URINE. 



1279 



the variation of the sulphates in urine, and has 

 arrived at the following conclusions : 



1. The sulphates are increased by food, both 

 animal and vegetable. 



2. Exercise does not produce so marked an 

 increase in the sulphates. 



3. Sulphuric aciil in large closes increases 

 the proportion of sulphates ; in small doses 

 it produces little or no effect. 



4. Sulphur, when taken, increases the sul- 

 phates in the urine, and sulphate of soda or 

 magnesia produces the greatest effect on the 

 quantity of sulphates in the urine. 



With respect to the phosphates contained 

 in the urine, Dr. Jones has arrived at the 

 conclusion, that the quantity of earthy phos- 

 phates depends on the quantity contained in 

 the ingesta, and that this is also the case with 

 the alkaline phosphates. These latter, how- 

 ever, are to a. certain extent increased by 

 exercise. 



URINE OF ANIMALS. 



The urine of animals varies much in cha- 

 racter, according to the kind of food taken. 

 Thus, there are striking differences between 

 the urine of the carnivora and the herbivora. 

 The urine of carnivorous animals is ge- 

 nerally acid when discharged, but becomes 

 alkaline and ammoniacal very rapidly. The 

 urine of herbivorous animals, on the con- 

 trary, is alkaline when passed, and contains a 

 large proportion of alkaline and earthy car- 

 bonates. Simon, however, states the urine of 

 horses immediately after it is passed, to be 

 occasionally acid. The urine of the carnivora, 

 according to the observations of Vanquelin 

 and Hiinefeld, contains neither the uric nor 

 hippuric acids. Hieronymi, however, who 

 examined the urine of the lion, the tiger, and 

 the leopard, detected uric acid in small pro- 

 portions. The urine of the herbivora con- 

 tains hippnric acid in large quantities, in the 

 form of hippurate of soda. No uric acid is 

 present according to the analyses of most 

 chemists, but traces of it have occasionally 

 been found in the urine of the graminivora. 



Hieronymi obtained the following result 

 by the analysis of the mixed urines oi' the lion, 

 tiger, and leopard. This may, therefore, be 

 regarded as the type of the urine of the car- 

 nivora : 



Water - - 8-tG'OO 



Urea, alcoholic extractive and free 



lactic acid - - 132-20 



Uric acid - 0-22 



Vesical mucus - - - 5'10 



Sulphate of potassa - 1-22 



Chloride of ammonium, and traces 



of chloride of sodium - - 1'16 

 Earthy phosphates - - -1'76 

 Phosphates of soda and potassa 8'02 

 Phosphate of ammonia - - T02 

 Lactate of potassa - 3-30 



The specific gravity of the urine of these 

 large carnivorous animals varies, according to 

 Hieronymi, from 1059 to 1076. It is clear 

 when passed, and of a bright yellow colour. 



The urine of the herbivora is turbid when 

 passed, and generally possesses a lower spe- 

 cific gravity than that of carnivorous animals. 

 Thus, the urine of horses, according to Simon, 

 is about 1045. That of oxen, according to 

 Von Bibra, varies from lOiO to 1032. 



The following are two analyses of the urine 

 of /torses by Von Bibra : 



Water - - - 885-09 



Urea- - - 12'44 



Hippuric acid - - 12'60 



Watery extractive - 21 '32 



Alcoholic extractive - 25-50 



Mucus - 0-05 



Salts soluble in water - 23 



Salts insoluble in water 18 



40\ 

 SO J 



912-84 



8-36 



1 23 



19-25 



18-26 



0-06 



40-00 



With respect to the hippuric acid present, 

 Von Bibra found that it varied extremely in 

 proportion in different specimens of urine. 

 He never found that it became replaced by 

 the benzoic acid when horses were exposed to 

 excessive labour, an opinion which has been 

 very generally received by chemists. He never, 

 indeed, could detect benzoic acid under any 

 circumstances, except in such small quantities 

 as to require the assistance of the microscope 

 to show its presence. 



The deposit which causes the turbidity 

 observed in the urine of the horse, is com- 

 posed as follows, according to Vou Bibra : 



Carbonate of lime - 80'9 



Carbonate of magnesia - - 12-1 

 Organic matter - - - 7'0 



The horses that supplied the above de- 

 scribed specimens of urine, were fed on hay 

 and oats, and used in agriculture. 



Boussingault examined the urine of a horse 

 fed on trefoil and vetches, and states its 

 composition as follows : 



Water - - - 9 JO- 76 



Urea - - ~ - 31 '00 



Hippurate of potassa - 4'74 



Lactate of potassa - - - ] T28 

 Lactate of soda ... g-gi 



Bicarbonate of potassa - - 15-50 



Carbonate of lime - 10-82 



Carbonate of magnesia - - 4' 16 

 Sulphate of potassa - - 1'18 

 Chloride of sodium - 0'74 



Silica - - 1-01 

 Phosphates, none present. 



Chemists have described a red oil as ex- 

 isting in the urine of herbivorous animals, and 

 have attributed the peculiar odour of the 

 secretion to the presence of that substance. 



Boussingault carefully examined the urine 

 of horses with a view to obtain this oil for 

 examination, but failed to extract it, though 

 he operated on twenty-six gallons. He dis- 

 tilled the whole quantity, but no trace of oil 

 came over into the receiver. All that he ob- 

 tained was a colourless fluid, strongly im- 

 pregnated with the odour of horse's urine. 



He considers this odour dependent upon 

 the presence of a volatile acid, and believes 

 that the volatile red oil obtained by chemists 

 results from the decomposition of the alkaline 



