66 THE AMINO ACIDS 



during the act of absorption are polymerized. This 

 suggestion has been tested in different ways. One 

 might expect that protein parenterally introduced into 

 dogs, the intestine of which had been removed, would 

 reappear in the urine. Korosy has failed to find more 

 than traces of protein after parenteral injections of 

 protein into animals without an alimentary tract. These 

 observations tend to show that intestinal preparation 

 of protein cannot be regarded as essential. The prob- 

 lem was attacked in another way by Abderhalden and 

 London. They attempted to determine the excretion of 

 protein into the intestine of polyfistular animals after 

 parenteral introduction but failed to obtain any evi- 

 dence of such a reaction. On the other hand, the excre- 

 tion of substances into the intestine after parenteral 

 injection is known. Thus, Abderhalden and Slavu 

 have shown that iodine may find its way into the 

 intestine when iodine-polypeptide combinations are 

 injected subcutaneously. 



Hofmeister. It was the view of Hofmeister that the 

 leucocyte is intimately associated with protein re- 

 generation. The idea undoubtedly originated from the 

 marked leucocytosis which occurs after meals and 

 Hofmeister thought that peptone after absorption was 

 changed in some unknown manner into protein by the 

 leucocytes or else through the agency of adenoid tissue. 

 Later, the lymphocyte was selected as the specific form 

 of leucocyte responsible for protein synthesis. This 

 theory, however, finds few supporters today. Perhaps 

 the best criticism of the leucocyte synthesis theory has 



