384 Physical Chemistry of Miiscle Plasma [April 



yield of ash and content of organic non-protein substances. Gen- 

 erally, the dry residue and the protein contents are inversely pro- 

 portional to the pressure at which the plasma is expressed. Since 

 the specific gravity (1,021-1,027, as a rule) is quite near that of 

 blood serum, I believe the salts and extractives, lipoids, glycogen, 

 etc., help to accoimt for it. 



The osmotic pressure is always very high (A =0.730-1.088° 

 C. for mammals; A =2.337-2.494° C. ior Scyllium; A = 1.196° 

 C. for Dcntex), higher than that of the blood. 



The reaction is always acid (Ch- 10'^ = 5.65-12.5 ; but there are 

 also higher values : ChIO^=3I-4 f- e.). Acidity is lower in 

 plasma of piain muscle and of cooled striated muscle, higher in 

 the plasma of striated mammalian muscle. As a rule, the hydrogen- 

 ion concentration increases with time; but as this augmentation is 

 rather feeble, I believe, with Fletcher, that the maximum production 

 of acid substances occurs in muscles soon after their Separation from 

 the body. 



The high osmotic pressure of muscle plasma is probably due 

 mainly to the substances that determine the acid reaction. 



The low electric conductivity (Kjso = 0.0107-0.0144 for mam- 

 mals; 0.0147-0.0150 for Scyllium; 0.0120 for Dentex) and high 

 viscosity (p25o= 1.59-2.82 ; 3.04-5.98 for piain mammalian muscle) 

 of the plasmas are explained by their corpuscular composition. But 

 the very high viscosity of the plasma of piain muscle is probably 

 caused by some particular protein derived from the connective 

 tissue. 



Zw 



The surface tension (100-^=68.90-78.19) is generally higher 



than that of the blood serum. 



My results are, for the most part, in Opposition to those obtained 

 by previous authors. But the new interpretation of phenomena 

 like those of spontaneous coagulation and heat coagulation, etc., 

 was suggested to me mainly by the granulär Constitution of muscle 

 plasma. As I stated above, this is the most important result of my 

 investigations, a result which hereafter must be recognized by all 

 who study problems pertaining to the chemistry and physical chem- 

 istry of the Contents of the muscle fiber. 



