14 Notes from the Physiological Laboratory 



It will be seen, from the tables given above, that 

 in 80 per cent, of the cases a notable increase of the 

 fatty matters passed per an urn was observed after the 

 persistent inunction of cod-liver oil. In the remain- 

 ing 20 per cent, the quantity of faecal fats was un- 

 altered by the treatment, and in one case remained 

 negative throughout. 



We venture to suggest, as a provisional hypothe- 

 sis, that by the continued inunction the circulating 

 fluids became to some extent surcharged with fats, 

 and that, in consequence, a certain amount of the 

 fatty constituents of the food was refused by the ab- 

 sorbent surfaces of the intestine and passed from the 

 body unaltered. This supposition is strengthened 

 by the observations of Berthe, 1 who showed that 

 pure cod-liver oil, given internally, could be taken 

 for a longer time without appearing in the feeces, 



1 L'Union Medicale, t. x. No. 62, 1856. 



