EREPSIN 51 



pepsin and trypsin fall very quickly as prey to erepsin and 

 are broken down into their final crystallizable dissociation- 

 products. 1 



At first 0. Cohnheim's brilliant discovery was questioned 

 by many, but later was so fully confirmed 2 that its correct- 

 ness cannot logically be doubted. Erepsin is neither iden- 

 tical with trypsin nor does it come from the pancreas. Even 

 where the pancreatic secretion cannot gain access to the 

 intestine, as in case of a Thiry fistula 3 or after ligation of 

 the pancreatic ducts, 4 a rich supply of erepsin is found in 

 the intestine and its association with pepsin under these 

 circumstances accounts for the continued albumin dis- 

 sociation in the intestine. 5 



If, however, the pancreas be completely extirpated or 

 atrophied, general metabolic disturbances ensue of so 

 marked a type that there can be no wonder that protein 

 digestion should eventually suffer. It is a misconception 

 to class erepsin among the autolytic tissue ferments. 

 Some such erepsin-like influence may be met, according 

 to Vernon, in many different tissues, which will be con- 

 sidered in the following lecture; this is really a 

 phenomenon due entirely to endocellular enzymes, whereas 

 erepsin undoubtedly belongs in the intestinal secretion. 

 It is, however, not a matter of much consequence about the 

 name, if the facts of its capability are kept clearly in mind. 



1 Literature upon Erepsin : O. Cohnheim, Nagel's Handb. d. Physiol., 2, 

 583-585, 1907; Physiol. d. Verd. u. Ernahrung, Berlin and Vienna, 1908, p. 

 217; F. Samuely, Handb. d. Biochem., l t 555, 1909; Th. Brugsch, ibid., 3', 112- 

 115, 1910; C. Oppenheimer, Fermente, 3d ed., 181-184, 1909. 



2 Kutscher and Seemann, S. &'. Salaskin, A. Falloise, J. H. Hamburger and 

 E. Hekma, L. Tobler, M. Nagajama, Lambert, C. Foa, L. Weekers, E. Rau- 

 bitschek, L. Langstein and Soldin, G. Amantea and others. 



3 L. Weekers, Arch, intern, de Physiol., 2, 49 ; cited Centralbl. f . Physiol., 

 19, 90, 1905. 



4 Th. Brugsch, Zeitschr. f. exper. Pathol., 6, 326, 1909; K. Glassner and 

 A. Stauber (E. Freund's Lab.), Biochem. Zeitschr., 25, 204, 1910; E. Zunz 

 and L. Mayer, Bull. Acad. de MSd. de Belgique (4), 19, 509; Jahresber. f. 

 Tierchem., 85, 491, 1905. 



5 Literature: O. Prym, Handb. d. Biochem., 3", 106-107 (1909). 



