SPERMATOZOA. 591 



The spermatozoa show a great resistance to chemical reagents in 

 general. They do not dissolve completely in concentrated sulphuric 

 acid, nitric acid, acetic acid, or in boiling-hot soda solutions. They 

 are soluble in a boiling-hot caustic-potash solution. They resist putre- 

 faction, and after drying they may be obtained again in their original 

 form by moistening them with a 1-per cent common-salt solution. By 

 careful heating and burning to an ash the shape of the spermatozoa may 

 be seen in the ash. The quantity of ash is about 50 p. m. and consists 

 mainly (three quarters) of potassium phosphate. 



The spermatozoa show well-known rr.ovements, but the cause of this 

 is not known. These movements may continue for a very long time, 

 as under some conditions they may be observed for several days in the 

 body alter death, and in the secretion of the uterus longer than a week. 

 Acid liquids stop these movements immediately; they are also destroyed 

 by strong alkalies, especially ammoniacal liquids, also by distilled water, 

 alcohol, ether, etc. The movements continue for a longer time in faintly 

 alkaline liquids, especially in alkaline animal secretions, and also in 

 properly diluted neutral salt solutions. 1 . 



Spermatozoa are nucleus formations and hence are rich in nucleic 

 acid, which exists in the heads. The tails contain protein and are besides 

 this rich in lecithin, cholesterin, and fat, which bodies occur only to a 

 small extent (if at all) in the heads. The tails seem by their composition 

 to be closely allied to the non-medullated nerves or the axis-cylinders. 

 In the various kinds of animals investigated, the head contains nucleic 

 acid, which in fishes is partly combined with protamines and partly 

 with hist ones. In other animals, such as the bull and boar, protein-like 

 substances occur with the nucleic acid, but no protamine. 



Our knowledge of the chemical composition of spermatozoa has 

 been greatly enhanced by the important investigations of MIESCHER 2 

 on salmon milt. The intermediate fluid of the spermatozoa of Rhine 

 salmon is a dilute salt solution containing 1.3-1.9 p. m. organic and 

 6.5-7.5 p. m. inorganic bodies. The last consist chiefly of sodium chloride 

 and carbonate, besides some potassium chloride and sulphate. The 

 fluid contains only traces of protein, but no peptone. The tails consist 

 of 419 p. m. protein, 318.3 p. m. lecithin, and 262.7 p. m. cholesterin and 

 fat. The heads extracted with alcohol-ether contain on an average 

 960 p. m. protamine nucleate, which nevertheless is not uniform, but is 

 so divided that the outer layers consist of basic protamine nucleate, 

 while the inner layers, on the contrary, consist of acid protamine nucleate. 

 Besides the protamine nucleate there are present in the heads, although 



1 See G. Giinther, Pfliiger's Arch., 118. 



2 See Miescher, " Die histochemischen und physiologischen Arbeiten von Friedrich 

 Miescher, gesammelt und herausgegeben von seinen Freunden," Leipzig, 1897. 



