330 THE SECRETIONS: 



of ammoniaco-magnesian phosphate. Dr. Kane convinced 

 himself that the occurrence of kystein was independent of the 

 presence of albumen ; he likewise ascertained that it occurs not 

 only during pregnancy but also during the period of lactation, 

 especially when the secretion of milk is at all checked. He 

 concludes with the observation that " when pregnancy is pos- 

 sible, the exhibition of a clearly-defined kystein-pellicle is one 

 of the least equivocal proofs of that condition, and that when, 

 in a case of suspected pregnancy, this pellicle is not found, if 

 the female be healthy, the probabilities are as twenty to one 

 that the prognosis is incorrect/' 1 It appears from a review of 

 Kane's cases, that the kystein most commonly appears on the 

 third day; in one case, however, it could not be observed till 

 the eighth day after the urine had been passed ; and in some 

 cases it appeared during the first twenty-four hours. 



During the first weeks of pregnancy, Kane only rarely ob- 

 served it ; it was most commonly noticed during the seventh, 

 eighth, and ninth months, and up to the period of delivery. 

 In eighty-five cases of pregnancy it was absent eleven times, 

 and was present in thirty-two out of ninety-four cases examined 

 during lactation. 



I have examined the urine during the second, third, fourth, 

 fifth, and sixth months of pregnancy, but have not invariably 

 detected kystein. In the cases in which it was formed, as in 

 the second, fifth, and sixth months of pregnancy, the urine on 

 emission was clear, yellow, faintly acid, and not affected either 

 by nitric or acetic acid, or by heat. Usually, in about twenty- 

 four hours, the whole urine became slightly turbid, the acid 

 reaction disappeared, a white viscid sediment was deposited, 

 and soon afterwards the surface of the fluid became covered 

 with a pellicle at first extremely delicate, but after from twelve 

 to twenty-four hours becoming tough, thick, opaque, and with a 

 glistening appearance in consequence of the light reflected from 

 numerous minute crystals of ammoniaco-magnesian phosphate 

 with which it was studded. On examining this pellicle in its early 

 state under the microscope, it appeared (when magnified 300 

 times) to consist of an amorphous matter composed of minute, 

 opaque points, such as are presented by sediments of phosphate 

 of lime or urate of ammonia, except that in the latter the in- 

 1 American Journal of Med. Science, July 1842. 



