154 J. M. HAMILL. 



isolated red blood corpuscle could be seen. If 100 c.c. of oxalated chyle 

 were centrifuged a small sediment separated out at the bottom of the 

 vessel. This sediment was faintly pink in colour and on microscopical 

 examination was found to consist chiefly of leucocytes with a few red 

 blood corpuscles and epithelial cells amongst them. The sediment 

 obtained from the chyle collected during the period when the tissue 

 surrounding the fistula was in a state of inflammation was slightly 

 larger in amount and was much pinker owing to the presence of more 

 red corpuscles. The number of red corpuscles in the chyle was of course 

 a measure of the degree of contamination of the chyle with blood from 

 the capillaries in the walls of the spaces in which the chyle was 

 contained. It is thus evident that the chyle obtained when the 

 patient's temperature was normal was of a high degree of purity and 

 exceedingly free from foreign elements derived from the structures with 

 which it came into contact. 



The rate of the Chyle flow. In order to obtain some idea of the 

 amount of chyle which could be produced in a day the bandage was 

 removed from the fistulous opening and the chyle was allowed to 

 trickle away into a vessel placed to receive it. In this way over 4 litres 

 of chyle were collected in twelve hours. The experiment was then 

 discontinued at the patient's request owing to the great exhaustion 

 which it produced. Noel Paton (29) estimated the flow in a case under 

 his observation at about 4 litres per day. 



The composition of the Chyle. At midday as much chyle as possible 

 was allowed to escape from the fistula which was then firmly bandaged. 

 At 10p.m. of the same day the bandage was removed and the chyle 

 which had formed during the interval was collected. The bandage was 

 then replaced and at midday of the following day the chyle formed 

 during this second interval was also collected. The two samples thus 

 obtained were then mixed and used for the following determinations: 



The Specific gravity was 1'007. During this research three other 

 measurements were made, none of which differed materially from the 

 number given. 



The total Solids estimated in 4'03 grams of chyle amounted to 

 3'87 / . The ash from the same chyle was '83/o of the whole. 



The fat. 50 c.c. of chyle were mixed with sand and evaporated to 

 dryness on a water-bath. The residue was extracted in a Soxhlet with 

 dry ether for 12 hours. The ether was then evaporated off from the 

 extract and the fatty residue weighed ; '672 gms. of fat were obtained, 

 or 1'344 gms. per 100 c.c. of chyle. 



