MUSCLE. 259 



If inosit is evaporated to dryness on a platinum foil with nitric 

 acid and the residue treated with ammonia and a drop of calcium- 

 chloride solution and carefully re-evaporated to dryness, a beautiful 

 rose-red residue is obtained (SCHERER'S inosit test). If we evapo- 

 rate an inosit solution to incipient dryness and moisten the residue 

 with a little mercuric-nitrate solution, we obtain a yellowish residue 

 on drying, which becomes a beautiful red on strongly heating. 

 The coloration disappears on cooling, but it reappears on gently 

 warming (GALLOIS'S inosit test). 



To prepare inosit from a liquid or from a watery extract of a 

 tissue, the albumin is first removed by coagulating at boiling heat. 

 The filtrate is precipitated by sugar of lead, this filtrate boiled with 

 basic-lead acetate and allowed to stand 24-48 hours. The precipi- 

 tate thus obtained, which contains all the inosit, is decomposed in 

 water by H 2 S. The filtrate is strongly concentrated, treated with 

 2-4 vols. hot alcohol, and the liquid removed as soon as possible from 

 the tough or flaky masses which ordinarily separate. If no crystals 

 separate from the liquid within 24 hours, then treat with ether until 

 the liquid has a milky appearance and allow it to stand. In the 

 presence of a sufficient quantity of ether, crystals of inosit separate 

 within 24 hours. The crystals thus obtained, as also those which 

 are obtained from the alcoholic solution directly, are recrystallized 

 by redissolving in very little boiling water and the addition of 

 3-4 vols. alcohol. 



Glycogen is a constant constituent of the living muscle, while it 

 may be absent in the dead muscle. The amount of glycogen varies 

 in the different muscles of the same animal. BOHM found 10 p. m. 

 glycogen in the muscles of cats, and moreover he found a greater 

 amount in the muscles of the extremities than in those of the rump. 

 GRUTZNER obtained more glycogen from the white muscles of 

 mammalia than from the red ones. The food also has a great influ- 

 ence. BOHM found 1-4 p. m. glycogen in the muscles of fasting 

 animals and 7-10 p. m. after partaking of food. LUCHSINGER 

 maintains an opinion, formerly generally accepted, that in starvation, 

 or if there is a lack of carbohydrates in the food, glycogen disap- 

 pears more quickly from the muscles than from the liver; but ac- 

 cording to ALDEHOFF, exactly the reverse takes place. The glyco- 

 gen disappears more quickly in starvation from the liver than from 

 the muscles, not only in hens, as observed by WEISS, but also in 

 other animals, such as the pigeon, rabbit, cat, and horse. 



