AUTOLY.'^IS J\ I'ATIIOLOdlcA' /V.'Ov'FA^^.S' lOl 



It is probable that many poisons may destroy the liver cells to 

 snch an extent that they cannot maintain their normal chemical 

 ('(luilibriuni, witlinut. at the same time, destroying the autolytic eu- 

 /yiiu's. When this oceurs, tlie liver nndergroes antolysis, and we f;et 

 marked degenerative changes Avith appearance of amino-acids in the 

 blood and urine, reduction in coagulability of the blood and numer- 

 ous hemorrhages, giving a picture both clinically and anatomically 

 more or less like that of typical acute yellow atrophy. Chloroform 

 is a poison that stops cell activities Avithout destroying the proteolytic 

 enzymes, hence the cells undergo autolysis, and, as a result, we have 

 many eases of what appears to be aeiite yellow atrophy following 

 chloroform anesthesia. The liberation of IICl in the liver cells dur- 

 ing chloroform poisoning, as demonstrated by Evarts Graham,"'' may 

 be largely responsible for the rapid disintegration of the liver in this 

 condition. ''' (See "Acute Yellow Atrophy," Chap, xviii.) Probably 

 the liver changes in puerperal eclampsia, and in streptococcus and 

 other septicemias are of a similar nature.^ Autolysis of fatty 

 livers in tuberculosis is said to yield more lactic acid than the livers 

 from other conditions (Yousscmf), suggesting defective oxidative 

 powers. 



Postmortem changes are undoubtedly due to two factors, bacterial 

 action and autolysis. In tissues kept at a low enough temperature 

 to exclude bacterial action, but not so low as absolutely to stop enzyme 

 action, there occurs a slow autolysis; this constitutes the "ripening" 

 process of meat. Fish flesh may also ripen when made sterile in 

 saturated salt solutions, as Schmidt-Nielsen ** has shown occurs with 

 salted herrings ; oxy-acids and xanthine bases being prominent among 

 the products. The softening of muscles in rigor mortis is probably 

 also an autolytic manifestation, as muscles contain proteases acting 

 best in acid medium, and the muscle is known to become increasingly 

 acid after circulation ceases within it. The short duration of rigor 

 mortis when the body is kept warm, and its early disappearance when 

 death has been preceded by muscular exhaustion (which increases the 

 acidity), agree with this view. The early postmortem softening of 

 many organs in pathological conditions is also probably an autolytic 

 manifestation. Flexner ''* has called attention to this in relation to 

 the softening of the parenchymatous organs in acute infectious dis- 



Exper. Med., 1907 (9), 027; Jour. Biol. Chem., 1908 (5), 129) : Imt tlic value of 

 these figures is questionable bwause it is possible that the alcohol in wliicii the 

 tissues were kept before analysis Avas not strong enough entirely to prevent 

 autolysis (Wells and Caldwell, Jour. Biol. Chem., 1914 (19), 57). 



"a Jour. Exp. :Med., 191,t (22), 48. 



ThQuinan (Jour. Med. Res., 1915 (32), 73) found no change in the rate of 

 in ritro autolysis of liver tissue from experimental chloroform poisoning. It was 

 found increased bv phlorhizin ( Satta and Fasiani, Arch, di Fisiol., 1913 (11). 

 391). 



swells, Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, 190G (40), 341. 



9 Hofmeister's Beitrjige, 1903 (3), 207. 



