STORAGE OF PROTEIN IN THE LIVER. 389 



that is, an increase in the quantity of calcium in the liver causes a diminu- 

 tion in the iron, and an increase in the iron causes a decrease in the calcium. 

 Copper seems to be a physiological constituent, and occurs to a considerable 

 extent in Cephalopods (HENZE 1 ). Foreign metals, such as lead, zinc, 

 arsenic, and others (also iron), are easily taken up and combined by the 

 liver (SLOWTZOFF, v. ZEYNEK, and others 2 ). 



v. BIBRA 3 found in the liver of a young man who had suddenly died 

 762 p. m. water and 238 p. m. solids, consisting of 25 p. m. fat, 152 p. m. 

 protein, gelatin-forming and insoluble substances, and 61 p. m. extract- 

 ive substances. 



MAGNUS-LEVY 4 found in the liver of a healthy suicide 606 p. m. 

 water, 394 p. m. solids among which 212.8 p. m. fat occurred. If the 

 total nitrogen, 27 p. m., is calculated as protein the amount would be 

 approximately 169 p. m. 



PROFITLICH 5 found 68.2-75.17 per cent water in the dog liver and 70.76- 

 72.86 per cent in the ox liver. The relation N : C in the fat and glycogen-free 

 dried substance was 1:3.21 in dogs and 1:3.13 in oxen or about the same as in 

 flesh (see Chapter XI). 



The quantitative composition of the liver may show great varia- 

 tion, depending upon the kind and amount of the food supplied. The 

 amount of carbohydrate (glycogen) and fat may vary considerably, 

 which is due to the fact that the liver is a storage-organ for these bodies, 

 especially for the glycogen. 



Based upon special experiments, SEITZ claims that the liver is a 

 storehouse for protein also. In experiments on hens and ducks which 

 had previously been starved, he found that the liver took up abundant 

 protein on feeding meat, and that its weight as compared with the weight 

 after starvation was doubled or quadrupled. As it is characteristic of 

 storage or reserve bodies that their amount in the storage-organs on 

 feeding with such bodies strongly increases in percentage, it is remarkable 

 in SEITZ'S feeding experiments that the percentage of protein in the liver 

 did not increase, but rather diminished slightly. In this case we did not 

 have a higher percentage of protein, but an increase in the weight of the 

 total cell mass of the organ, probably brought about by increased work 

 of the liver due to the protein feeding. The investigations of GRUND 6 

 have shown that with protein feeding in dogs, the relation P:N in the 



Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 33. 



2 Slowtzoff, Hofmeister's Beitrage, 1; v. Zeynek, see Centralbl. f. Physiol., 15. 



3 See v. Gorup-Besanez, Lehrbuch d. physiol. Chem., 4. Aufl., p. 711. 



4 Bioch. Zeitschr., 24. 



5 Pfliiger's Arch., 119. 



6 Seitz, Pfliiger's Arch., Ill; Grund, Zeitschr. f. Biol., 54. 



