410 COMPOSITION OF CHYLE. 



derived very probably from the breaking up of lymph-corpuscles. When 

 lymph is withdrawn from the body, these substances cause it to coagulate. 

 Coagulation occurs slowly, owing to the formation of a soft jelly- 

 like, small "lymph-clot," which contains most of the lymph-corpuscles. 

 The exuded fluid or lymph-serum contains alkali-albuminate (precipitated 

 by acids), serum-albumin (coagulated by heat), a,nd.paraglobuUn the two 

 latter occurring in the same proportion as in blood-serum; 37 per cent. 

 of the coagulable proteids is paraglobulin (Salvioli). Peptone has been 

 found in chyle (? and perhaps also in lymph) ; also urea (Wurtz), leucin 

 and sugar. 



(2.) Chyle, which occurs within the lacteals of the intestinal tract 

 can only be obtained in very small amount before it is mixed with 

 lymph, and hence the difficulty of investigating it. A few lymph- 

 corpuscles occur even in the origin of lacteals within the villi, but 

 their number increases in the vessels beyond the intestine, more 

 especially after the chyle has passed through the mesenteric glands. 

 The amount of solids, which undergoes a great increase during diges- 

 tion, on the contrary, diminishes when chyle mixes with lymph. 

 After a diet rich in fatty matters, the chyle contains innumerable fatty 

 granules (2-4 /m. in size). [This is the so-called "molecular basis" 

 of the chyle.] The amount of fibrin-factors increases with the 

 increase of lymph-corpuscles, as they are formed from the breaking-up 

 of the lymph-corpuscles. Groh6 found a diastatic ferment in chyle, 

 which was probably absorbed from the intestine, occasionally sugar, to 

 2 per cent. (Colin), and after much starchy food, lactates have been 

 found (Lehmann). 



The Chyle of a person who was executed contained : 



Water, . . . 90 '5 per cent. 

 Solids, . . . 9 '5 ,, 



Fibrin, . . . trace. 



Albumin, . . . 7*1 



Fats, . 0-9 



Extractives, 1 '0 



Salts, . 0-4 



Cl. Schmidt found the following inorganic substances in 1000 parts of chyle 

 (horse): 



Sodic Chloride, .... . 5'84 



Soda, 1'17 



Potash 0-13 



Sulphuric Acid, 0'05 



Phosphoric ,, ...... 0'05 



Calcic Phosphate, .... 0'20 



Magnesic ,, 0*05 



Iron, trace. 



