The discovery at this date of the several albumoses, and their presence in large amounts in all so-called peptones, led to a study of their physiological action with special reference to the observations of Schmidt-Mülheim and Fano. Politzer,[152] working under Kühne’s guidance, was the first to experiment in this direction, and his results are full of interest as throwing light on the action of the individual albumoses. Thus proto, hetero, and deuteroalbumose are all active physiologically, giving rise when injected into the veins of dogs and cats to strong narcotic action, varying somewhat in intensity in different individuals. There is also produced a marked fall in blood-pressure, due apparently to vaso-motor paralysis, the action being manifested chiefly, if not wholly, on the splanchnic region. Thus, after an injection of one of these albumoses, the mesenteric vessels are always strongly congested, accompanied frequently by the appearance of a bloody serum in the peritoneal cavity. Narcotic action is manifested only so long as the blood-pressure remains sub-normal, and is due presumably to this marked accumulation of blood in the large abdominal veins, thus leading to anæmia of the brain. Albumoses and peptones injected into the jugular vein likewise produce fever, presumably through some action on the nervous system by which the equilibrium of tissue-metamorphosis is interfered with.[153] [152] On the Physiological Action of Peptones and Albumoses. Journal of Physiol., vol. 7, p. 283. [153] Ott and Collmar: Pyrexial Agents, Albumose, Peptone, and Neurin. Journal of Physiol., vol. 8, p. 218. Further, Politzer found that all of the albumoses either delayed or prevented altogether the coagulation of the blood, in conformity with the observations of Schmidt-Mülheim and Fano. In all of these actions the primary albumoses appeared most effective, deuteroalbumose least so. Heteroalbumose, however, was constantly most active, especially in delaying the coagulation of the blood. With amphopeptone, there was far less narcosis and less diminution of blood-pressure, while the effect on the coagulability of the blood was more or less variable, frequently being entirely negative. Antipeptone, on the other hand, was found almost wholly wanting in any constant effects, although in one instance deep narcosis was produced. Thus, from Politzer’s experiments, it was made clear that the albumoses, when introduced directly into the blood-current, possess a far greater toxic action than either amphopeptone or antipeptone. Albumoses, in sufficiently large doses, were invariably fatal, while peptones never produced fatal results so long as the kidneys of the animal remained intact. The extreme solubility and diffusibility of peptones, coupled perhaps with their marked diuretic action, lead to rapid elimination through the kidneys, and their consequent removal from the system.