282 



IXFLAMMATIOX, liEGEXEh'ATIOX, GROWTH 



fore, most abundant in pneumonia. Simon '^^ found considerable al- 

 bumose in phthisical sputum, but no nucleohiston or free histon. 

 In febrile cases of tuberculosis the amount of albumose may exceed 

 the coagulable albumen, which rarely exceeds one per cent, of the 

 moist weight."" Staffregen, however, could find no true peptone in 

 phthisical sputum, but Stadelmann -'^ found that such sputum con- 

 tained enzymes hydrolyzing fibrin, and attributed this largely to 

 bacteria. Probably most of the enzjones present in sputum come 

 from the leucocytes. In the early stage of pneumonia the sputum 

 has no proteolytic action, presumably because inhibited by the large 

 amount of serum present ; but with resolution active proteolji:ic prop- 

 erties appear (Rittorf).^- In tuberculosis sputum the tryptic and 

 antitryptic properties fluctuate, and lipase is absent (Eiselt).®^ 

 Pneumonic sputum before the crisis has but slight action on peptids, 

 but acquires marked peptolytic activity thereafter.^* Most sputa 

 contain enzymes splitting casein and polj'peptids.''*'' Sputum may 

 contain indole, derived either from the putrefying proteins or ex- 

 creted from the blood."*'' 



The amount of fats seems to depend directly upon the number of 

 pus-corpuscles and the age of the pus (i. e., the amount of fatty de- 

 generation). Jacobson found from 0.08 to 1.6 grams of fatty matter 

 per day, containing on an average 14.76 per cent, of soaps, 15.79 per 

 cent, of higher fatty acids, 0-10 per cent, of water-soluble fatty acids, 

 13.58 per cent, lecithin, and 10.49 per cent, cholesterol. 



As to the inorganic substances. Bamberger found two types of spu- 

 tum, catarrlial and inflammatory. In tlie inflammatory there is a 

 deficiency in alkali phosphate, SO;,- constitutes more than 8 per cent. 



Na O . 15 



of the salts, and the ratio, 



KO 



equals 



41 



the alkali phosphates constitute 10-14 per cent., -rr^ 



In catarrhal sputum 



Na O 31 



^, and the 



KO 



89 Arch. exp. Path. u. Pharm., 1903 (49), 449. 

 ooProrok. Miinoh. mod. Wodi.. 1909 (56). 2053. 

 fi Zeit. klin. Med.. 1SS9 (16). 128. 

 02Deut. Arch. klin. Mod., 1907 (91). 212. 

 93Zoit. klin. Mod., 1912 (75), 91. 



04 Ahdorlialdon. Zoit. phvsiol. C'liom.. 1912 (78), 344. 

 n4a:Maliwa, Dout. Aroh. klin. Med., 1914 (115), 407. 

 94b Binda and Cassarini. Oaz. Med. Ital., 1913 (64), 



461. 



