INORGANIC FOODS. 399 



would have, aside from its food, a sufficient supply of iron during preg- 

 nancy. In order to test this hypothesis Bunge * made a number of experi- 

 ments, and determined the amount of iron in the chief storage place, the 

 liver, in both male and female cats and dogs, but the results obtained were 

 not altogether harmonious. 



Although we are not in a position to assign a cause for chlorosis, still it 

 is perhaps possible to explain the curative effect of the iron preparations. 

 If we, however, study closely the whole process of the hemoglobin forma- 

 tion, it seems to us less probable that the iron preparations added to the 

 nourishment actually take part directly in the making of blood. It would 

 be easy to understand such an action, if chlorosis were actually caused by 

 a deficient supply of iron. We are perfectly certain, however, that in the 

 majority of cases this is not true. We have every reason to presume that 

 our nourishment in general, besides containing sufficient iron, likewise 

 contains enough of the other substances required for the formation of 

 hemoglobin. Just as the tissues of the bones in richitis are not capable 

 of assimilating lime, so, evidently, the tissues of the hematopoietic organs 

 are not able to utilize the material which forms the building stones of 

 hemoglobin. It has been suggested that the iron added in the form of 

 inorganic salts exerts an irritating effect upon these organs, and urges them 

 into renewed activity. The unsatisfactory character of such an explana- 

 tion is evident. It assumes that the iron fed to the body in an inorganic 

 condition, behaves otherwise than that contained in "organic" com- 

 pounds. We have, however, at present no insight into the ways and 

 means by which absorbed iron reaches the circulation, nor as regards the 

 form in which it is present in the different fluids and tissues. We only 

 know that the iron in the organs can be detected by means of the ordinary 

 chemical reagents, irrespective of whether the animal has been fed with 

 milk and inorganic iron, or milk and, say, hemoglobin. Even while these 

 observations do not justify the assumption that the different iron com- 

 pounds all behave alike after reaching the intestine, i.e., that they may be 

 changed into the same state of combination, still, on the other hand, we 

 have no justification for the assumption that the animal organism distin- 

 guishes between iron that is fed in an inorganic condition from "organic" 

 iron. According to all our general conceptions of the process of digestion, 

 it appears to us as extremely probable that even the formation of hematin 

 is preceded by a deep-seated decomposition. In this case the animal 

 organism unquestionably breaks down and again builds up. If we look 

 at the formula of hemin given above, it seems to us as highly improbable 

 that in general " organic " iron is necessary for the synthesis of 

 hematin. Yes, in fact, we can even imagine that the disease of chlorosis 

 actually depends upon the fact that the cells of the body are no longer 



1 Z. physiol. Chem. 17, 78 (1893). 



