A Memoir on the Uric Acid. 397 
original conclusions they fully verified. (0) 
They concede, however, to Dr. Pearson the 
propriety of using the ‘specific name uric ; 
and this term has since been generally re- 
ceived by chemical philosophers. My own 
experiments, it will presently appear, fully 
confirm the propriety of ranking it in the class 
of acids. 
SECT. II. 
On the Chemical Properties of the Uric Acid. 
THE following account of the properties of 
the Uric Acid, is to be understood as applica- 
ble to it in a pure state. To obtain it in 
‘sufficient quantity, I have generally had re- 
course to that variety of urinary calculus, 
which is chiefly composed of uric acid. Con- 
cretions of this sort may readily be distin- 
guished by their external characters. They 
are of various sizes, from that of a horsebean 
to that of a large egg. Their shape is gene- 
rally a flattened oval; and, when broken or 
divided by a saw, they exhibit generally a 
radiated structure, and have acentral nucleus 
of more compact texture and greater hard- 
ness than the rest of the stone. Their colour 
fo) Ann. de Chim, xxvii. 225. Fourcroy’s Systeme, 
tom. ¥. 4to. p, 515, 
1 
