190 A Manual of Veterinary Physiology. 



again converted into a kind of starch in the liver; from here 

 it is converted into sugar for the use of the blood. Similarly 

 the proteids are converted into peptones in the intestine in 

 order that they may be more readily absorbed into the 

 intestinal walls, but they are no sooner in the capillaries 

 than they are found to be proteid once more. 



The blood of the portal vein does, however, contain a 

 small portion of peptone, which appears to have escaped 

 this conversion ; but instead of passing out of the blood by 

 means of the kidneys, as injected peptones do, it is enabled 

 to circulate in the stream by being lodged in the white 

 cells of the blood, and Hofmeister and his pupils have 

 shown that the number of white blood cells depends upon 

 the proteid matter in the food, and is not affected b}- 

 carbo-hydrates, fats, salts, or water.* 



* Bunge. 



