BILE. 409 



ture of this liquor, the oily matter, and the means of separating 



all the materials which constitute it.* 



Thenard made an analysis of ox-bile, which was published in 



1805.f According to this analysis, the constituents of ox-bile 



are as follows : 



Water, . . 700-0 



Picromel and resin, . 84-3 

 Yellow matter, . 4-5 



Soda, . . 4-0 



Phosphate of soda, . 2-0 



Common salt, . 3-2 



Sulphate of soda, . 0-8 



Phosphate of lime, . 1 *2 



Oxide of iron, trace. 



800-0 



According to Thenard, the picromel constitutes the essential 

 constituent of bile. He obtained it by precipitating bile by means 

 of acetate of lead. The lead was separated from the picromel 

 by sulphuretted hydrogen ; or it may be precipitated from bile 

 by sulphuric acid. The green precipitate thus obtained was for- 

 merly called resin of bile. When it is digested in water over 

 carbonate of barytes, the picromel dissolves in the water in pro- 

 portion as the sulphuric acid is separated by the barytes. Pi- 

 cromel thus obtained has a greenish-yellow colour, a bitter taste, 

 and resembles inspissated bile in its appearance. 



The yellow matter is the substance to which Van Bochoute 

 gave the name of fibrin, and which was considered by others as 

 albumen. It is probably mucus. 



In his second memoir, Thenard takes a view of the nature of 

 the bile in different animals, and on the formation of biliary cal- 

 culi. He states the constituents of human bile to be: 



Water, . . 91- 



Insoluble yellow matter, 0-18 to 0-91 



Albumen, . . 3.81 



Resin, . . 3-74 



Soda, . . 0-51 



Salts,! . . 0-41 



99-65 



* Fourcroy's System, x. 26. f Mem. d'Arcueil, i. 23 and 46. 



J The salts were phosphate, sulphate, muriate of soda ; phosphate of lime, 

 oxide of iron. 



