278 IXFLAMMATIOX, REGENERATIOX, GROWTH 



eytes and necrosed tissues. All analj'ses of pus that are recorded in 

 the literature are in harmony Avith the above statements. In general 

 the analyses consider pus as composed of two chief portions, the pus- 

 corpuscles and the pus serum. As is to be expected, the composition 

 of pus-corpuscles is simply that of a large mass of leucocytes, which 

 contain minute quantities of substances taken up from the pus serum 

 by absorption and phagocytosis. The old analyses of pus-corpuscles 

 by Hoppe-Seyler ®^ are given in the following table : 



Table I. 

 Quantitative Composition of Pus-cells (in 1000 parts of the dried substance). 



I n 



Proteins 137.62 1 



Nuclein 342.57 > 685.8.5 673.69 



Insoluble bodies 205.66 J 



Lecithin ~l i^qqq 75.64 



Fat J" '^^•^■^'^ 75.00 



Cholesterol 74.00 . . 72.83 



Cerebrin 51.99 ) iaqr-i 



Extractive bodies 44.33 J ' ' i"-o-* 



Mineral Substances in 1000 Parts of the Dried y'^ubstance. 



NaCI 4.35 



Ca,(P04)o 2.05 



Mg3(PO,)2 1.13 



FePO^ 1.06 



PO4 9.16 



Na 0.68 



K trace 



As abnormal constituents of the leucocytes contained in abscesses 

 may be mentioned glycogen, fat (from phagocytosis and from ''fatty 

 degeneration" of the leucocytes), and ''peptone" (Hofmeister).^° 



Pus serum differs from blood-serum chiefly in the substances added 

 to it through the proteolytic changes that occur in the pus, and also 

 in that it has lost its antiproteolytic property, containing instead free 

 leueoprotease. The fibrinogen that escapes from the vessels into sup- 

 purating areas becomes so altered that pus will not coagulate, even 

 upon addition of fibrin ferment (defibrinated blood). The reaction 

 of the serum is usually slightly alkaline, becoming strongly alkaline 

 if much ammonia is produced, which occurs especially if there is sec- 

 ondary infection with the organisms of putrefaction. Sometimes, 

 liowever, lipase derived either from bacteria or from the cells causes 

 the splitting of sufficient amounts of fatty acids from the fats to make 

 the reaction acid ; lactic and other fatty acids are also sometimes 

 formed. Presumably the nature of the infecting organism will mod- 

 ify the reaction, for some (e. g., sfnphjflococcus) cause an acid forma- 

 tion in media, while otliers (e. g., pj/ocj/ancus) cause an alkaline reac- 

 tion. Hoppe-Seyler 's analysis of pus serinn gave the following re- 



68 Mod.-r'hom. ITntersnoluinficn. 

 TOZeit. physiol Cheni., 1880 (4), 268. 



