ITS FORMATION. 99 



portion of the alkaline chlorides must pass from the serum of the 

 portal blood into the growing or young cells of the blood of 

 the hepatic veins. 



The singular result at which Bensch and Strecker have arrived, 

 namely, that the bile of the herbivorous mammalia contains 

 almost only soda-salts, while the food of these animals is rich in 

 potash and deficient in soda, may probably be explained in the 

 following manner : potash-salts are abundantly separated by other 

 organs of the herbivora, as, for instance, by the kidneys; but 

 in the liver no such separation takes place, because the potash 

 conveyed into it with the portal blood is used for the formation of 

 the blood-corpuscles (for, as C. Schmidt was the first to show, the 

 blood-cells are especially rich in potash) ; we have, however, just 

 seen that a great part of the alkaline chlorides passes into the cells 

 of the blood in the hepatic veins. 



Lastly, I must not omit to mention that the blood of the hepatic 

 veins always contains considerably less water than that of the portal 

 vein, and that even after abundant drinking, the quantity of water 

 in the blood of the hepatic veins is only very slightly augmented, 

 while in the portal blood it is increased to an extraordinary 

 degree. Hence it follows that this excess of water in the portal 

 blood is effused in the liver into the biliary canals, and that the 

 density of the secreted bile must be liable to extreme variation 

 from the external physiological causes. 



In horses that had not drunk much for five hours after 

 feeding, there were from 70 to 110 parts more of water in the 

 portal blood than in the blood of the hepatic veins, the standard 

 of comparison being 100 parts of solid residue. However, in the 

 latter case, the blood of the hepatic veins was the more aqueous 

 of the two. 



It is possible that this mode of explaining the origin of the 

 individual biliary constituents may be set aside by further experi- 

 ments, but notwithstanding its obvious imperfections, we have 

 ventured to bring it forward, seeing that the principal object of an 

 hypothesis is, in our opinion, to stimulate other inquirers to fresh 

 investigations. 



The following may be regarded as a brief abstract of the above 

 view regarding the origin of the bile : while the non-nitrogenous 

 and nitrogenous matters conveyed by the portal vein most of 

 which, even when in the blood, bear the character of substances 

 in the process of metamorphosis are applied to the forma- 

 tion of the biliary constituents, substances also pass into the bile, 



H 2 



