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supposed changes being produced, which could allow albumen to be 

 converted into gelatin. 3. The continuity of tendon and muscle. 

 The author stated, that if a fine fibre of tendon be carefully 

 removed, it brings away with it its continuation in the muscle, or 

 vice versa, and that, when this was examined by means of a power- 

 ful microscope, the continuity of the ultimate fibres appeared to him 

 to be capable of being traced. 4. The mode in which a ruptured 

 tendon is repaired, — the fibrinous matter which is thrown out, appa- 

 rently by simple condensation, seeming to assume all the characters 

 of true tendon. 5. The early food of the young of ail the Mammalia, 

 consisting, Like that of the chick in ovo, of a kind of albuminous 

 matter and oil, viz. milk. 6. Experiments on the nutrition of ani- 

 mals, which shew, that though fed with gelatin, fibrin, and albu- 

 men, the lacteals contain a simply albuminous fluid. 7- The similar 

 effects produced by maceration on all the tissues of the body. 



The author then briefly narrated the chemical details, which satis- 

 fied him that all the solids and fluids of the body (fatty and nervous 

 matters excepted), might be reduced to a prototype or basic animal 

 matter, which exhibited none of the characters naturally belonging 

 to any of the fluids of the body ; and he shewed how the albumen 

 in the serum of the blood seemed to be instantly resolved into this 

 basic animal matter by a few drops of solution of caustic potash. 

 He also found that the potash solution had a similar action on all 

 the constituents of the blood, the fibrine as well as the albuminous 

 matters not only preventing the blood from clotting but also from 

 depositing its red or coloured particles. The author pointed out the 

 effect of ether in removing this basic animal matter in a state of 

 purity from its chemical solutions, and remarked that it acted simi- 

 larly on solutions of albumen and of gelatin. He also stated, that 

 this prototype animal matter appeared, in certain states of the sys- 

 tem, to be secreted in its basic form along with the urine, and had 

 been formerly described by him under the name of Gravidine. 



The author therefore proposed to adopt from Mulder, for this 

 basic animal matter, the name of Protein, as expressing the Proteus- 

 like forms it is capable of assuming. 



The author next proceeded to observe, that being desirous of 

 ascertaininii what eft'ect chemical agrents exerted on the tissues 

 of the body in producing their solution, he was induced to ex- 

 amine the solutions by means of a powerful microscope, with a 

 magnifying power of 800 diameters. He then observed that these 



I 



