of the University of Pennsylvania. 61 



subjected bran with its adherent "gluten-cells" to 

 actual digestion by twelve well-nourished adults, six 

 males and six females. These twelve persons were 

 selected from a larger number by excluding all 

 whose fseces exhibited under microscopic examina- 

 tion any inefficiency in the amylolytic and proteo- 

 lytic digestive ferments as evidenced by the presence 

 of starch or muscle fibre in more than a minimal 

 amount. Sources of error arising from individual 

 peculiarities having been eliminated by the number 

 of persons under observation, and the best conditions 

 for digestion having been obtained, these persons 

 then received daily for three days, in addition to 

 their regular food, one ounce of thoroughly boiled 

 bran. Their fasces for the last two days of the 

 treatment were submitted to close microscopical ex- 

 amination, with results so nearly uniform as not to 

 require tabulation. In every case the number of 

 "gluten-cells' 7 present was more than sufficient to 

 render a diagnosis of the food taken a matter of 

 great ease. In two-thirds of the cases no evidences 

 of disintegration of any of the cells could be found 

 upon repeated examination of many fields from each 

 specimen. In four cases a small proportion (less 

 than 10 per cent.) of the numerous cells examined 

 showed evidences of having been affected by the 



G 



