128 EEFORT — 1889. 



Third Report of the Gomrtiittee, consisting of Professors Schafer 

 (Chairman), Michael Foster, and Lankester and Dr. W. D. 4 

 Halliburton {Secretary), appointed for the purpose of inves- " 

 tigating the Physiology of the Lymphatic System.'^ 



DuMNG the past year work on the chemical physiology of blood corpuscles 

 and on the proteid constituents of the aqueous humour has been continued 

 by Dr. Halliburton in the Physiological Laboratory of University College, 

 London. 



In the two previous reports of the Committee the special subject dealt 

 with has been that of the pi-oteids of the colourless corpuscles, or, more 

 strictly speaking, of lymph cells ; that is, the cells obtained from lymphatic 

 glands and also from the thymus gland. Lymph-corpuscles being typical 

 animal cells, this research was in other words directed to the determina- 

 tion of the varieties of proteid that occur in protoplasm. The proteids 

 found were as follows : — 



1. A globulin which coagulates at 48°-50° C. Cell-glolulin (a). 



2. „ „ 75° C. Gell-glohidin (/3). 



3. An albumin „ 73° C. Cell- albumin. 



4. A peculiar proteid which swells up into a jelly-like mass with 



solutions of sodium chloride and magnesium sulphate, and which 

 was found to possess the chemical characteristics of a nucleo- 

 albumin. 



The special subject investigated this year has been that of the proteids 

 contained in the stromata of the red corpuscles of mammalian (sheep's) 

 blood. The red discs are cellular in origin ; the presence of a large 

 quantity of hsemoglobin in them shows that they possess something 

 which is not present in typical cells ; the absence of a nucleus shows that 

 they have lost something present in typical cells. The question, however, 

 still remains, How far do the stromata {i.e., the colourless residues after the 

 extraction of the pigment) retain the properties and constituents of 

 unaltered protoplasm ? 



The quantity of proteid contained in the discs is relatively very small 

 in amount; there are in addition small quantities of lecithin, cholesterin, 

 and inorganic salts, of which the most important is potassium phosphate. 



It has, however, been the proteid which has especially engaged our 

 attention, and in investigating this substance Dr. Halliburton has secured 

 the co-operation of Dr. Walter M. Friend, of Boston, U.S.A. 



Dr. Eriend has also performed experiments in another direction, 

 namely, the constitution of the aqueous humour of the eye. 



It will, therefore, be convenient to divide this report into two parts, 

 the first dealing with the stromata of the red corpuscles, the second with 

 the aqueous humour. 



The Stromata of the Red Corpuscles. 



The method which was found to be the best for the preparation of the 

 stromata was that introduced by Wooldridge.^ Freshly whipped blood is 



' This report is written by Dr. Halliburton, by whom, and under whose direction, 

 the work has been carried on. 



« Du Bois-Reymond's ArcMvf. Physiol., 1881, p. 387. 



