138 MANUAL 01 HISTOLOGY. 



It partakes of the same peculiarity as lymph, in coagulating some con- 

 siderable time after it has been collected from the body; it does so, how- 

 ever, with much greater rapidity on the addition of a certain amount of 

 blood (A. Schmidt). We have already mentioned ( 11) that the fibrino- 

 gen of the latter fluid has its origin in the red blood-corpuscles. The 

 coagulum of chyle may also subsequently become red on exposure to the 

 air. Its fibrin generally contracts much less, and remains more gelatinous, 

 at the same time that it possesses greater solubility. 



Albumen, an important constituent, as we would be led to expect from 

 the nature of chyle, appears in considerable, but, according to the kind of 

 food, variable quantity. We have already mentioned its partly forming 

 the envelopes on the minute molecules of this fluid; but another portion 

 of it is present in the form of solution in water. 



The amount of fats, also, in chyle, though necessarily subject to great 

 rise and fall, is far larger than in lymph. Primarily, whilst in the finest 

 vessels all of them are found as neutral compounds suspended in a state 

 of the most, minute division, later on saponified fats make their appear- 

 ance, as observation with the microscope teaches us, by means of which 

 we see the formation of fat-globules in a clear fluid on the addition of 

 an acid (H. Muller). 



Again, we find that grape sugar and urea are contained in this fluid. 

 It may also have lactic acids in its composition, according to Lehmann. 



Chyle contains, also, a by no means inconsiderable proportion of ex- 

 tractive matters and the ordinary mineral compounds, such as the alkaline 

 salts, with chloride of sodium in large quantity. Further, minute 

 quantities of the earthy salts and iron have been found in it. 



A rather old analysis of Rees (1) may serve as a clue to the com- 

 position of the chyle, beside which we give one of lymph by the same 

 author. 



Chyle obtained from the ductus thoracicus of a^-onng donkey -. .. ml t lw . nf 



seven hours after having been fed on peas and beans (after Se wme wiTmaT 



Water, .... 902-37 965'36 



Fibrin, *$ . . . 3'70 1-20 



Albumen, . . .- . 35 -16 12-00 



Watery extract, . . 12-33 13-19 



Alcoholic do., ... 3 -32 '2-40 



Fats, 36-01 Traces 



Salts, . . . . 7-11 5-85 



Strangely enough, the most recent experimenter on chyle, C. Schmidt, 

 arrived at completely different results in his analysis of that from the 

 thoracic duct of the foal. According to this observer, the composition 

 of both fluids, of lymph and chyle is exceedingly similar, except that 

 the latter showed a somewhat larger proportion of iron, whilst the 

 amount of fat found in it was extremely small. 



The following is the composition of the chyle obtained from the 

 thoracic duct of a healthy foal, which had been fed three hours before 

 with meal-pap and hay : 



1000 parts contained 



Serum, 967'4 



Coagulum . . . 32 -G 



