46 Dr. KEMP, ON THE NATURE OF THE BILIARY SECRETION. 



the inquiry, which had hitherto heeii confined ahuost exclusively to the bile of the ox; I 

 therefore proposed to examine the bile of that animal as the type of the graminivorous, the human 

 bile as the type of the omnivorous, and the bile of some decidedly carnivorous animal, the lion 

 or tio-cr for instance, as the type of that class of animals. It was further proposed to institute 

 an inquiry into the differences which exist in the bile of different species of fish. Thus I hoped 

 that some general character at least would be found to illustrate the nature of the secretion in its 

 relation to the researches of physiology and pathology. The results of the first investigation 

 which were made at Giessen have since been published in the Journal of Erdman and Marchand at 

 Liepsic, and in the London Medical Gazette; it will, therefore, merely be necessary to give a 

 o-eneral outline of the manner in which the investigation was pursued ; the subsequent portions 

 of the research have, by the kind permission of Professor Gumming, been carried on in the 

 laboratory of this University. At the onset of the inquiry it seemed most important to take a large 

 average, and the bile obtained from twelve oxen killed at the same time at Frankfort was evaporated 

 in a water-bath to dryness ; the mass was reduced to powder and treated with alcohol sp. gr. -840, 

 in order to remove the mucus ; the clear fluid obtained by filtration was again evaporated 

 to dryness, powdered, and treated with ether, in order to remove the fats and fatty acids in 

 combination with soda, and this treatment continued until the ether on evaporation gave no residue. 

 The substance was now dried at a temperature of HO" of the centigrade thermometer, reduced 

 to a powder and submitted to analysis. The solution of this substance was perfectly neutral ; 

 on burning it however in a platinum crucible, an alkaline ash was left, which consisted of 

 carbonate of soda, and chloride of sodium. The carbonic acid which was found combined with 

 soda was of course the result of the combination of the carbon of the organic portion of the 

 bile during combustion with the oxygen of the atmospheric air. In the bile therefore soda itself 

 was present in combination with organic matter, and as in the bile the alkaline property of the 

 soda is suspended, we have positive proof that the soda in the ox-bile is combined with an 

 electro-negative body ; for in no other way can we account for the perfectly neutral character of 

 the bile. Those who are acquainted with the description of the bile in physiological works, will 

 remember that it has been described as an alkaline fluid ; and Schulz has made the statement that 

 one ounce requires half a dram of acetic acid for its saturation. His account is, however, much 

 too vague to place any dependence upon, for what is usually called acetic acid is merely a 

 solution of acetic acid, and the strength of the solution has not been recorded by this author. 

 It is certain that a portion of a strong acid may be added to the bile without any acid reagency 

 taking place before the quantity of soda combined with the electro-negative body (naturally 

 contained in the secretion) has become saturated. And we must not be surprised that the electro- 

 negative body set at liberty produces no change on litmus paper, as bodies of very high atomic 

 weight seldom produce any visible reaction on test-paper. We may instance the new alkaloid 

 Berberin, which has an atomic weight of more than 4000 (O = 100) ; — the combining weight 

 of the body which we are about to examine is between 5000 and 6000. But to come to actual 

 experiment on the subject. 



I have tested the fresh bile of more than forty oxen, the human bile, the bile from the tiger, 

 * the fox, the cat, * several kinds of monkey, the dog, * the wolf, * an Indian bull ", and the secretion 

 as found in the codfish ; in all these cases, with two exceptions, the bile was perfectly neutral. 

 One of these exceptions was the bile from a child which had been burnt to death, and which 

 was not examined until three days after its removal from the body, in which state, it is needless 

 to remark, that decomposition had already commenced, and even in this case the alkaline reaction 

 was barely perceptible. The other was that of the bile obtained from an Indian bull, in which the 

 secretion was not only decomposed, but absolutely putrid. To return however to the ox-bile. 



« The bile of the animals marked (•) was obtained through the kindness of Dr. Clark, Professor of Anatomy in this University. 



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