Experimental studies, old and new, on menstrual toxin.

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Abstract
The original work on the subject by Macht and Lubin has been repeated and extended. Their findings regarding the toxic action of menotoxin on plant physiological test objects have been corroborated and the presence of a toxin in the blood, sweat, saliva, tears, milk and urine of menstruating women has again been demonstrated. In the present paper the writers give a resume of the work done by other authors and add new data of a zoophysiological nature. Rats trained in the circular maze by experimental psychological methods and injected with normal and menstrual human blood serum, respectively, showed that marked depression was produced by menotoxin. Experiments on vasa deferentia of rats indicate an alteration in their response to epi-nephrine after previous treatment with a saline soln. of menotoxin from skin secretions as well as with salines containing menstrual blood serum. Expts. on sciatic nerve-muscle preparations showed that menotoxin solns., applied to the sciatic nerves of white rats, increased their irritability, as studied by stimulation with the faradic current. As to the chemical nature of menotoxin, Macht''s original hypothesis correlating menotoxin with oxycholesterol is confirmed by all the newer evidence of both the writers and other investigators.

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