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neutral, becomes alkaline and broken up into several organic 

 groups. 4th, That if the mucus of the gall-bladder be carefully 

 removed by alcohol or acetic acid, and the perfectly fresh bile be 

 then evaporated, these changes do not take place. 



From these facts it follows that the mucus of the gall-bladder is a 

 highly catalytic body, and that the analysis of bile which has been 

 left in contact with it, under the conditions above stated, must lead 

 to varying and unsatisfactory results. 



From these considerations it naturally occurred to try the effect of 

 placing the mucus of the gall-bladder in contact with hepatic bile ; 

 but the experiment was not performed, as it was found impracticable 

 to obtain the mucus of the gall-bladder free from cystic bile without 

 precipitation by reagents. Desiring, however, to ascertain whether 

 the mucus is principally retained in contact with the inner surface of 

 the gall-bladder or diffused through its contents, the author subjected 

 the gall-bladder and its contained fluid, taken from an ox just 

 slaughtered, to a freezing mixture of snow and salt, until all but the 

 central part of the fluid was frozen, and on pouring out the latter 

 found it to contain mucus ; thus showing that this secretion is not 

 merely confined to the inner surface of the gall-bladder for the pur- 

 pose of protection and lubrication of the subjacent membrane, but is 

 diffused throughout the bile contained in that reservoir. 



Leaving now the mucous secretion, the object was first to ascer- 

 tain whether the mucous membrane itself possesses the property 

 of changing the molecular structure of the bile ; then to observe 

 whether it possesses any analogy to other mucous membranes, such 

 as the epithelial membrane of the calf's stomach, &c., in acting upon 

 animal fluids and solutions of bodies which readily break up into 

 binary forms ; to examine, in the next place, its action upon albumen, 

 the white of an egg being the substance selected ; and, finally, to 

 determine its effects on the biliary secretion, as produced in the 

 liver before its admission into the gall-bladder. 



Action of the Mucous Membrane of the Gall-bladder upon Bile. 



December 11, 1855. The mucous membrane of the gall-bladder 

 was dissected, or rather stripped from the other portion of the viscus, 

 and washed in several waters, until the mucous secretion and bile 

 disappeared ; a small portion was now placed in an evaporating dish 



