ADIPOSE TISSUE. 391 



may be met with. We then speak of a fatty degeneration of the 

 organs. This is especially observed in the liver in cases of acute 

 yellow atrophy, and can also be brought about artificially by poison- 

 ing with phosphorus, antimony, arsenic, etc. 



Among the fluids of the body, large quantities are normally 

 found only in the milk, and in the chyle during the process of 

 digestion. 



Origin of the Fats. That a portion of the fat that is found 

 in the animal body is directly referable to the fats which have been 

 ingested as such cannot be doubted. This is proved not only by 

 the observation that it is possible to replace the fats which are 

 peculiar to a certain animal by those of another, or even by vegetable 

 fats, as has been shown above, but also by the fact that a gradual 

 deposition of fats occurs in dogs which have been starved anil 

 are then fed on very little albuminous material, but with much fat. 

 In such cases it can easily be proved that the amount of albu- 

 mins ingested is far too small to be the source of the fat that has 

 been stored. 



The ingested fats, however, are not the only source of the fats 

 found in the tissues, and there is evidence to show that they may 

 also be derived from the albumins and the carbohydrates. Their 

 origin from the former is suggested by many observations. It 

 is thus well known that the albuminous constituents of human 

 bodies when buried in moist ground, and notably the muscle-tissue, 

 may undergo a peculiar transformation, which is characterized by 

 the disappearance of the albumins and their replacement by free 

 fatty acids and the calcium and ammonium soaps of palmitic acid 

 and stearic acid, which constitute the so-called adipocere, or Leichen, 

 wax of the Germans. This transformation, however, is probably 

 brought about through the activity of micro-organisms, and does not 

 prove in itself that in the living animal an actual formation of 

 neutral fats can occur from the albumins. But it shows, at all 

 events, that forces which are at work in the living world can bring 

 about the formation of two of the higher fatty acids at least which 

 enter into the composition of the common fat from albuminous 

 material. In the laboratory such a transformation has not as yet 

 been accomplished, if we disregard the observations of E. Voit, who 

 claims to have noted the appearance of higher fatty acids, when 43 

 grammes of albumin were kept in milk of lime for twelve months. 



Proof of the possible origin of fats from albumins, on the other 

 hand, seems to be afforded by the phenomena of fatty degenera- 

 tion, where an actual deposition of large amounts of fat can be 

 demonstrated in the cells of organs in which only traces are nor- 

 mally found. It has been urged, however, that the fat which is here 

 encountered has not developed in situ, but has been carried to the 

 organs in question from the adipose tissue proper. That such a 

 transposition of fats may occur is indeed possible, but it has been 

 conclusively shown that large quantities of fat may be isolated from 



