338 A MANUAL OF BACTERIOLOGY 



tered to a cat, it produced high fever (40 C.), and 

 death within thirty-six hours. 



(b) From Wliooping- Cough. The ptomaine which 

 occurs in this highly infectious disease is a white 

 crystalline substance. It has the formula C 5 H 19 N0 2 . 



(c) From Erysipelas. The poisonous ptomaine ex- 

 tracted from urine in cases of erysipelas has the 

 formula C n H 13 N0 3 . 



These three ptomaines are not present in normal 

 urines, consequently they are produced in the system 

 during the diseases. 



ix. BRIEGER'S METHOD FOR ISOLATING PTOMAINES. 



This process has been already alluded to, but it 

 should be stated that after the oxy-aromatic acids have 

 been driven off, the H 2 S0 4 is precipitated by baryta, 

 and the precipitate removed by filtration. The excess 

 of baryta is precipitated by C0 2 , and the BaC0 3 also 

 removed by filtration. The filtrate is then heated on a 

 water-bath, cooled, and precipitated with HgCl 2 . The 

 precipitate is washed and decomposed by H 2 S; the 

 HgS is filtered off, and the filtrate concentrated. The 

 mineral salts, etc., crystallise out first and are rejected, 

 then the dried residue is treated with absolute alcohol, 

 which, after concentration, deposits the hydrochlorides 

 of the ptomaines. These are separated by fractional 

 precipitation with platinic chloride, auric chloride, etc. 



' In some of his researches, Brieger l has shortened 

 the process by precipitating the putrid fluids, after 

 boiling and filtering directly, with HgCl 2 , i.e. the first 

 precipitation with lead acetate is omitted. As HgCl 2 

 does not precipitate all ptomaines, both precipitate and 

 filtrate must be examined.' 



1 Die Ptomaine, 1885-1886 (3 parts). 



