128 PHYSIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY. 



serum; but sometimes besides these when, for instance, the pus 

 has remained in the body for a long time, it contains a nucleo- 

 albumin which is precipitated by acetic acid and soluble with great 

 difficulty in an excess of the acid (pyin of the older authors). 

 This nucleoalbumin seems to be formed from the hyaline substance 

 of the pus-cells by maceration. The pus-serum contains, moreover, 

 at least in many cases, no fibrin ferment. According to the analy- 

 ses of HOPPE-SEYLEB, the pus-serum contains in 1000 parts: 



I. II. 



Water 913.7 905.65 



Solids , 86.3 94.35 



Albuminous bodies 63 23 77.21 



Lecithin 1.50 056 



Fat 0.26 0.29 



Cholesterin 0.53 0.87 



Alcohol extractives 1.52 0.73 



Water extractives 11.53 6.92 



Inorganic salts 7.73 7.77 



The ash of pus-serum has the following composition, calculated to 1000 

 parts of the serum : 



I. II. 



NaCl 3.22 5.39 



Na 2 S0 4 0.40 031 



Na 2 HP0 4 0.98 0.46 



Na 2 CO 3 0.49 1.13 



Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 . . . . 0.49 0.31 



Mg 3 (PO 4 ) 2 0.19 0.12 



PO 4 (in excess) .05 



The pus-corpuscles are generally thought to consist in great 

 part of emigrated colorless blood-corpuscles (emigration hypothesis), 

 and their chemical properties have therefore been given above. We 

 consider the molecular grains, fat-globules, and red blood-corpuscles 

 rather as casual form-elements. 



The pus-cells may be separated from the serum by centrifugal 

 force or by decantation directly or after dilution with a solution of 

 sodium sulphate in water (1 vol. saturated sodium-sulphate solution 

 and 9 vols. water), and then washed by this same solution in the 

 same manner as the blood-corpuscles. 



The chief constituents of the pus-corpuscles are albuminous 

 bodies of which the largest proportion seems to be a nucleoalbumi- 

 ous substance which is insoluble in water and which expands into a 

 tough, slimy mass when treated with a 10# common-salt solution. 

 This protein substance, which is soluble in alkali but quickly 



