MULTIPLE MYELOMAS AND "ALBUMOSUItIA" 427 



Hypernephromas possess several interesting chemical 

 features. For example, at a time when the origin of these 

 tumors was in dispute, Gatti l brought forward the fact that such 

 a tumor analyzed by him contained 3.4735 per cent, of lecithin, 

 which agreed very well with the amount of lecithin in normal 

 adrenals. Beebe 2 found in the watery extract of a hyper- 

 nephroma the following substances : tryptophan, proteoses, gly co- 

 gen, leucin, and tyrosin, indicating the occurrence of autolysis. 

 About 29 per cent, of fat was present, which was all extractable 

 without pepsin digestion, and the fat contained about 18 per 

 cent, of its weight as cholesterin. Lecithin was also present, 

 but not quantitatively determined. Croftan 3 states that hyper- 

 nephroma tissue resembles adrenal tissue in causing glycosuria 

 when extracts are injected subcutaneously into rabbits, in split- 

 ting starch into sugar, and in decolorizing a blue iodin-starch 

 solution. The last of these reactions is given by so many other 

 tissues, however, that its differential value is doubtful. 



Melanotic tumors produce melanin, which seems not to 

 differ at all from the melanin found in normal pigmented 

 structures (see Chap. xvi). Helman 4 found as high as 7.3 per 

 cent, by weight of melanin in melanosarcomas. 



MULTIPLE MYELOMAS AND MYELOPATHIC " ALBUMOSURIA " 



Multiple myelomas are of particular chemical interest, because 

 of the appearance in the urine of such cases of the peculiar pro- 

 teid first described as an albumose by Bence-Jones, 5 and now, 

 because of lack of grounds for its definite classification, gener- 

 ally known as the "Bence-Jones body " or "Bence-Jones proteid" 

 This variety of tumor differs from the standard types of malig- 

 nant tumors in that it involves the marrow of many bones 

 simultaneously, in a very diffuse manner, without usually giving 

 evidence of a true metastasis. In many respects it resembles the 

 leukemias, pseudoleukemia, and chloroma, and it is extremely 

 uncertain as to where in the classification of tumors and of the 

 diseases of the blood-forming organs this disease should be 

 placed. Histologically, the tumors show evidence of being 

 derived from the specific cells of the marrow, either from the 



1 VirchoVs Arch., 1897 (150), 417. 



2 Amer. Jour. Physiol., 1904 (11), 139. 

 3 Virchow's Arch., 1902 (169), 332. 



4 Arch, internat. Pharmacodyn., 1903 (12), 271. 



5 References not generally cited, as there exist several complete re'sume's of 

 the literature ; see Simon, Amer. Jour. Med. Sci., 1902 (123), 939 ; Weber et a/., 

 ibid., 1903(126), 644; Moffatt, Lancet, 1905 (i), 207. 



