CONSTITUTION OF THE BILE. 439 



hippopotamus, and orang-utang (HAMMARSTEN l ) contains, like the 

 bile of the pig, almost exclusively glycocholic acid. A distinct influence 

 on the relative amounts of the two bile-acids exerted by differences in 

 diet has not been detected. HITTER 2 claims to have found a decrease 

 in the quantity of taurocholic acid in calves when they pass from the 

 milk to the vegetable diet. 



In the above-mentioned calculation of the taurocholic acid from the 

 quantity of sulphur in the bile-salt, it must be remarked that no definite 

 conclusion can be drawn from such a determination, since it is known 

 that other kinds of bile (e. g., human and shark bile) contain sulphur in 

 compounds other than taurocholic acid. 3 



The phosphorized constituents of bile are not well known; never- 

 theless, there is no doubt that bile contains other phosphatides besides 

 lecithin (HAMMARSTEN). These phosphatides are in part precipitated in 

 the precipitation of the bile-salts and they in part keep the bile-salts in 

 solution, preventing their complete precipitation, and hence they have a 

 double disturbing action in the quantitative analysis of bile. Those biles 

 richest in phosphatides, so far as known, are the following, in the order of 

 their amount: Polar bear, man (in special cases), dog, black bear, orang- 

 utang. The bile of certain fishes contains but little .phosphatides 



(HAMMARSTEN 4 ). 



The cholesterin, which, according to several investigators, originates 

 not only from the liver but also from the biliary passages, occurs in 

 larger quantities in the bladder-bile than in the liver-bile, and is present 

 to a greater extent in the non-filtered than in the filtered bile (DoyoN 

 and DUFOURT). The quantity seems to be very variable and in patients 

 with bile fistulas BACMEisTER 5 found 0.24-0.59 p. m. The gases 

 of the bile consist of a large quantity of carbon dioxide, which increases 

 with the amount of alkalies, only traces of oxygen, and a very small 

 quantity of nitrogen. 



Little is known in regard to the composition of the bile in disease. The quantity 

 of urea is found to be considerably increased in uraemia. Leucine and tyrosine are 

 observed in acute yellow atrophy of the liver and in typhoid. Traces of albumin 

 (without regard to nucleoalbumin) have several times been found in the human 

 bile. The so-called pigmentary acholia, or the secretion of a bile containing 

 bile-acids but no bile-pigments, has also been repeatedly noticed. In all such 

 cases observed by HITTER he found a fatty degeneration of the liver-cells, in return 

 for which, even in excessive fatty infiltration, a normal bile containing pigments 

 was secreted. The secretion of a bile nearly free from bile-acids has been 



1 See Ergebnisse der Physiol., 4. 



2 Cited from Maly's Jahresber., 6, 195. 



8 Hammarsten, Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 32, and Ergebnisse, der Physiol., 4. 

 4 Zeitschr. f . physiol. Chem., 36, and Ergebnisse der Physiol., 4. y 



6 Doyon and Dufort, Arch, de Physiol. (5), 8; Bacmeister, Bioch. Zeitschr., 26. ; 



