338 THE MUCOID NUCLEO-ALBUMIN Otf THE BILE. [ BOOK IL 



1st. The solution in 0'3 pg HC1 may be long heated to 40 C. 

 without giving a precipitate. If however pepsin be added to the 

 acid solution, heated to 40 C., a flocculent precipitate soon 

 separates. This behaviour, towards hydrochloric acid and hydro- 

 chloric acid and pepsin, is characteristic of the nucleo-albumins as a 

 class. 2nd. The nucleo-albumin when boiled for hours with dilute 

 mineral acids yields no substance possessing the power of reducing 

 Fehling's solution. This behaviour distinguishes the nucleo-albumins 

 from the mucins. 3rd. When the purified and dried nucleo-albumin 

 is fused with a mixture of potassium hydrate and saltpetre, the 

 fused mass is found to contain phosphoric acid, and in such pro- 

 portion as to prove that phosphorus must have been present in an 

 oxidised form ; for the quantity of phosphoric acid is greater than 

 could exist in combination with bases, even assuming the entire ash 

 obtained on igniting the nucleo-albumin to consist of calcium 

 phosphate. 



It has been stated that the mucoid nucleo-albumin of the bile is 

 derived from the mucous membrane of the gall bladder and biliary 

 passages, an assertion which is proved by the fact that by treating 

 the aqueous extract of the mucous membrane with an excess of 

 acetic acid, a substance is precipitated having the same characters 

 and the same elementary composition as the nucleo-albumin 

 obtained from the bile, by the previously described methods. 



Results of The following are the results of the analyses of two 



specimens (No. 1 and No. 2) of the nucleo-albumin 

 prepared from the bile, and of one specimen (No. 3) 

 prepared from the mucous membrane of the gall bladder. 



No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. Mean. 



Carbon 50'87 50'91 50'89 



Hydrogen 674 673 6735 



Nitrogen 16'10 16'09 16'22 16'14 



Sulphur 1-58 174 T64 1-66 



Ash 0-40 073 T36 



As the substance contained phosphorus in combination with 

 calcium and iron, in addition to phosphorus in organic combination, 

 the amount of the latter could not be determined. 



It is interesting to observe that the percentage of nitrogen in the 

 nucleo-albumin (1614 p$) is much higher than in the mucins, which, 

 according to the latest analyses, contain only from 117 to 12'3 pg. 



In addition to the mucoid nucleo-albumin, bile is said to contain 

 traces of normal mucin. 



