Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Credit: The collected papers of Sydney Ringer. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.
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![what period the excitation is made, the succeeding contraction is complete, even though the excitation is aj^plied before dilatation is finished. Here, then, we have a drug which, like veratria, retards those molecular changes that lead to dilatation, but, unlike veratria, in no degree lessens the rapidity of the reparative changes.’ ‘ We have seen that both veratria and potash salts retard the reparative changes, veratria more so than potash, and yet when these substances are botii added to the circulating fluid they do not in this respect intensify each other’s action, but distinctly antagonise each other, the reparative changes occurring much more rapidly after the addition of potash to the veratrized circulating fluid. We have, then, another instance of drugs having a common action, and yet when both are conjointly added to the circulating fluid, one antagonises the other in respect of this common effect.’ In a somewhat lengthy ]3aper entering into a discussion of con- temporary continental opinion as to whether organic nutrition is directly necessaiy to the heart-beat, Einger attempts to separate all salts by dialysing albumin solutions, but finds it impossible to get rid of the calcium which adheres after prolonged dialysis. He then shrewdly suspects what we now know to be the correct view, that it is this stronglj’ adherent calcium which enables albumin solutions to keep up contractions without the addition of inorganic calcium salt. The next contribution is a most interesting one on the effect of lime salts upon the absorption of water by laminaria and other organic structures. It is full of interesting observations, the details of which cannot be entered upon here; but it is well worthy of perusal to-day by anyone interested in the modern problems of absorption of salts by colloids. In a set of three papers following rapidly on this, Ringer demonstrates most clearly the action of calcium and other ions upon skeletal muscle. The first of the series is by Ringer alone, and in it the muscle is simply immersed in the various saline solutions. In a later paper, in collaboration with Dudley Buxton, the similar effects are described which are obtained when tlie various solutions are perfused from the aorta. These papers are of great liistoric interest to all students of the action of inorganic ions on living cells, and since Ringer’s connection with this Avork appears to have been well nigh forgotten, some recognition may liere be made by ([uofiug his main findings from tlie](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28036530_0001_0028.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
