294 A CHEMICO-PHYSIOLOGICAL STUDY OF 



of retarding blood coagulation either in vivo or in vitro, or both. 

 Grosjean observed that the proteoses from blood-fibrin retard or 

 even prevent coagulation indefinitely. This action is not pro- 

 duced in vitro.* True peptone, he found, never acts as vigor- 

 ously as the proteoses, and confines its influence to a temporary 

 retardation. In either case the lack of coagulation is very 

 rapidly manifested. Thompson f has recorded similar results 

 with purified peptone. Deuteroproteose gave him inconstant 

 results, while antipeptone hastened blood coagulation, in con- 

 formity with the observations of Spiro and Ellinger.J Arthus 

 and Huber have found that much larger doses of gelatoses 

 (2 grams) and caseoses (1.5 grams) per kilo are necessary than 

 in the case of fibrin-proteoses to bring about an absence of 

 coagulation. Lastly, a few experiments have been reported 

 on the action of the albumoses and peptone formed by papaln 

 digestion. || 



The accompanying table, giving the results of our own 

 experiments, shows the time required for the complete coagu- 

 lation of 2 c.c. blood withdrawn from the femoral or carotid 

 artery at various intervals, expressed in minutes or hours. 

 The normal clotting-time given is in every case the average of 

 two or more observations previous to the injection of the 

 substance under investigation. 



The data presented show (1) That in doses of 3 decigrams 

 per kilo of body-weight the albumoses, both hemi and anti, 

 irrespective of the mode of formation, immediately cause sus- 

 pension of coagulation for at least twenty-four hours, even 

 in blood withdrawn one or two hours after the injection. 

 (Exper. I-VII.) 



(2) Antialbumid produces retardation of clotting, the 

 effect being far less marked than in the case of even smaller 

 doses of albumoses, and furthermore requiring some time to 



* Cf. Campbell. 



t Thompson, Report of Secretary, loc. cit. 



t Spiro and Ellinger, Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 1897, xxiii, p. 121. See 

 also the older experiments of Pollitzer and of Fano with tryptone. 

 Arthus and Huber, Archives de physiologic, 1896, p. 866. 

 || Chittenden, Mendel, and McDermott, Amer. Jour. Physiol., 1898, i, p. 255. 





