SPECIFIC CONSTITUENTS OF BILE. 



371 



bile has been shown not to be mucin but a nucleo-albumin. Other 

 substances present in bile are (1) the alkaline salts of certain organic 

 acids known as the bile acids ; (2) the bile pigments ; (3) traces of 

 lecithin, cholesterin, soaps, and fats ; (4) mineral salts. 



Both the total and relative amount of each of these several con- 

 stituents or group of constituents is very variable, as is shown by the 

 following table of analyses of human bile made by different observers. 

 The numbers indicate parts by weight contained in 1000 parts by 

 weight of bile : l 



The samples of bile from the gall bladder, analysed by Frerichs and by v. 

 Gorup-Besanez, were obtained immediately after death from healthy subjects, 

 the others were from biliary fistulas of long standing. 



Specific Constituents of Bile. 



Nucleo-proteid of bile. Landwehr 9 first drew attention to the fact 

 that the percentage composition of the mucin of bile was different from 

 that of other mucins, and that no reducing sugar was formed on heating 

 it with a mineral acid, but attempted to explain this by assuming that 



1 Extracted partially from Bunge, "Lelirbuch. der physiol. und pathol. Chemie," 

 Leipzig, 1894, S. 192 ; and partially from Noel Paton and Balfour, Rep. Lab. Roy. Coll. 

 Phys., Edin., 1891, vol. iii. p. 191. 



2 Hannover. Ann. f. d. ges. ffeilk., 1845, N.F. Bd. v. S. 42. 



3 Prager. Frtljschr. f. praJct. Pharmakol., 1851, Bd. iii. S. 86. 



4 Ber. d. deutsch. chem. Gesellsch., Berlin, 1873, Bd. vi. S. 1026. 



5 Journ. Physiol., Cambridge and London, 1884, vol. v. p. 116. 



6 Ibid., 1889, vol. x. p. 213. . 



7 Proc. Roy. Soc. London, 1890, vol. xlvii. p. 499. 



8 Loc. cit. 



9 Ztschr.f. physiol. Chem., Strassburg, 1881, Bd. v. S. 371. 



