Our present knowledge of the peristalsis of the ureter is based essentially upon the observations of Engelmann described by him about 35 years ago. He studied the peristaltic movements by simple inspection of the ureter in dogs, cats and rabbits. According to Engelmann, the contractions of the ureter in rabbits occur at intervals of 10 to 20 seconds. There were practically no other studies of the subject until a few years ago when Fagge investigated the effect of stimulation of the hypogastric nerves upon the ureter and obtained graphic records of the peristaltic movements. He makes the surprising statement that the ureter in many cases was found to be motionless or to present slight contractions or groups of contractions recurring every 30 to 60 seconds.For the last two years I have been engaged in experimental studies of the ureter, which were carried out in the laboratory of biological chemistry at the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Some of the results of that work I had the honor to present at a ...