TOXINS AND ANTITOXINS 



We have seen also that it is by the kidneys that the 

 toxins are eliminated in all pathological conditions. 

 As a general rule, the urines are always more or less 

 toxic. This toxicity of the urines must be attrib- 

 uted in the first place to the crystallizable organic 

 principles (ptomaines and leucomaines *) which they 

 contain ; secondly, to the non-crystallizable f ex- 

 tractive matters not so well known ; and lastly, to 

 the saline substances, among which the potassium 

 salts are the most active. We find these mineral 

 salts particularly abundant under normal con- 

 ditions in the urines of the herbivora. According 

 to Bouchard, 0.18 Gm. of potassium chloride are 

 sufficient to prove fatal to 1000 Gm. of living organ- 

 ism; a man excretes on the average 2.5 Gm. of this 

 salt, and a rabbit excretes about double this quan- 

 tity, weight for weight. 



A very large number of hypotheses have been 

 advanced regarding the toxicity of the urines. 

 Wilson considers the urea as being responsible for 

 it; StadthagenJ believes it to be due to the potas- 

 sium salts, etc. Bouchard was the first to recog- 

 nize that the toxicity of the urines is due to a 

 number of causes. We will not dwell further on 

 these active principles which, in the last analysis, 



* ADDUCO: Arch. Ital. de biolog., 1891. 



f POUCHET: Thbse de Doctoral en Medecine, Paris, 1878. 



J STADTHAGEN: Zeitschr. f. Klin. Med., xv. 



BOUCHARD: Lefonssur les Autointoxications. 



