DR. PAVY AND DIABETES 27 



supposed to wander in a state of freedom. As to the mechan- 

 ism of its transport, his views also showed developments. At 

 first, as we have seen, he denied the possibility of transport 

 altogether but in 1893 came his own discovery of what he 

 termed the "glucoside constitution of proteid matter," which 

 modified his views. It had been suspected at an earlier date 

 that the protein molecule yields something of a carbohydrate 

 nature upon hydrolysis and the work of Schiitzenberger had 

 given support to the belief. But Pavy came upon the fact 

 independently and his observations were more exact and went 

 much further than those which preceded them. They opened 

 indeed an interesting and important chapter in biochemistry. 

 It was shown that among the products of the complete hydro- 

 lyses of protein was a substance yielding a characteristic 

 cystalline derivative identical with the osazone of dextrose. 

 The quantity of this substance which can be obtained from 

 ovalbumen, the protein chiefly worked with, was considerable. 

 Here, then, felt Pavy, is the form in which sugar may be 

 transported in the blood without possibility of loss by way of 

 the kidney. He came, indeed, to attach the greatest impor- 

 tance to this protein-sugar, not only in relation to transport 

 but in connexion with other and more general phenomena of 

 the metabolism of carbohydrates. Quotations (1906) will define 

 his position both with regard to the mobilisation of liver gly- 

 cogen and its transport. The suggestion, he says, " presents 

 itself that sugar is taken on as a side-chain by a proteid con- 

 stituent of the blood and transported to the tissues where it is 

 taken off, for subjection to utilisation"; and then later, "Gly- 

 cogen is a storage material consisting of very large molecules 

 and therefore not adapted for shifting its position. I should 

 think that the first action that occurs is the breaking down of 

 its molecule into molecules of glycose which become instantly 

 taken on by the alluded-to molecules of the blood. There may 

 be concerted action between the breaking-down and taking-on 

 processes but that there is such an operation is rendered 

 probable by the fact that there is no show of sugar in con- 

 nexion with the occurrence. Enzyme action, it may be 

 considered, of necessity constitutes a part of the process. . . ." 

 But further study on the part of others showed that the facts 

 of the case are not quite such as can support these views with 

 regard to transport, at least, not in the definite sense in which 



