1835.] Lymph, Blood, and Chyle. 425 



in a watch glass, and allowed to stand. The glass magnifies 

 the globules, and permits their presence to be demonstrated. 

 The substance which unites the globules may be observed 

 on the edge of the coagulum to be homogeneous, slightly 

 translucent, and does not appear to consist of globules, but, 

 if globules are contained in it, they must be greatly inferior 

 in size to those of the lymph. These observations shew 

 that although the lymph contains globules suspended in it, 

 yet the fibrine is held in solution. 



It is more easy to obtain lymph from the inferior animals 

 for the purposes of experiment than it is to procure human 

 lymph. Pure lymph can be collected in considerable quan- 

 tity from a large frog, by separating the skin from the 

 muscles, with the precaution of avoiding to injure the 

 blood vessels. A liquid flows out which deposits a coagulum 

 when placed at rest for a few minutes. In 81 parts of the 

 lymph of the frog is contained 1 part of dry fibrine. Coa- 

 gulation is prevented by allowing the frog to fast for a long 

 time before collecting the lymph. Fresh lymph from the 

 frog contains globules, thinly scattered through it. These 

 are round and smaller than the elliptical globules in the 

 blood of the frog. 



According to the experiments of M tiller, by the addition 

 of a concentrated solution of caustic potash, albumen is 

 separated not only from the lymph of the frog but also 

 from the chyle of mammalia, and from small quantities of 

 the serum of the blood. Lymph is generally colourless. 

 Hewson, Tiedemann, and Gmelin, have remarked that it is 

 often reddish in the lymph vessels of the spleen, which 

 Rudolphi considered accidental. Hewson attributed this 

 colouring to the presence of the red globules of the blood, 

 an opinion which must be received cautiously, because, 

 under the microscope, the globules of the blood do not 

 at once appear red. 



Little is known with regard to the mode in which the 

 lymph is carried into the circulation, for no contraction has 

 hitherto been detected in the lymphatic ducts. Mtiller, 

 however, has observed in the frog a double contractile 

 organ, lying on each side behind the hip joint, on the side 

 of the rectum, in the ischiatic region, which appears to have 

 great influence on the propulsion of the lymph. The 



