1034 PEPSIN, HEMATOSIN, GLOBULIN, &C. 



liquid with floating globules observed by the microscope, which 

 in the higher mammiferous animals are lenticular and circular 

 or elliptical in form, of an orange red colour, and marked with a 

 colourless spot in the centre, or nucleus. From these globules 

 Berzelius derives two of the most characteristic constituents of 

 the blood hematosin and globulin, which are both closely related 

 to albumen. The clear liquor of the living blood, on the other 

 hand, is composed of two principles already considered, namely 

 fibrin and albumen. 



To prepare, hematosin blood which has been freed from fibrin 

 by stiring it well, is -mixed with 6 times its bulk of a saturated 

 solution of sulphate of soda, in which the blood globules are 

 insoluble, and the latter collected on a filter. The dark-red 

 gelatinous mass is boiled with alcohol, to which a little sulphuric 

 acid has been added. The hematosin is thereby dissolved, 

 while the globulin remains in combination with sulphuric acid, 

 as a colourless or grey mass. The alcoholic solution while yet 

 hot is mixed with carbonate of ammonia, and filtered from sul- 

 phate of ammonia and some globulin which precipitate. The 

 solution is reduced to about 1-1 2th by distillation, whereby the 

 hematosin remains as an insoluble pulverulent residue. 



Hematosin is of a dark-brown colour, tasteless and insoluble 

 in water, alcohol, and ether. It dissolves of a red colour in 

 alcohol containing either an alkali or an acid. In aqueous solu- 

 tions of the alkalies it dissolves of a dark blood-red colour ; it 

 is insoluble in hydrochloric acid. When burned it leaves behind 

 a notable quantity of peroxide of iron. The analysis of hema- 

 tosin gives : 



Atoms. 



Carbon 65.84 44 



Hydrogen .... 5.37 22 



Nitrogen 10.40 3 



Oxygen 11.75 6 * 



Peroxide of iron . . 6.64 1 



100,00 



M. Scherer has, however, shewn that the oxide of iron is not 

 essential to hematosin, nor necessary to the colour of blood. 

 The matter of the blood globules after being dried was intimate- 

 ly mixed in a mortar with concentrated sulphuric acid, and the 



