C. U. C. p. ALUMNI JOURNAL 



167 



=f^^\E» vSTE^.z?%.C^r 



Conducted by Prof. George C. Diekman. 



Colloidal Sodium Urate in Urine. 



It has long been an accepted fact that 

 sodium urate exists in urine in the col- 

 loidal form under certain conditions. 

 Shade and Boden have shown the possi- 

 bility of this some time ago. More re- 

 cently Prof. Bechgold succeeded in prov- 

 ing conclusively that sodium urate, in the 

 colloidal form, is present in urine. He 

 likewise succeeded in isolating this sub- 

 stance, and with the aid of ultrafilters 

 succeeded in making a quantitative de- 

 termination. The average of a number 

 of determinations shows that 25 per cent. 

 of all urates are present in the colloidal 

 form. Bechgold points out the import- 

 ance of this from a biological viewpoint. 

 The uric acid of the body, so long as it 

 is not in excess, is partly destroyed by 

 the urinary ferments, while the rest is 

 eliminated by the kidneys. When the 

 uric acid is in excess, and remains in the 

 crystalline form, it is readily soluble, and 

 its elimination may be brought about by 

 various means. This is said not to be; 

 the case when the acid appears in the 

 colloidal form. 



Disinfectants. 



Schuelke and Mayr and Flemming call 

 attention to the high disinfecting value 

 of bodies consisting of mixtures of chlor- 

 cresols, or their complex alkali salts, with 

 chlor-xylenes. The chlor-cresols possess- 

 ing the highest values are chlor ^-cresol 

 (m. p. 48-49° C.) and chlor-w cresol 

 (m. p. 60° C). The chlor-xylenes cor- 



respond to the following formula : 

 CH3 CH3 CH3 CH3 OH CI I, 3, 4, 5. 

 or I, 3, 5, 2. Solutions of these mix- 

 tures may be made with the aid of soaps. 

 Alcoholic solutions or solutions made 

 with the aid of alcoholic solutions ot al- 

 kalies are also employed. The chlor- 

 xylenes are obtained by action of chlor- 

 ine or sulfuryl-chloride upon xylols. 



Incompatibility of Mercury Benzoate 

 and Cocaine Hydrochloride. 

 L. Reutter shows that this is caused 

 by the partial decomposition of the mer- 

 cury salt when drying, a mercurous salt 

 being formed, as follows: 



2(QH5COO).,Hg + H.,0 = 



2C«H,c6oH + (QH3COO),Hg, 



Mercuric benzoate is employed hypo- 

 dermically, as it is said to be less irri- 

 tant, and to cause less pain than other 

 similar salts. In order to facilitate its 

 solution in water it is customary to add 

 sodium chloride. The addition of this 

 at once caused an abundant separation 

 of mercurous chloride. A similar re- 

 action will of course take place when 

 cocaine hydrochloride is used. 



Cestrum Parqui. 



This is a shrub, found widely dis- 

 tributed in the countries of South Amer- 

 ica, more especially in the central prov- 

 inces of Chili. The natives employ an 

 extract of this plant as a remedy against 

 tropical fevers, and as a diaphoretic. J. 



