic developed in dogs is described in which an endarterectomy incision into a normal major coronary artery has been followed by submergence of the freely bleeding coronary vessel into the myocardium. Such a coronary artery was demonstrated to remain patent in 15 of 17 dogs in which the submerged artery was studied at intervals of 9 to 22 weeks after surgery. The procedure has been free from thrombosis that not uncommonly attends insertion of coronary by-pass prostheses or anastomotic procedures upon the coronary arteries. 2) Regeneration of coronary endothelium has been demonstrated at 22 weeks unattended by clot or thrombus formation. It would appear likely that in the operation of coronary endarterectomy upon man the present procedure may simplify the operation and serve as a satisfactory method of controlling the opened vessel in those cases in which pathological change in the coronary artery makes closure of the arteriotomy wound undesirable.