On the circumstances which modify the action of caffeine and theine upon voluntary muscle / by T. Lauder Brunton and J. Theodore Cash.

  • Brunton, Thomas Lauder, Sir, 1844-1916.
Date:
[1888]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the circumstances which modify the action of caffeine and theine upon voluntary muscle / by T. Lauder Brunton and J. Theodore Cash. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    c(Miditioii of uedoma, such as was regarded by Voit as being a probable cause of contraction and stiffness occurring in the nmscles of frogs poisoned by caffeine. As we had previously exposed muscles • to the action of the normal salt solution for many hours without seeing any fibrillation or apparent tendency to rigor, we began at once by leaving the gastrocnemii of frogs exposed in the manner we have indicated for twenty-four hours and longer, and we found that neither did they show any perceptible fibrillation, nor did any rigor causing contraction of the muscle usually result during this time. In most instances the muscles were found to be still irritable at the end of twenty-four hours, in a few cases all irritability had disappeared. We have continued the experi- ment up to three and four days, when decomposition had developed itself, without meeting with any muscular shortening which would have been indicated by the elevation of our levers. These levers exercised a traction of about 3 grms. upon the muscle when no additional burden was suspended. The caffeine we employed was obtained from Schuchardt in Gorlitz. The theine was a pure specimen from Messrs. Hopkins and Williams. Amount of caffeine producing rigor. We have stated that a solution of caflfeine in salt solution was employed by us; in addition to this we added a small quantity of salicylate of sodium which greatly assists the solubility of catfeine. Our usual solution was constituted as follows:—-4 grm. caflfeine, 2 grra. salicylate of sodium, 100 c.c. '7 7o salt solution. When the muscle had been introduced into the chamber, which had been previously thoroughly cleansed by distilled water and salt solution, a definite number of c.cs. of this strong caflfeine solution was measured into a finely graduated 10 c.c. measure, the solutions and the washings of the first measure transferred to a larger one, and diluted with salt solution up to 50 c.c. The whole of this fluid was transferred by means of the funnel and indiarubber-connecting tube to the muscle cylinder, and a mark on the drum was made recording the time of the addition. In many experiments the muscle was immersed in salt solution for from 30 minutes to 4 hours before the introduction of the caflfeine mixture. The second muscle chamber, the lever of which wrote from the same side exactly beneath the other, was filled in a similar manner with the