THE TESTIS. 
93 
or substances allied to proteids; of the latter, nuclein and nucleo- 
proteids are I he mosl abundant. 
As in other rases, the fresh gland is alkaline; 1 the acidity noted by 
Treskin 2 was probably the result of post-mortem changes. The extract- 
ives which have been found are leucine and tyrosine (these are probably 
post-mortem products); lecithin, cholesterin, and fat (Treskin); creatine; 3 
inosite; 4 adenine, xanthine, hypoxanthine, guanine, 5 and other derivat- 
ives of nuclein. 8 
The salts present are chiefly chlorides of sodium and potassium 
(Treskin). 
S men. — The chief chemical constituent of the spermatozoa is nuclein 
(Miescher, see p. 66). Miescher also prepared a base which he called 
protamine, and to which Piccard 7 ascribed the formula C 1C H 32 N CJ 4 . 
Another organic substance, akin to a proteid, and containing 4 per cent, 
of sulphur, was also described by Miescher. 
Kossel 8 has examined the protamine from the testis of salmon and stur- 
geons ; he calls it salmine or sturine, according to its origin. He prepared 
from it various crystalline salts, and a new base, C G H (( N 3 , he terms 
histidine. 9 
Among other substances he prepared from fishes' spermatozoa, was thymin, 
the substance he had previously got from the nucleic acid of the thymus 
(see p. 66). 
Lecithin, next to nuclein and proteids, is the chief organic substance 
in spermatozoa. 10 Cholesterin and fat are also fairly abundant. Miescher 
gives the following percentage for the salmon's spermatozoa : — 
7 -47 per cent. 
• 2-24 „ 
. 4-53 „ 
Miescher continued to work at this subject (salmon's spermatozoa) 
throughout his life. He, however, never published much beyond his 
early papers. After his death, Schmiedeberg published an article 11 
compiled from his numerous notes. This paper relates to the quantitat- 
ive composition of the spermatozoa, and gives analyses of the principal 
substances obtained from them, especially nuclein and protamine. He 
considers these are in chemical union, thus: 
(nucleic acid) (protamine) 
The heads of the spermatozoa contain 60-73 per cent, of nucleic acid 
and 19-78 per cent, of protamine. The tails (which are soluble in 
1 Sertoli, Gfazz. med.-vet., Milano, 1872, Anno ii. 
2 Arch. f. d. gcs. Physiol., Bonn, Bd. v. S. 122. 
3 Scliottin, see Hoppe-Seyler, "Physiol. Chem.," S. 773. 
4 Schottin, Kiilz, Sitzungsb. J. Gesellsch. z. Befbrd. d. yes. Naturw. zv. Marburq 1876 
No. 4. 
5 Schindler, Ztschr.f. physiol. Chem., Strassburg, Bd. xiii. S. 438. 
6 Kossel, ibid., 1896, Bd. xxii. S. 172, 188 ; Hed'in, ibid., S. 191. 
7 Ber. d. deutsch. chem. Gesellsch., Berlin, Bd. vii. S. 1714. 
8 Loc. cit. 
9 Hedin {loc. cit. ) believes histidine is identical with a base he had previously obtained 
in his work on the decomposition products of proteids. 
10 Diaconow ; see Hoppe-Seyler's "Med. Chem. TJntersuch.," Bd. ii. >S. 221 ; iii. S, 405. 
11 Arch. f. exper. Path. v. Pharmakol., Leipzig, 1896, Bd. xxxvii. S. 100. 
Nuclein . 
46-68 per cent. 
Lecithin . 
Protamine 
. 26-76 „ 
Cholesterin 
Proteids . 
. 10-32 „ 
Fat . 
