560 TISSUES OF THE CONNECTIVE SUBSTANCE. 



found the administered fat in the tissues. HOFMANN starved dogs 

 until they appeared to have lost their fat, and then fed them upon large 

 quantities of fat and only little proteins. When the animals were killed 

 he found so large a quantity of fat that it could not have been formed 

 from the administered proteins alone, but the greater part must have 

 been derived from the fat of the food. PETTENKOFER and VOIT arrived 

 at similar results in regard to the action of the absorbed fats in the organ- 

 ism, though their experiments were of another kind. MUNK found 

 that on feeding with free fatty acids, these are deposited in the tissues, 

 not, however, as such; but they are transformed by synthesis with 

 glycerin into neutral fats on their passage from the intestine into the 

 thoracic duct. The connection between the fat of the food, and of the 

 body has also been shown by others, especially ROSENFELD. CORO 

 NEDI and MARCHETTI and in particular WINTERNITZ 1 have shown that 

 iodized fat is taken up in the intestinal tract and deposited in the various 

 organs. 



Proteins and carbohydrates are considered as the mother-substances 

 of the fats formed in the organism. 



The formation of the so-called corpse-wax, adipocere, which consists 

 of a mixture of fatty acids, ammonia, and lime-soaps, from parts of the 

 corpse rich in proteins, is sometimes given as a proof of the formation 

 of fats from proteins. The accuracy of this view has, however, been dis- 

 puted, and many other explanations of the formation of this substance 

 have been offered. According to the experiments of KRATTER and 

 K. B. LEHMANN, it seems as if it were possible by experimental means 

 to convert animal tissue rich in proteins (muscles) into adipocere by the 

 continuous action of water. Irrespective of this, SALKOWSKI has shown 

 that in the formation of adipocere, the fat itself takes part, in that the 

 olein decomposes with the formation of solid fatty acids, still it must 

 be considered that lower organisms undoubtedly take part in its forma- 

 tion. The production of adipocere as a proof of the formation of fat 

 from proteins is disputed by many investigators for this and other reasons. 



Fatty degeneration has been considered as another proof of the 

 formation of fat from proteins. From the investigations of BAUER 

 on dogs, and LEO on frogs, it was assumed that, at least in acute poisoning 

 by phosphorus, a fatty degeneration, with the formation of fat from 

 proteins, takes place. PFLUGER has raised such strong arguments against 

 the older researches as well as the more recent one of POLIMANTI, who 

 claims to have shown the formation of fat from proteins in phosphorus 



1 Coronedi and Marchetti, cited by Winternitz, Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 24, 

 A review of the literature on fat formation may be found in Rosenfeld, Fettbildung. 

 in Ergebnisse der Physiologic, 1, Abt. 1. 



