l826:J Dr. Prout on Digestion, 409 



Ohiidmn ariil Messrs. Tiederaan and Gmelin, was tried, and 

 Wfth ^e'*«enHI6f results ; that is to say, the existence of free 

 itt^i^iatic'^^M was indicated, but its quantity cowXd obviously not 

 be^us deteifmined, at least with any thing like accuracy. 



I have yet one or two other points on which I shall make a 

 few remarks, and on which the German philosophers have by 

 some means misrepresented me in an extraordinary manner. In 

 a paper iirst published by me nine or ten years ago, and subse- 

 quently, in 1819, with some revisions, in the Annals of Philo- 

 sophy ^^ on the digestive process, 1 have said that " the contents, 

 of the stomachs of animals feeding on vegetable substances, even 

 when fully digested, and about to pass the pylorus, exhibit no 

 traces of an albuminous principle ; but the moment they enter 

 the duodenum, " they undergo remarkable changes, not only 

 in their appearances, but in their properties. These changes 

 appear to be chiefly induced by the action of two secreted fluids, 

 with which they there come in contact, and are intimately mixed. 

 These are the bile and pancreatic juice, on the nature of which 

 we shall make a few remarks. The bile consists chiefly,, 

 according to the accurate observations of Berzelius, which 

 agree with my own, of a large proportion of water holding ia 

 Solution a peculiar bitter substance, named the bihary principle, 

 of the mucus of the gall bladder, and of the usual salts contained' 

 in the blood, and in all the fluids secreted from it. The proper- 

 ties of the pancreatic juice 1 never could satisfactorily ascer- 

 tain, but it has usually been considered as analogous to the 

 saliva; and if this opinion be correct, it may be safely considered 

 as containing no albumen. The changes produced in the 

 digested alimentary matters by these fluids are evidently of a 

 chemical nature. A gaseous product is usually evolved; a 

 distinct precipitation of the biliary principle, in apparent union 

 with some others, chiefly of an excrementitious nature, takes 

 place, the mixture becomes neutral, aiid an albuminous principle 

 IS /brmec?, at least traces of this principle appear, which, however, 

 become much more distinctly visible at some distance from the 

 pylorus." And this is all I have stated on the subject ; but 

 Messrs. Tiedeman and Gmelin represent me as asserting in 

 general terms, what I never dreamt of, that albumen is solely 

 formed in the duodermmy and cannot exist in the stomach even If 

 placed tlvere (for without this latter supposition the following 

 remarks are unintelligible). "Mais il resulte evidenmient(they- 

 proceed) denos experiences faitessur des chiens, des chevaux, et' 

 des ruminans, que quand la nourriture consiste en blanc d'auf 

 liquidefOaquand les alimenscontiennent d'albumine,cette siihsta.nce 

 se trouve dissoute par le sue gastrique et versee dans le duode- 

 num avec le chyme, sans eprouver aucun changement. Nous ne^ 

 pouvons done pas admettre avec Prout que I'albumine se forme dan% 



'---/•■ ♦Vol. xiii. (O. S.)p. 12 and 265, 



