PJIIMARY ANINfAL FLUIDS. ^45 



the proffuds of the animal kingdom. This remark may be 



»pphed both to the folids and fluids which compofe the animal 



body, but it is the moft applicable to the latter clafs of fub- 



ftances. The terms ferous, mucilaginous, gelatinous, &c. 



are employed, even by the moft efteemed medicaland phyfi* 



ological writers *, in a vague and indeterminate manner, 



without attending either to the original import of the word, or 



to the reftrided meaning, which it is neceflary to impofe upon 



popular expreliions when they are adopted in fcienlific re* 



fearches. The obje6l of the prefent paper is to afcertain a 



definite chara6ler for what I propofe to call the primary animal 



fluids, and to difcover delicate and accurate tefts, by which 



tiieir prefence may be eafily and certainly indicated. By pri- Primary animal 



niary animal fluids, i I mean thofe into which the compound ""*'*^» 



fluids exifting in the animal body are capable of being refolved 



by the application of different re-agents, without decompofing 



them into their ultimate elements. 



Albwnen» 

 The firft of the animal fluids which I propofe to make the Albumen, a 



fubjea of my inveftigation is the albumen. With the excep- ^*'S« component 

 . *' J fi r 1 1 • P^^^ °^ animals, 



tion of water, no fluid appears to enter fo largely into the com- 



pofition of the animal body. It forms a very confider^ble pro- 

 portion of the blood, and is found in greater or lefs quantity 

 in nearly all the fecretions. It is alfo capable of afluraing the 

 folid form, without undergoing any change in its chemical 

 properties; in this ftate it conftitutes the bafis of all the mem- ^ « 



branous fubftances, which are fo extenfively dlfperfed through 

 every part of the fyflem; it compofes the cellular lilTue into 

 which the earth of the bones, and the fibrous matter of the 

 mufcles are depofited, while it enters largely into the ftruc- 

 ture of thefkin, the glands and the veflels. At prefent, how- 

 ever, we (hall direct our attention to it while in the liquid 

 form, 



'^ Even Mr. Abernethy, in his late valuable work on tumors, 

 fpeaks of the gelatinous part of the blood, where I conceive from 

 the context, there can be no doubt that he intended to defignate the 

 fi brine. 



f All the animal fluids, both primary and compound, are merely 

 folutions of a folid body in water j but thofe fubftances which are 

 moft frequently feen in a ftatc of Iblution, have very generally ob- 

 tained the title of fluids. 



