. COMPOSITION OF THE CHYLE. 535 



after his execution by hanging. The subject was apparently 

 in perfect health up to the moment of his death. The evening 

 before, he ate two ounces of bread and four ounces of meat. 

 At seven o'clock A. M., precisely one hour before death, he 

 took two cups of tea and a piece of toast ; and he drank a 

 glass of wine just before mounting the scaffold. When the 

 dissection was made, the body was yet warm, although the 

 weather was quite cold. The thoracic duct was rapidly 

 exposed and divided, and about six fluidrachms of milky 

 chyle were collected. The fluid was neutral, and had a spe- 

 cific gravity of 1,024. The following was its proximate com- 

 position : 



Composition of Human Chyle from the Thoracic Duct. 



Water 904-8 



Albumen, with traces of fibrinous matter '. 7O8 



Aqueous extractive 5'6 



Alcoholic extractive, or osmazome 5'2 



Alkaline chloride, carbonate, and sulphate, with traces of alkaline 



phosphates and oxides of iron 4'4 



Fatty matters 9-2 



1,000-0 



Of the constituents of the chyle not given in the ordinary 

 analyses, the most important are the urea, which is derived 

 exclusively from the lymph, and sugar, coming from the sac- 

 charine and amylaceous articles of food during the digestion 

 of these principles. 



The difference in chemical composition between the un- 

 mixed lymph and the chyle is very well illustrated in a com- 

 parative examination of these two fluids taken from a don- 

 key. The fluids were collected by Mr. Lane, the chyle being 

 taken from the lacteals before reaching the thoracic duct. 

 The animal was killed seven hours after a full meal of oats 

 and beans. The following analyses of the fluids was made 

 by Dr. Kees : * 



1 REES, On Chyle and Lymph. London Medical Gazette, 1841, vol. xxvii., p. 

 547; and LANE, Lymphatic and Lacteal System. Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and 

 Physiology, London, 1839-1847, vol. iii., p. 223. 



