ANIMAL FLUIDS AND TISSUES. 



355 



51. ANIMAL FLUIDS AND TISSUES. 



Constituents of the animal body. The animal body consists 

 mainly of three kinds of matter, viz., water, organic and inor- 

 ganic matter. It contains of water, about 60 per cent., of 

 organic matter 35 per cent., and of inorganic matter about 5 

 per cent. The water may be determined by drying a weighed 

 quantity in an air-bath at a temperature of 100 to 105 ; the 

 organic matter is estimated by burning the dried substance, and 

 the inorganic matter (ash) by weighing the residue. Some of 

 the elements which are left in the inorganic residue have, how- 

 ever, been actually constituents of organic compounds; iron, for 

 instance, which is left in the ash, has been chiefly a constituent 

 of haemoglobin ; sulphur, left as a sulphate, may have been a 

 constituent of albumin, etc. 



The relative quantities of the three constituents in some of the 

 animal fluids and tissues is shown in the following table: 



Inorganic resi- 

 due (ash). 



0.18 

 0.24 

 2.? 



0.78 1 

 0.80 



0.80 

 0.75 

 0.35 

 0.80 

 0.72 

 0.82 

 1.32 

 52.00 

 65.00 

 96.00 



The complex nature of the various organic matters has been 

 referred to in the preceding chapter, and will be more fully con- 

 sidered below ; but it may be mentioned here, that some of 

 these organic substances (or groups of substances) may be sepa- 

 rated by a successive treatment of the animal matter with 

 various solvents. Thus, by treating with ether or carbon disul- 



The metals in combination with the biliary acids not included. 



