158 Chittenden and Culbert—Influence of Potassium 
however, suggestive that potassium bromide has been recently found 
to exercise a very decided accelerating influence on the proteolytic 
action of both pepsin-hydrochloric acid* and trypsin ;+ while, there- 
fore, this fact may have something to do with the increased -elim- 
ination of nitrogen, particularly as the diet used is quite rich in pro- 
teid matter, it seems more probable to suppose that the above 
changes in the excretion of nitrogen are due rather to changes in the 
tissue proteids ; still it would have been interesting if the nitrogen 
in the feces had been determined each day. 
Although the last dose of potassium bromide was taken on the 26th 
of April, the same diet was still continued and the urine carefully 
examined daily, until the 8th of May, at which time the amount of 
bromine in the urine was reduced to a minimum. Dr. Bill states that 
bromine usually disappears entirely from the urine in ten days aie 
the last dose of bromide. 
The results of the twelve days analyses are shown in Table No. 
III. In examining this table it is interesting to note how quickly 
the elimination of urea is changed on stopping the doses of bromide. 
On the 26th, the last day the bromide was taken, the excretion of 
urea amounted to 37°5 grams; on the 27th it fell to 31°8 grams, far 
below what it had been any time before the bromide was taken. It 
would thus appear that after withdrawal of the bromide, nutrition 
which had been accelerated, rebounded in proportion to the preceding 
acceleration. Uric acid, moreover, which had likewise been increased 
in amount by the bromide, was now also correspondingly diminished. 
Furthermore, the diuretic action of the bromide was at once stopped, 
and the specific gravity fell to 125°5. In the case of phosphoric acid, 
however, the action of the bromide appears to be continued for a 
day or two after its withdrawal, and indeed it is noticeable through- 
out, that the diminution in phosphoric acid excreted, is not at all 
proportional to the amount of bromide taken. In fact phosphoric 
acid, both total P,O, and alkali-earth P,O,, appears to be more deci- 
dedly diminished on those days when the amount of bromide in the 
blood was the smallest, notably on the 21st, 24th and 27th of April. 
By the 3d day after withdrawal of the bromide, the excretion of 
urea had gone nearly back to the daily amount, prior to taking the 
bromide; still it is to be seen in Table No. IJ, that the average ex- 
cretion of urea, uric acid and phosphoric acid is below the average 
excretion recorded in Table No. I. In fact after the continued doses 
* Chittenden and Allen. Trans. Conn. Acad., vol. vii, 
} Chittenden and Cummins, Ibid. 
