SULPHUROUS ACID AND SULPHITES. 849 



the elimination was in part in form of organic compounds, and indi- 

 cated that the organism synthetically made use of inorganic sulphur. 

 Whether sulphurous acid and sulphites would be used in this manner 

 is somewhat doubtful, and from the data it would be difficult to say 

 with any assurance that these two substances were used in the body 

 economy, even though the neutral sulphur is largely increased, par- 

 ticularly in case of sulphites where the total sulphur eliminated is 

 in excess of the sulphur ingested, and would indicate an increased 

 tissue katabolism. That the sulphurous acid is disposed of in a some- 

 what different manner is evident. In the preservative period 95.93 

 per cent of the preservative sulphur is immediately eliminated, 

 assuming that the total increase of sulphur is derived from the sul- 

 phur ingested in the preservative; 74.4 per cent of this being as sul- 

 phates and 21.5 per cent as neutral sulphur, while in the after period 

 the increased elimination of sulphur is still marked, particularly as 

 neutral sulphur. In the after period the variations of the quantities 

 in excess of the fore period are naturally not so marked and, in fact, 

 not much more marked than one would expect to find in the period 

 following any derangement of the metabolic processes. This without 

 doubt shows a very rapid elimination of the preservative from the 

 body, with- scarcely any accumulative action. 



