Suppletneut, 

 January i3, iS94_ 



NATURE 



XI 



Dr. Gamgee expresses the hope that the text-book may 

 supply a want which is at present experienced of some 

 guide to the more advanced student and original worker. 

 The fulness of the references given in the work alone 

 would warrant this hope being fulfilled ; and the fact 

 that some of the most recent work is included in the 

 volume will not lessen its anticipation. The author has 

 not confined himself to purely physiological considera- 

 tions. The pathology of jaundice, the pharmacology of 

 icterogenic poisonous agents, the formation of gall-stones, 

 and the nature of the gastric contents in different patho- 

 logical conditions, are all treated with an amount of fulness 

 that might not be expected in a work on physiological 

 chemistry. 



In addition to the general record and criticism of 

 physiological work, all the important analytical methods 

 are supplied, and it will be to some an encouragement to 

 know that Dr. Gamgee has himself tried, as far as 

 possible, all the experimental processes mentioned. 



The present volume does not complete Dr. Gamgee's 

 treatise on physiological chemistry. He propose?, after 

 re-editing the first volume, to finish his work with yet 

 another volume giving the results of a study from the 

 chemical point of view of other animal functions. We 

 may be permitted to express the hope that circumstances 

 will favour the elapse of a much shorter interval than has 

 occurred between the publication of volumes i. and ii. At 

 the same time, the vast amount of important work that 

 has been done during the last decade, and which has 

 largely revolutionised our ideas of the physiological 

 chemistry of digestion, makes the present time auspicious 

 for the presentation of a record of such work. 



The present volume is divided into thirteen chapters of 

 varying length. The first is occupied with a considera- 

 tion of saliva. The most recent views as to the con- 

 stitution of the starch molecule, and the results of the 

 action upon it of a diastatic ferment, are well described. 



The second chapter, however, which treats of gastric 

 digestion, will probably be regarded as the most impor- 

 tant in the book. It commences with a short histological 

 account of the structure of the stomach. We think that 

 these short histological descriptions are out of place in 

 the present work ; they are not sufficiently full to be of 

 much value to those who are likely to have occasion to 

 use the book. The histological preliminaries are suc- 

 ceeded by a historical account of our knowledge con- 

 cerning gastric digestion, in which the views of \'an Hel- 

 mont, Sylvius, Bortlli, Reaumur, and Spallanzani are re- 

 corded. The nature of pepsin, the method of preparing 

 artificial gastric juice, the nature of the acid of the 

 stomach, are all tre.ited upon with considerable det^iil. 

 Then follows an account of the changes occurring in 

 proleids by the action of gastric juice. After referring 

 to the views of Meissner, Briicke, and Schutzenberger, 

 the author goes on to record the observations and views 

 of Klihne. The large amount of work done in recent 

 years by Kiihne, Chittenden, and Neumeister in the 

 direction of refining our knowledge of what a few years 

 ago was called peptone, is fully described. We are dis- 

 posed, however, to take patt with Halliburton in prefer- 

 ring the term proteose to that of albiiniose. Dr. Gamgee 

 considers that a confusion might arise between the term 

 proteose and proto-albuinose, and prefers the general term 



NO. 1264, VOL. 49] 



albiunose. I'ut the difficulty at present experienced of 

 causing students to understand that albumose can be 

 derived from other proteids than albumin makes the 

 confusion suggested by Dr. Gamgee a comparatively 

 insignificant matter. When the i^vms glol>ittose,caseose, 

 and so on exist, it is obviously unscientific to retain the 

 term albumose as embracing all these bodies. We are 

 hopeful, therefore, that the change suggested by Halli- 

 burton will gradually find its way into our physiological 

 text-books. 



The milk-curdling enzyme of the stomach is referred' 

 to, and a brief account of the change that milk undergoes- 

 by its action is given. Dr. Gamgee prefers to leave a 

 detailed consideration of these changes to a later volume 

 dealing generally with the chemistry of milk. We think 

 it is more desirable to treat of the change milk under- 

 goes at the instance of a ferment in the stomach in con- 

 nection with gastric digestion than at any other place. 

 There is a rather unaccountable inconsistency in Dr. 

 Gamgee's reference to absorption of water in the stomach. 

 On p. 154 he states in the paragraph indicator that the 

 stomach is "the seat of absorption of much water." In. 

 surveying the work on this subject later (p. 439 et scq.) 

 he describes how recent research has established beyond 

 a doubt the fact that the stomach does not absorb water 

 at all (p. 441, line 20). 



The third chapter treats very fully of pancreatic diges- 

 tion, and appears with that on bile (chapter iv.) to be 

 amongst the best in the volume. In connection with the 

 latter the author has given us some very beautiful repro- 

 ductions of MacMunn's spectra of bile-derivatives. The 

 nature of the albuminoid substance of bile is referred to, 

 and the fact that it is no longer to be regarded as iinidn^ 

 but as a nucleo-albninin, is emphasised. The nature of 

 nucleo-albumin is also briefly described. The digestive 

 processes occurring in the small intestine are treated of 

 in chapter ix. The different methods of experimenting 

 are fully described. As regards the action of the enzyme 

 of the intestinal juice, we think Dr. Gamgee has been 

 somewhat over-influenced by tradition, which has led 

 him to attach perhaps too much importance to its exist- 

 ence and action. And the fact that observers have 

 always experienced more difficulty in obtaining positive 

 results with extracts of the fresh mucous membrane than 

 with so-called intestinal juice, justifies us in accepting 

 with considerable caution inferences based upon observ- 

 ations on so-called permanent fistulae. 



The last chapter is devoted to a description of intra- 

 cellular digestion in lower invertebrata, the digestion 

 occurring in fishes, birds and ruminants, and supplies a 

 becoming sequel to a comprehensive woik. 



Appendices are added, giving in more detail Xeumeis- 

 ter's views concerning the albumoses, some very recent 

 work of Kiihne on the separation of albumoses and pep- 

 tones ; also some additional methods for the detection 

 and estimation of the acidity of the stomach. 



We should have preferred to see the index divided into 

 two portions — one treating of subjects and the other of 

 authors. A i&w mistakes occur in it, but only of trifling 

 importance ; however, it has the defect of being some- 

 what incomplete. 



Taken altogether, we have only congratulation to offer 

 to Dr. Gamgee on the production of this work, and have 



