396 PHYSIOLOGY CHAP. 



sulphates in the urine ; both the total sulphuric acid and the 

 ethereal sulphates are scanty in children, while they are abundant 

 in older people. In other experiments on himself, on his patients, 

 and on dogs, Rovighi tried to determine which substances were 

 most effective in diminishing the putrefactive processes of the 

 intestine, and therewith, the ethereal sulphates of the urine. His 

 conclusions are as follows : 



(a) The group of terpenes and camphor, especially oil of 

 turpentine and camphor, administered in large doses to dogs, 

 produced a considerable diminution in the aromatic products of 

 intestinal putrefaction, which lasted for some time. 



(b) The same substance, introduced by the mouth or per 

 rectum, acted less efficaciously on man. 



(c) The use of Carlsbad and Marienbad salts increases the 

 elimination of ethereal sulphates during the first few days, but 

 subsequently has the opposite effect, which is more marked in 

 proportion as the previous intestinal disturbances had been 

 conspicuous. 



(d*) Milk fermented with kefir taken in an amount of 1| litres 

 a day is effective in checking intestinal putrefaction, owing mainly 

 to its lactic acid content. 



The fact that saline purgatives and mineral waters (including 

 those in which the main content is sodium chloride) diminish the 

 putrefactive processes of the intestine and reduce the amount of 

 ethereal sulphates in the urine, was afterwards confirmed by 

 Ewald of Berlin, by Fedeli and Casciani, and others. 



A relative increase in the ethereal sulphates of the urine has 

 been noted (Coggi), not only in disorders of the intestine, but also 

 in chronic suppurative lung diseases, the putrefactive processes in 

 this case arising from the pulmonary bacteria. 



According to Baumann the synthesis of ethereal sulphates 

 probably takes place in the liver. Kochs observed a partial 

 synthesis of phenol and sodium, sulphate, on adding them to blood 

 which was left to digest with the liver and kidneys. 



Keale further found that if phenol is injected into dogs, after 

 tying all the hepatic vessels (an operation which they only survive 

 for 2 to 4 hours) no phenyl sulphate of potassium is found in the 

 urine or the bladder, which proves that under these conditions no 

 other tissue or organ is able to synthetise the ethereal sulphates. 

 The liver thus seems to be the only organ which performs this 

 synthesis. 



The ratio between the ethereal sulphates and the total sulphates 

 of human urine is on an average, according to a number of 

 analyses, 1 : 10. In the diseases in which the putrefactive 

 processes of the intestine are increased, the value of this quotient 

 also increases in proportion. According to Hoppe-Seyler, this is 

 regularly the case : (a) in peritonitis and intestinal tuberculosis, 



