EXCKETINE AND EXCBETOLEIC ACID. 



401 



Fig. 4. 



short distance. The crystals are frequently arranged in 



bundles, as in Fig. 4, in which they are represented as seen 



under a T \ inch ob- 



jective. In Fig. 5 



the crystals are rep- 



resented as seen un- 



der a -i inch objec- 



tive. These crystals 



cannot be confound- 



ed with excretine, 



which crystallizes in 



the form of regular, 



four-sided prisms, nor 



with the thin rhom- 



boidal or rectangular 



tablets of cholester- 



ine. They are iden- 



tical with the crys- 



tals of seroline figured by Robin and Ycrdiel. 1 



There can be no 

 doubt with regard to 

 the origin of the ster- 

 corine which exists in 

 the fasces. We have 

 found that whenever 

 the bile is not dis- 

 charged into the du- 

 odenum, as is prob- 

 ably the case, for a 

 time, in icterus ac- 

 companied with clay- 

 colored evacuations, 

 stercorine is not to 



V>p rliar>nirm*crl ir -fTio 

 U1SCOV6I 



Tn 

 j.11 



Stercorine from the human f,eces, T * 5 inch objective. 



Fig. 5. 



ATIP 



Stercorinc from the same specimen after it had been 

 melted, placed upon a glass slide, covered with thin 

 glass, and allowed to crystallize. The crystalliza- 

 tion was very slow, occupying some weeks. 



1 ROBIN ET VERDIEL, Chimie Anatomique, Paris, 1853, Atlas, PI. xxxvi., Fig. 2. 

 26 



