ITS SALTS. 251 



Chloride of sodium 



Chloride of potassium .... 

 Carbonate of soda 

 Phosphate of soda (2 NaO,P0 5 ) 

 Sulphate of potash 



lOO'OOO 



The serum of men's blood, contains generally rather a larger 

 amount of salts than that of women's blood ; the former containing 

 on an average 8*8, and the latter 8'1-g-; but the limits between 

 which the amount of salts in the serum of both sexes in the normal 

 state may fluctuate, are tolerably extensive. 



According to Nasse and Poggiale*, there is a larger amount of 

 salts in the serum of adult men and animals, than in that of 

 children and young animals. 



It would appear from the investigations of Nasse and Poggiale, 

 that there is no connexion between the saline constituents in the 

 blood of a animal, and the nature of its food ; according to these 

 chemists, the blood of cats, goats, sheep, and calves, contains the 

 most salts, then follows the blood of birds, and then that of men 

 and swine ; whilst the blood of dogs and rabbits contains the least. 



Nasse found most alkaline phosphates in the blood- ash of swine, 

 geese, and hens, and least in that of goats and sheep ; he found 

 most sulphate of soda in that of sheep, and least in that of hens 

 and geese ; most alkaline carbonates in that of sheep, and least in 

 that of geese and hens ; and most alkaline chlorides in that of goats 

 and hens, and least in that of rabbits. 



Moreover, the serum of the blood of different vessels contains 

 different quantities of salts ; from my own investigations and those 

 of Nasse, it appears that arterial serum contains rather more salts 

 than venous serum. Schultz, Simon, and Schmid, found far more 

 salts in the blood of the portal than in that of the jugular vein. 

 (Schmid found at least half as much again.) Moreover, the serum 

 of portal blood contains far more salts than that of hepatic 

 venous blood ; in horses we find on an average 0'850 g- (or 10. of 

 the solid residue) in the former, and only 0'725-g- (or 7-g- of the solid 

 residue) in the latter. If to this we add that there is far less 

 serum in the blood of the hepatic veins than in that of the portal 

 vein, it is obvious that the blood of the latter is far richer in salts 

 than that of the former. 



By the prolonged use of food rich in common salt, the blood 



* Compt. rend. T. 25, pp. 109113. 



