SULPHUROUS ACID AND SULPHITES. 845 



ingested in the preservative or food, has been eliminated in an unox- 

 idized or organically combined form. 



In the summary for Nos. 8 to 11, inclusive, the increase in sulphur 

 eliminated in the preservative period is 164 milligrams. In the after 

 period there is also an increase of 81 milligrams over that of the fore 

 period. Taking the fore period as the normal elimination of sulphur 

 for these men, it is seen that the total elimination of sulphur during 

 the preservative and after period is 245 milligrams (as S) above that of 

 the fore period. In tracing the course of the preservative, this man- 

 ner of calculation namely, including the increased elimination in the 

 after period may be considered permissible, as whatever disorder is 

 occasioned by the administration of the preservative may still influ- 

 ence the excretion during the after period. The amount of neutral 

 sulphur is here increased during the period of observation, there being 

 an increase of only 90 milligrams in the preservative period and 128 

 milligrams in the after period over that of the fore period. The total 

 sulphates show an increase of 321 milligrams over the fore period, 

 there being a slight increase also in the after period over the fore 

 period, amounting to 75 milligrams per day. There is also an increase 

 in this case of ethereal sulphates in the preservative period, returning 

 however, to practically the same magnitude in the after period as in 

 the fore period. The increase in the amount of inorganic sulphates, 

 therefore, is not the increase of the total sulphates, but, as is seen, is 

 306 milligrams, the ethereal sulphates increasing 15 milligrams, while 

 in the after period there is a strong tendency to return to normal, 

 only 73 milligrams of sulphur being excreted in excess of that in the 

 fore period. The ratio of ethereal sulphates to inorganic sulphates 

 is 1:13.9 in the fore period, 1:14.5 in the preservative period, and 

 1 : 14.2 in the after period. 



As is seen, the relation between the ethereal sulphates and the 

 inorganic sulphates is not so strongly marked as in the case of Nos. 

 1 to 6, where the sulphur, in the form of sodium sulphite, and in a 

 large quantity, was ingested. In the summary for Nos. 8 to 11, who 

 received sulphurous acid, this relation was disturbed by the increase 

 in the ethereal sulphates. 



The percentage elimination of the neutral sulphur in the fore period 

 is 11. 9, in the preservative period 13. 4, and in the after period 15. 9. The 

 total sulphates show a corresponding decrease throughout the period. 

 There is very little diffefence in the percentage excretion of ethereal 

 sulphates in this summary, while the percentage of inorganic sulphates 

 shows a gradual diminution for the three periods. The average 

 amount of sulphur in v the cases of Nos. 8, 9, 10, and 11, ingested in the 

 form of sulphurous acid, is 343 milligrams of sulphur as SO 2 , equiva- 

 lent to 172 milligrams of sulphur as S. The increase in sulphur elimi- 

 nated in the preservative period alone is 164 milligrams per day. It 



