lviii GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND 



affected with softening, the significance of Heitzmann's ob- 

 servation is obvious. 



Rossbach has undertaken to determine the influence exert- 

 ed by alkaloids on the oxidation processes of the organism. 

 He concludes (1) that the various albuminates found in the 

 body are affected and altered by the alkaloids ; (2) that these 

 changes are common to the alkaloids generally, though spe- 

 cific differences are to be observed ; (3) that the alkaloids, 

 while they leave the properties of hemoglobin as a genera- 

 tor of ozone unchanged, bind the ozone more firmly to the 

 hemoglobin, so that it is less readily yielded up to other 

 bodies ; and (4) that hence the alkaloids do retard tissue- 

 metamorphosis, both by the change which they produce in 

 the albuminates and by the firmer fixation of the ozone. 



Maly, in an elaborate paper on the origin of the free acid 

 of the gastric juice, comes to these conclusions: (1) that the 

 acidity is due to hydrochloric acid present ; (2) that no lac- 

 tic acid exists free in the gastric juice ; and (3) that the 

 source of the free hydrochloric acid is to be found in the de- 

 composition of the chlorides present, a decomposition not ef- 

 fected by the action of any other acid. 



Radziejewski and Salkowski have succeeded in detecting 

 asparaginic acid in the intestines after pancreatic digestion. 

 Since this acid has been proved to be one of the decomposi- 

 tion products of the albuminates, it occurred to the authors 

 to ascertain whether the natural ferments of the animal body 

 such, for example, as that of the pancreatic juice produced 

 asparaginic acid as a product of its splitting action upon the 

 albuminates. Well-washed fresh blood-fibrin was digested 

 with the finely divided pancreas for several hours at 40; 

 asparaginic acid was detected in the resulting solution. 



Hoppe-Seyler draws from his investigations the important 

 conclusion that the consumption of albuminous matters in 

 the organism takes place in the living cells of the tissues, and 

 not in the lymph in which they are bathed, or in the blood 

 itself, as has been hitherto maintained. 



G. S. Johnson has published results which appear to prove 

 (1) the existence of definite compounds of albumin with the 

 acids in simple molecular ratios; (2) the applicability of di- 

 alysis to the ready and accurate preparation of these com- 

 pounds ; and (3) the probable correctness of the formula for 



