170 THE PROCESSES OF DIGESTION AND RESORPTION. 



has accordingly termed amphopeptone. It has further been observed 

 that during peptic digestion a certain amount of an insoluble albu- 

 minous substance usually remains behind, which is characterized by 

 its great resistance to further decomposition by means of pepsin and 

 hydrochloric acid. This substance Kuhnc has termed anti-albumid, 

 and he supposed that in it certain anti-groups were already isolated. 

 Within recent years our conception of the decomposition of the 

 albumins as just outlined has undergone certain modifications, and 

 through the researches of the Strassburg school, and notably those 

 of Pick, Zuntz, and others, our knowledge of the products of diges- 

 tion has been much extended. It has thus been shown that Kiilme's 

 views, as regards the formation of the primary albumoses from the 

 syntonins, were in the main correct, and that proto-albumose as 

 well as hetero-albumose develop from the latter simultaneously, and 

 are not derived the one from the other, as was once supposed. These 

 observers have further shown, however, that one deutero-albumose 

 at least is also formed at the same time, and which, in contradistinc- 

 tion to the other two primary albumoses, contains the carbohydrate 

 group of the original albumin. This deutero-albumose is spoken of 

 as the deutero-albumose-B. Whether still other primary albumoses 

 exist is as yet an open question, but there is reason to suppose that 

 this may be the case, and it appears, moreover, that not all albumins 

 give rise to the same primary albumoses, and that distinct quantita- 

 tive differences further exist. These primary albumoses on further 

 digestion with pepsin give rise to secondary albumoses. But, 

 while according to Neumeister's schema one deutero-albumose only 

 results from every primary albumose, the studies of Pick clearly 

 show that proto-albumose yields two secondary albumoses, which 

 have been termed albumoses A and B. This B-albumose, how- 

 ever, differs from the primary albumose which is designated by the 

 same letter in containing no carbohydrate group, and for conveni- 

 ence 7 sake we shall speak of the secondary product as albumose-B'. 

 The hetero-albumose similarly yields three secondary albumoses 

 that is A, B r , and C. The further decomposition of the primary 

 albumose B finally has not been studied in detail, and it may indeed 

 be questionable whether it actually represents one single substance. 

 On prolonged digestion with pepsin it yields a peptone, A, which is 

 insoluble in alcohol, and an albumose which is manifestly identical 

 with the secondary albumose B'. Of the subsequent fate of the 

 secondary albumoses we know little, as these bodies have not as 

 yet been studied in this direction. On prolonged digestion of the 

 primary albumoses with pepsin substances are obtained which, ac- 

 cording to Kiihne's definition, would correspond to peptones. In 

 the mixture of the secondary albumoses, which Pick obtained from 

 hetero-albumose, peptone was found, which was soluble in alcohol, 

 and which he termed peptone-B. From proto-albumose, on the 

 other hand, ppptono-like bodies wo. re obtained which gave an intense 

 biuret reaction, and which, of course, could not correspond to the 



