REPORT OF MEDICAL SECTION. 151 
for the blood and secretions; this consists in fixing some de- 
terminate character to the extractives we may separate by means 
of the various menstrua employed in the analysis, for we require 
experiments to show that alcohol will extract the same matters 
from any gland that it is capable of separating from the dried 
blood ; indeed it is not impossible that every gland may have a 
set of extractives peculiar to itself. For this inquiry I would 
especially beg attention and co-operation, as it is a subject so 
extensive as to require a multitude of experiments before we 
can expect any results applicable to pathology. 
It is toa chemical knowledge of the nature of the various ex- 
tractives that we must become indebted for ascertaining any of 
those divarications from health which it will be the ultimate ob- 
ject of the inquiry to detect: such a knowledge must be the 
result of careful examinations and comparisons of several healthy 
specimens of each organ; so that we may be able to decide upon 
the true nature of any of these animal extractives. A standard 
of comparison for the quantitative analysis of diseased organs 
will require several quantitative experiments on each organ in 
health before the normal average can be determined. I will 
now proceed to show the practicability of a method of analysis, 
which, if adopted, I do not doubt will develope some valuable 
results to the profession. I have before stated, that in the ana- 
lysis of the blood we use three principal fluids as separators of 
its constituents, viz. ether, alcohol, and water. It is on the 
dividing action of these fluids that I wish to proceed, and should 
propose that the analysis thus divide the substance submitted 
into four parts, viz. lst. That which is soluble in ether. 2nd. 
That which is soluble in water only. 3rd. That which is solu- 
ble in water and alcohol. 4th. That which is insoluble in all 
the three menstrua. This method, which is used for the blood, 
will be found very applicable to solid matters, which, as regards 
analysis, may be considered as partially dried serum. I do not 
wish it to be understood from this that we must expect to sepa- 
rate the same principles from each gland as we do from blood, 
by means of the same menstrua, but merely that the same pro- 
cess may be used ; for, as I have before stated, each gland may 
have extractives peculiar to itself; but having partially divided 
the constituents of the gland by means of the same menstrua 
that are used for the analysis of the serum, we are better able 
to examine their properties, and, moreover, have the valuable 
advantage of forming comparisons with the constituents of 
serum, some of which will undoubtedly be present in every or- 
ganized substance of the human frame. I will now notice in 
order the different divisions of our analysis, as formed by the 
