328 SECRETION. 



chloroform was administered in the human subject for surgi- 

 cal operations, in all of which the passage of a small quan- 

 tity of sugar in the urine was noted. 1 



Destination of Sugar. Although sugar is constantly 

 produced by the liver and taken up by the circulation, it is ex- 

 ceptional to find it in the blood after it has passed through 

 the lungs. It is difficult to ascertain the precise mode of its 

 destruction in the lungs, and, indeed, the nutritive function 

 of sugar in the economy is not thoroughly understood. All 

 that we can say of the destination of liver-sugar is, that it 

 probably has the same office in nutrition as the sugar taken 

 as food and that resulting from the digestion of amylaceous 

 matters. The facts bearing upon this question will be re- 

 viewed under the head of nutrition. 



Alleged Production of Fat Tyy the Liver. It is stated 

 by Bernard, that in animals fed largely with saccharine and 

 amylaceous principles, the blood of the hepatic veins con- 

 tains an emulsive matter, which seems to be fat combined 

 with a proteine substance. In support of the opinion that 

 fat is thus produced in the liver, he brings forward that well- 

 known fact, that a diet of starch and sugar is particularly 

 favorable to the development of adipose tissue. 3 But the 

 examinations of the matter supposed to be fatty have not 

 been sufficiently minute to lead to any positive conclusions 

 with regard to its character or composition. Rouget states, 

 unreservedly, that this substance is simply glycogenic or 

 amyloid matter. 3 "While there can be no doubt of the forma- 

 tion of fat in the organism independently of the fat taken 

 as food, there is not sufficient ground for regarding the liver 

 as one of the organs specially concerned in its production. 



1 Op. tit., p. so. 



2 BERNARD, Legons de physiologic cxperimentale, Paris, 1855, p. 154. 



8 ROUGET, Des substances amyloides. Journal de la physiologic, Paris, 1859, 

 tome ii., p. 324. 



