380 CUTANEOUS SECRETIONS. 



tain minute, dark, and clearly denned granules, and a few distinct 

 fat-globules. 



The sebaceous glands, like the mucous follicles, when in a state 

 of inflammatory irritation, produce those primary cells to which 

 we apply the terms pus-cells, mucus-corpuscles, &c. These cells 

 are present in small quantity after even the slightest irritation of 

 the skin and of the follicles in question, but especially in the 

 thoroughly puriform fluids which are secreted in inflammatory 

 affections of the external auditory meatus and of the Meibomean 

 glands, in balanitis, in acne, and in similar cutaneous disorders, 

 \\hich for the most part have their seat in the hair-follicles. 



The minute animal described by G. Simon*, the acarus follicu- 

 lorum, is commonly found in the normal secretion of the sebaceous 

 glands, as well as in the so-called comedones. 



An albuminous substance is contained in all the secretions of 

 the above named glands ; it cannot, however, be easily exhibited 

 in the soluble form, since, in accordance with the method by 

 which alone we can analyse these solid fatty matters, it is always 

 separated in the insoluble state ; hence we cannot determine 

 whether it is most similar to casein or to albumen ; it is obviously 

 a protein-body from its behaviour with acetic acid and ferro- 

 cyanide of potassium, with concentrated nitric acid, hydrochloric 

 acid, &c. Esenbeck,f who had an opportunity of examining a 

 mass contained in a very distended hair-follicle, found in the dry 

 substance 24'2-g- of this albuminous substance ; I J found 4 () of 

 it in the vernix caseosa of a tolerably full-sized foetus, 5*6^ in 

 human smegma prseputii and 2'9 in that of a horse, 2'4-g- in the 

 semi-solid mass obtained from the fresh pouch of the beaver 

 (after drying), and 5'8-g- in Canadian castoreum. 



Fats and lipoids constitute the principal part of these secre- 

 tions : the ether-extract in the above mentioned case of Esenbeck's 

 amounted to 26'2-g-, while in the vernix caseosa I determined it at 

 47'5-g-, in human smegma prseputii (collected after several operations 

 for phimosis) at 52*8^, in that of the horse at 49'9f, in the fresh 

 castoreum of a German beaver at 7'4, in Russian castoreum at 

 2'5, and in a specimen from Canada at 8'249-g-. 



Of the saponified fats, olein and margarin are found in con- 

 siderable quantity in the ether-extract ; but in none of the secretions 

 which I have examined, including the cerumen, was there a trace 



* Muller's Arch. 1842, S. 218. 



f Gmelin's Handb. d. Ch. Bd. 2, S. 2155. 



j Ber. d. k. sachs. Ges. d. Wiss. Bd. 2, S. 200208. 



