344 THE GASES OF THE BILE. ANALYSES OF BILE. [BOOK II. 



to admit of being boiled out, the bile contains carbonic acid which 

 can only be removed by the pump, after the addition of an acid. 

 The total amount of carbonic acid as well as the relative amounts, 

 free and combined, vary within surprisingly wide limits. 



The analyses of Bogoljubow agree with those of Pfliiger in 

 demonstrating the remarkable and as yet inexplicable variations in 

 the amount of C0 2 contained in bile as well as in the proportion 

 which the free bears to the combined C0 2 . 



Charles, in the investigation which he made in Pfliiger's laboratory, 

 investigated the gases of the bile in rabbits, as well as in dogs. In 

 the former animals, he found the volume of CO ? , especially of the 

 C0 2 which could only be separated after the addition of phosphoric 

 acid, to be very much larger than in dogs. From 100 volumes of 

 the bile of these animals, he obtained from 102*37 to 114*9 volumes 

 of C0 2 measured at 0C. and 1 metre pressure. In one ex- 

 periment, the C0 2 obtained by merely boiling in vacuo, only 

 amounted to 9'75 volumes, whilst the combined C0 2 amounted to 

 105*18 volumes. In the case of a dog in a condition of deep narcosis 

 100 volumes of bile yielded 100*15 vols. of C0 2 (free and combined). 



SECT. 15. SUMMARY OF THE QUANTITATIVE COMPOSITION OF THE 

 BILE IN MAN AND CERTAIN OF THE LOWER ANIMALS. 



Having now examined individually the various constituents of 

 the bile, it appears desirable to group together the more important 

 quantitative analyses which have been made of the bile of man and 

 some of the lower animals. 



Human Bile. 



The following table exhibits very clearly the differ- 

 Total solids . ,, & ^. r ,. , * J . ,.1 , 



in the bile of ence m the proportion of solid matters in bile ob- 

 biiiary flstuise tained from biliary fistulse in the human subject 

 and of bile col- and in bile obtained from the gall-bladder after death, 

 lectedintne rj^e same difference is observable in the case of the 

 gall-bladder. } ower animals. The old explanation that by remaining 

 in the gall-bladder the bile loses water and becomes more concen- 

 trated is untenable and quite at variance with facts ; the probable 

 explanation is that when the secretion is cut off from the intestine 

 and poured out externally, the liver secretes a bile which is rela- 

 tively poor in solid matters (see p. 278 et seq.). 



