ACTION OF THE GASTKIC JUICE UPON MEATS. 255 



muscular substance enveloped in its sarcolemma, blood-ves- 

 sels, nerves, white fibrous tissue holding the muscular fibres 

 together, interstitial fat, and a small quantity of albumen, 

 fibrin, and corpuscles from the blood, all combined with a 

 considerable quantity of inorganic saline matters ; albumen, 

 sometimes unchanged, but generally in a more or less perfectly 

 coagulated condition ; fatty matter, sometimes in the form 

 of oil and sometimes enclosed in vesicles, constituting adipose 

 tissue 5 gelatine and animal matters in a liquid form extracted 

 from meats, as in soups ; caseine, in its liquid form united 

 with butter and salts in milk, and coagulated in connection 

 with various other principles in cheese ; vegetable nitrogen- 

 ized principles, of which gluten may be taken as the type ; 

 vegetable fats and oils ; saccharine principles, both from the 

 animal and vegetable kingdom, but chiefly from the vegetable ; 

 the different varieties of amylaceous principles ; and finally, 

 organic acids and salts, chiefly from vegetables. These prin- 

 ciples, particularly those from the vegetable kingdom, are 

 united with more or less innutritions matter, such as cellu- 

 lose. They are also seasoned with aromatic principles, con- 

 diments, etc., which are not directly used in nutrition. 1 



The various articles coming under the head of drinks 

 are taken without any considerable admixture with the sa- 

 liva. They embrace water, the various nutritious or stimu- 

 lant infusions (including alcoholic beverages), with a small 

 proportion of inorganic salts in solution. 



All articles enumerated above are more or less modified 

 in the stomach; and the action of the gastric juice upon 

 them will now be taken up in detail. 



Action of the Gastric Juice upon Meats. There are 

 three ways in which the action of the gastric juice upon the 

 various articles of food may be studied. One is to subject them 

 to the action of the pure fluid taken from the stomach, as 



1 Condiments and articles of this class have already been considered with, 

 sufficient minuteness. (See p. 100.) 



