CHYLE. 490 



blood during its circulation in the body, probably in 

 the finest capillary networks and in the tissues of the 

 organs themselves ; the oxygen collected in the lungs 

 being at the same time absorbed in its place. Car- 

 bonic acid, together with small quantities of oyygen 

 and nitrogen, is found in blood from all parts of the 

 body, more oxygen being present in arterial blood, 

 however, than in venous blood (cf. p. 495). Venous 

 blood, on the other hand, contains relatively more car- 

 bonic acid than arterial blood, the carbonic acid amount- 

 ing to about one-fifth the volume of the blood. 



The quantity of gases given oft" at each normal ex- 

 piration is in the case of man about 500 cc. 



The amount of water given oft' from the lungs in 

 twenty-four hours is about 320 grm. or about 236 

 pounds per year. 



The amount of carbonic -acid expired in twenty-four 

 hours is on an average 867 grm., containing 236.5 grm. 

 of carbon. Hence in a year over 172 pounds of carbon 

 are given oft* from the body, through the lungs, in the 

 form of carbonic acid. 



The amount of oxygen consumed in twenty-four 

 hours by the act of respiration is 746 grm., or over 

 544 pounds per year. 



2. ffhyle. 



The chyle contained in the lacteals and in the thoracic 

 duct during digestion in the small intestines, is gener- 

 ally a turbid, milky, yellowish-white liquid, in which, 

 with the aid of the microscope, various kinds of minute 

 bodies may be detected, chyle-corpuscles. When re- 

 moved from the vessels it coagulates in a short time. 

 The clot becomes red in the air, and contains fibrin as 

 the coagulated ingredient. The serum separated from 

 the clot shows a weak alkaline reaction, and contains, 

 in addition to the usual undetermined animal sub- 

 stances and the salts, principally albumen and fat; the 

 latter collects on the surface, and undoubtedly forms 

 one variety of the corpuscles, which are apparently 

 surrounded by a protein compound. 



