ITS CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS. 301 



did not coagulate on boiling, but that on evaporation there was a 

 membrane formed on the surface of the fluid as if a strongly alkaline 

 albuminate of soda had been present ; this lymph-serum was not 

 rendered turbid by acetic acid, unless after being thus acidified it 

 was boiled ; as no coagulum was induced by rennet, it was obvious 

 that no casein was present ; moreover this serum was not coagulated 

 by ether. In human lymph the albumen has been found to vary 

 from 0-434 (Marchand*) to 6'002J (L'Heritier), and in that of the 

 horse from 1*2 to 2'75-g-. 



In the ash of the albumen of the lymph, even after repeated 

 extractions with water and spirit, Nasse found an extraordinarily 

 large quantity of alkaline carbonates : according both to his 

 experiments and those of Geiger, the lymph contains that strongly 

 basic albuminate of soda which, in the absence of other alkaline 

 salts, communicates no alkaline reaction to the solution, and even 

 when coagulated retains much alkali. 



Fat occurs in the lymph only in small quantities, and is for the 

 most part in a saponified form : in the lymph of the horse Nasse 

 found 0*0088 % of free fat and 0'0575 of alkaline salts of fatty 

 acids, while in human lymph Marchand and Colberg found 0'264^ 

 of a pale reddish coloured fat. 



The extractive matters of the lymph have not been closely 

 examined, although their quantity in relation to the albumen is by 

 no means small. In horses 5 lymph Nasse found 0'0755f of extrac- 

 tive matters soluble in alcohol, and 0'9877 soluble in water only, 

 while according to Geiger and Schlossberger, the whole of the 

 extractive matters amount to 0'27-> 



Nasse was unable to detect urea in the lymph of the horse. 



We have already noticed the existence of lactates in the lymph. 

 (See vol. i., p. 95.) 



As in all the animal fluids chloride of sodium is the prepon- 

 derating mineral constituent; in horses' lymph it amounted, 

 according to Nasse, to 0*4123. 



Moreover, alkaline carbonates were found by Nasse in horses' 

 lymph, but Geiger failed in detecting them; Nasse calculates their 

 quantity at 0'056, and he assured himself of their presence by 

 observing, with the microscope, the development of bubbles of 

 gas on the addition of acetic acid. In the ash of the solid consti- 

 tuents of the lymph, Geiger also found an abundance of alkaline 

 carbonates. 



The presence of ammoniacal salts, which was suspected by 



* Simon's Beitr. z, phys. u, pathol. Chem. Bd. 1, S. 449. 



