NATURE OF PROTEOLYTIC FERMENTS III 



(E. Abderhalclen, A. Fodor, and E. Schiff). The 

 kidneys alone were exceptional, their ferments attack- 

 ing peptones originating from the most different 

 organs. In all probability this result points to a new 

 function of the kidney, namely, the duty of intercept- 

 ing all disharmonious substances of a complicated 

 nature, which have been brought to it by the 

 blood, but have escaped the action of the defensive 

 ferments of the blood. The kidney decomposes 

 these, and by so doing renders them useful to the 

 organism. The observations we have quoted suggest 

 the possibility, that the kidneys may be instrumental 

 in supplying defensive ferments to the blood. It 

 would be very interesting to determine the contents 

 of diseased kidneys in respect of ferments, and to find 

 out whether they are still able to perform their duties. 

 By such studies new points of view might be supplied, 

 which would give us a better understanding of the 

 particular diseases affecting this organ. Moreover, 

 exhaustive studies on the specificity of the ferments of 

 cells as such should enable us to prove that each kind 

 of cell has its own structure. We shall also be able, 

 by means of the dialysation process and of the optical 

 method, to make a much better study of cell ferments 

 than has hitherto been the case. 



The number of problems, that arise from the facts 

 we have brought forward, is so immense that we shall 

 content ourselves with drawing attention to only a 



