URINE. 329 



[Dr. v. Velsen 1 has published the case of a man aged 84 

 years, with chronic cystitis, who passed very fetid urine of a 

 deep violet colour, after the use of lime-water mixed with warm 

 milk. After the omission of the draught for a few days, the 

 peculiar colour disappeared.] 



Urine during pregnancy, at the period of delivery, and after 



delivery. 



Since Nauche' s announcement (a few years ago) of the dis- 

 covery of a peculiar substance to which he gave the name of 

 kystein, in the urine of pregnant women, the renal secretion 

 during this state has been carefully examined by numerous 

 chemists. 



Nauche describes kystein as a white mass that, after the 

 urine has stood for some time, separates, partly rising to the 

 surface, where it forms a somewhat tough pilous membrane 

 interspersed with glistening crystals, and partly sinks to the 

 bottom, forming a creamy precipitate. Nauche regards kystein 

 as an indubitable sign of pregnancy. It is also considered a 

 certain test by Eguiser ; he states that it appears after the urine 

 has stood two to six days, depositing itself as a white opaque 

 body, and then rising to the surface and producing a film like 

 the solid fat that settles on cold broth. From an extensive 

 series of observations, Dt. Kane concludes that kystein does 

 not appear sooner than thirty hours, or later than eight days ; 

 that on its first appearance it forms a scarcely perceptible 

 membrane, which gradually becomes firmer and thicker, and 

 after a time, breaks up, the fragments sinking to the bottom ; 

 that a kystein-like membrane may also appear in the urine of 

 persons with phthisis, arthritis, metastatic abscesses, vesical 

 catarrh, &c. but that it differs from true kystein, both in the 

 manner of its formation and of its destruction ; it appears later 

 than the true kystein, but, having once appeared, develops it- 

 self more rapidly and possesses less tenacity. The urine is 

 neutral or ammoniacal on the appearance of the kystein, which, 

 under the microscope, appears as an amorphous matter cor.- 

 sisting of minute opaque corpuscles, intermingled with crystals 



1 Casper's Wochenschrift, 1844, No. 18. 



