316 Dr. Scherer's Abstract of 



did also th'e liquid filtered from the acid half-digested natural 

 food contained in a calf's stomach. 



What remained after the above reactions of the artificially 

 digested beef and gluten, were mixed with fresh calf's gall, 

 and placed, each by itself, in a piece of clean duodenum of the 

 same animal, closed accurately above and below with a liga- 

 ture, and immersed in distilled water. After ten hours the 

 water was examined ; it coagulated by heat, strongly, and 

 was precipitated by alcohol and corrosive sublimate. 



It hence follows, that the alimentary matters, as well animal 

 and vegetable, when dissolved by the acid gastric juice, are 

 converted by the alkaline bile into albumen, which is then 

 absorbed by the intestinal vessels. 



Composition of Albumen, Fibrine, and Casein. — Dr. Scherer 

 first undertook the examination of the circumstances of the 

 remarkable conversion of fibrine into albumen, by solution 

 with saltpetre, and was enabled to explain the contradictory 

 results obtained by many chemists, as follows: — 



The fibrine of arterial blood does not dissolve in solution 

 of nitre. 



The fibrine of healthy venous blood dissolves readily, but 

 the solution is precipitated by dilution with much water. 



This precipitation is prevented by the addition of a small 

 quantity of alkali. If the free alkali of the serum of the 

 blood be neutralized by acetic acid, it becomes turbid, and de- 

 posits flocks of albumen when diluted. 



The proportions given by Denis for dissolving fibrine, are 

 150 parts of moist fibrine, 50 of saltpetre, 3 of alkali, and 

 270 to 300 of water. The solution so obtained possesses all 

 the characters of a strong solution of albumen. 



The fibrine of the buffy coat {crusta infammatoria\ that 

 obtained by whipping venous blood with a twig, or fibrine 

 which has been long exposed moist to the air, or boiled or 

 digested in alcohol for a few minutes, do not possess this 

 property of dissolving ; it belongs completely only to venous 

 fibrine, obtained by tying the clot up in a cloth, and washing 

 out the serum and colouring matter with water. These cir- 

 cumstances made Dr. Scherer suspect the differences to be 

 due to the action of oxj'gen, which was confirmed by experi- 

 ment. He found that fresh venous fibrine rapidly absorbs 

 oxygen from the air and gives out carbonic acid, but when 

 boiled this property is lost. The boiled fibrine is also desti- 

 tute of action on deutoxide of hydrogen. Hence he remarks, 

 that ordinary fibrine is not in a coagulated state ; it separates 

 in a solid form, but its coagulation is effected only by boiling 

 or treatment with alcohol. 



