302 INFECTIONS OF THE DIGESTIVE TRACT 



during this period of preparation. During the five 

 days on which the animal received daily four grams 

 of ammonium butyrate the urine collected failed to show 

 a distinct increase in the nitrogen of ammonia or in the 

 proportion between the nitrogen of ammonia and the 

 total nitrogen. Thus while one would hardly expect 

 that in normal organisms on a moderate diet of meat 

 the nitrogen of ammonia would be appreciably increased 

 through the excessive absorption of fatty acids which 

 are removed as compounds of ammonia, it is nevertheless 

 conceivable that in conditions of disease in which the 

 oxidizing powers of the organism are as a whole dimin- 

 ished (or taxed to the utmost) there might be an absorp- 

 tion of fatty acids in such excess as to somewhat increase 

 the output of the nitrogen of ammonia. In other 

 words, there would then be a slight degree of acid in- 

 toxication or acidosis resulting from the increased ab- 

 sorption of the volatile fatty acids. There are individual 

 instances in which we have found indications from the 

 urine that this is probably the case, but the evidence 

 is not entirely convincing. The subject of the rela- 

 tion between excessive saccharo-butyric putrefaction 

 and the excretion of an increased amount of nitrogen of 

 ammonia calls for further and more careful observations, 

 both experimental and clinical. 



There is some evidence that the faecal extracts 

 obtained from persons with advanced chronic saccharo- 

 butyric putrefaction may exhibit a decided hsemolytic 

 action on the red blood cells of rabbits and monkeys, 

 and in some instances such an action is pronounced. 



