302 THE SECRETIONS: 



(5.) Do the kidneys, liver, or lungs undergo any changes ? 

 and if so, what is their nature ? 



If the connexion between the appearance of the sugar and 

 the diminution of the urea is constant, that is to say, if, without 

 exception, the urea invariably decreases in the same ratio as the 

 sugar increases, then we must assume with Berzelius, that in 

 place of the metamorphosis of the protein-compounds into urea 

 which occurs as a normal process, these compounds are in this 

 case, from certain causes which are unknown to us, transformed 

 into sugar, ammonia, and perhaps into nitrogenous extractive 

 matters. This hypothesis is, however, opposed by the facts 

 which were observed by M'Gregor : in his cases the daily 

 secretion of urea equalled, and in fact exceeded the healthy 

 average. 



It has been established by the researches of Hollo, Bouchardat, 

 myself, and others, that the blood really contains sugar. It 

 exists, however, in an extremely minute quantity, and my own 

 observation confirms the remark of Bouchardat, that it is most 

 abundant a short time after meals : the blood of a girl in whom 

 the disease had made considerable progress, when taken before 

 a meal, exhibited a mere trace of sugar. Hence we are led to 

 infer that the formation of sugar occurs in the chylopoietic viscera 

 alone, or there and in the blood simultaneously. 



From experiments made by McGregor, 1 he infers that the 

 sugar is formed in the stomach alone. After having con- 

 vinced himself of the existence of sugar in diabetic blood 

 by having induced fermentation, he sought for, and found it in 

 the matters vomited both by a healthy man and a diabetic pa- 

 tient, three hours after dinner. Upon treating the healthy man 

 and the diabetic patient with an initiatory course of emetics 

 and purgatives, and then for three days feeding them with no- 

 thing but beef and water, no sugar was found in the matter 

 vomited by the healthy man, whilst there was still sugar in the 

 other case. McGregor also found sugar in the feces of diabetic 

 patients : no sugar was, however, found in the sweat. It is 

 well known that persons with this disease do not readily per- 

 spire ; on the contrary the skin becomes dry, rough, and peels 



1 London Med. Gaz., May 1837. 



