132 THE BLOOD. 



to estimate the albumen, fatty, and extractive matter. For 

 this purpose we desiccate a known quantity of serum, care- 

 fully pulverize the dry residue, and treat it repeatedly with 

 boiling water till it has washed out all soluble matters. 

 These are undetermined extractive matters, and free salts 

 in solution in the serum. The residue, thus treated with 

 boiling water, is desiccated and treated several times with 

 boiling alcohol, which dissolves all the fatty substances. The 

 insoluble residue is then dried and weighed, and represents 

 pure albumen, which, it will be remembered, is not affected 

 by boiling water or alcohol. The loss after treating with 

 boiling alcohol gives the quantity of fatty matters. The pro- 

 portions of inorganic matters are obtained by analysis of the 

 residue after incineration. It is unnecessary to describe 

 the complicated and difficult manipulations involved in this 

 process. 1 



1 The above is condensed from BECQUEREL and RODIER, " Traite de Chimie 

 Pathologique appliquee d la Medecine Pratique" Paris, 1854, page 21 et seq. As 

 the result of analyses of the blood of twenty-two healthy persons, they give the 

 following table, page 86. The list of inorganic salts is taken from pages 65, 66, 

 and 67. 



DENSITY OF THE BLOOD 1060 



COMPOSITION. 



Water 781-600 



Globules 135-000 



Albumen 70-000 



Fibrin 2-500 



Seroline 0-025 



Cholesterine 0*125 



Oleate, margarate, and stearate of soda 1'400 



Chlorides of sodium, potassium, and magnesium 8-500 



Carbonate of soda 



Free soda 



Sulphate of soda 



Phosphate of soda 



Carbonate of potassa .... 



-(Carbonate of soda most abundant) 2-COO 



Sulphate 

 Phosphate " 



Sulphate of magnesia 



Phosphate of lime 



Phosphate of magnesia . . j " 



Iron 0-550 



Undetermined extractive matters 2-450 



1,000-000 



