1917] 



on The Treatment of War Wounds 



00 



Th£ Setting Free of Trypsin by Hypertonic Salt Solution. 



You will probably not wish to see any further experiments on 

 this point. But I have still to make good to you that a hypertonic 

 salt solution sets free trypsin from pus and initiates digestion. On 

 that matter I will content myself with showing you the two following 

 experiments. 



Experiment 1.— I have here, as you see, two test-tubes filled 

 nearly to the top with egg-albumen. To this was added J per cent, 

 of carbolic acid, and the albumen was then solidified by immersing 

 the tubes in boiling water. That done I took two cotton-wool plugs 



Fig. 15. — Test-tubes filled with coagulated egg-albumen ; then 

 plugged with cotton-wool impregnated with pus ; and then inverted 

 into beakers. Beaker A contains hypertonic, Beaker B normal 

 salt solution. 



and steeped them in a pus to which I had added h per cent, carbolic 

 acid. I then inverted my tubes, the one into a beaker containing 

 5 per cent, salt, the other into a beaker containing physiological salt 

 solution. (Fig. 15, A and B). To these also I added J per cent, of 

 carbolic acid. You will understand why I chose carbolic acid as 

 my antiseptic when I tell you that it is an antiseptic which does not 

 destroy trypsin or impede digestion. You see in the drawings made 

 after the tube had been incubated for 48 hours, that in Tube A (the 



