268 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



ORGANIC MATTER OF HUMAN BREATH IN HEALTH AND 

 DISEASE. BY DR. ARTHUR RANSOME. 



The vapor of the breath was condensed in a large glass flask 

 surrounded by ice and salt, at a temperature of several degrees 

 below zero. The fluid collected was then analyzed for free am- 

 monia, urea, and kindred substances; and for organic ammonia, 

 the method employed being that invented by Messrs. Wanklyn 

 and Chapman for water analysis. The breath of 11 healthy per- 

 sons and of 17 affected by different disorders was thus examined, 

 and the results were given in 2 tables. The persons examined 

 were of different sexes and ages, and the time of the day at 

 which the breath was condensed varied. In both health and 

 disease the free ammonia varied considerably ; the variation 

 could not be connected with the time of the day. the fastincr or 



/ c^ ' 



full condition. Urea was sought for in 15 instances, 3 healthy 

 persons and 12 cases of disease ; but it was only found in 2 cases 

 of kidney disease, in 1 case of diphtheria, and a faint indication of 

 its presence occurred in a female suffering from catarrh. The 

 quantity of ammonia arising from the destruction of organic mat- 

 ter also varied, possibly from the oxidation of albuminous particles 

 by the process of respiration ; but in healthy persons there was a 

 remarkable uniformity in the total quantity of ammonia obtained 

 by the process. Amongst adults the maximum quantity per 100 

 minims of fluid was 0.45 of a milligramme and the minimum was 

 0.35. A rough calculation was given of the total quantity of or- 

 ganic matter passing from the lungs in 24 hours, in adults about 

 3 grains in 10 ounces of aqueous vapor ; a quantity small in itself, 

 but sufficient to make this fluid highly decomposable, and ready 

 to foster the growth of the germs of disease. In disease there 

 was much greater variation in the amount and kind of organic 

 matter given off. In 3 cases of catarrh, 1 of measles, and 1 of 

 diphtheria, the total ammonia obtained was much less than in 

 health, less than 0.2 of a milligramme ; a result probably due 

 to the abundance of mucus in these complaints, by which the fine 

 solid particles of the breath were entangled. In 2 cases of 

 whooping-cough it was also deficient, but as they were both 

 children, the lack of organic matter may have been due to their 

 age. In cases of consumption also the total ammonia was less 

 than in health ; but in one case of this disease associated with 

 Bright's disease, a larger amount of organic matter was given 

 off, a portion of it due to urea. In kidney diseases, the largest 

 amount of organic matter of all kinds was found in the breath. 

 The ammonia in one case of Bright's disease was 1.8 milli- 

 grammes in 100 minims of fluid, and urea was largely present. 

 Perhaps this fact might be taken as an indication of the need of 

 measures directed to increase the activity of other excretory or- 

 gans. In one case of ozona or offensive breath, the total quanti- 

 ty of ammonia obtained was greater than in any healthy subject, 

 but the excess was chiefly due to organic matter. One convales- 

 cent case of fever was examined, and the total ammonia was 

 found to be deficient. The air of a crowded railway carriage, 



