Nikolsky's sign; Nikiforoff, whose method of fixing blood-films is known as Nikiforoff's method; Rauchfuss, after whom is named Rauchfuss' triangle; Pirogoff, one of the greatest of military surgeons; Filatov, the pediatrist;—and a host of other competent investigators whose work is known wherever medical literature is read.
Not the least among these great men was Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, "who achieved the foremost place in the modern physiology of digestion."
Dr. Robinson gives account of Pavlov's work in this great field, showing how much modern physiology owes to the experimental genius of the great Russian scientist. He tells us of the esteem in which Pavlov was held by such scientists as the great German physiological chemist, Emll Abedrhalden, or the great American biologist, Jacques Loeb.
We also learn of some of those remarkably ingenious experiments performed by Pavlov, the results of which are of prime importance not only in physiology, but also in psychology. His famous experiment performed on two dogs, in which he demonstrated the connection between the psychologist's idea and the chemical reactions of the body, is thus described by Pavlov himself:
I am also able to demonstrate to you the following instructive experiment. In the presence of some of my hearers, who were invited to attend an hour before the lecture, I carried out the following procedures on two dogs, both of which had ordinary gastric fistulae and were, besides, esophagotomized. Into the stomach of the one a definite number of pieces of flesh were introduced through the fistula, the animal's attention being distracted by patting and speaking so as to avoid arousing any thoughts of feeding. The morsels were threaded on a string, the free end of which was fastened into the mouth of the flstular cannula by a cork. The dog was then brought into a separate room and left by itself. A like number of pieces were introduced into the stomach of the other dog in the same way, but during the process a fictitious meal was given, the animal being afterwards left alone. Each dog received 100 grams of flesh. An hour and a half elapsed, and now we may draw the pieces of flesh out by means of the thread and weigh them. The loss of weight, and consequently the amount of flesh digested, is very different in the two cases. In that of the dog without sham feeding, the loss of weight amounts to merely 6 grams, while the flesh withdrawn from the stomach of the other dog weighs only 70 grams, that is to say, was reduced by 30 grams. This, therefore, represents the digestive value of the passage of food through the mouth, the value of a desire for food, the value of an appetite.
With his usual brilliancy of style and his wide range of facts from every field connected with the work of Pavlov, Dr. Robinson has given us an excellent appreciation of one of Russia's foremost scientists.
GOREMYKIN'S RESIGNATION.
The reasons for the recent resignation of the Russian Premier, I. L. Goremykin, were discussed in an article, which appeared in Harper's Weekly for May 13, 1916. The most interesting feature of the article, is the letter, written to Goremykin just before his resignation by the President of the Douma, M. W. Rodzianke. It is generally considered that this letter was perhaps the most important factor that caused the resignation of the Premier. The letter reads as follows:
I am writing this while still under the impression of the data that were just discussed at the special conference for defense, and which relate to the catastrophic condition of the problems of railroad transportation. This question was raised at the last session of the special conference. The work of a special commission was devoted to it, but its solution went no further than mere discussion, proposals, and estimates. And to-day, the catastrophe, which was only probable then, is upon us.
