450 CHEMISTRY OF THE LEUGOMAINS. 



heart-ganglia, and leaves the nerves and muscles unaffected. 0.5 mg. 

 kills 10 g. frogs. 



Spermin, CjHjN, or CjHj^N^ , is the basic substance obtained by 

 Schreiner (1878) from semen, calf's heart, calf's liver, bull's testi- 

 cles, from the organs of leukemics, and also from the surface of 

 anatomical specimens kept under alcohol. Poebl has found it in the 

 testes, ovaries, prostate, thyroid gland, pancreas and spleen. In 

 1888 Kunz reported the presence of a non-poisonous base, CjEE^N, 

 spermin or ethyleneimid in cholera cultures. In this case it occurs, 

 then as a ptomain. A confirmation of the identity of the two bases 

 is necessary. Previous to this, however, it had been known for a 

 long time under the name of " Charcot-Neumann or Leyden crys- 

 tals," which are the phosphate of spermin. These peculiarly shaped 

 crystals have been found in the sputa of a case of emphysema with 

 catarrh, in the bronchial discharges in acute bronchitis, as well as in 

 sputa of chronic bronchitis, in the blood, spleen, etc., of leucocy- 

 themics and anemics, and in the normal marrow of human bones, 

 as well as in human semen, also in nasal secretions and in feces. 

 Altogether it seems to have a very wide distribution, especially in 

 certain diseases, as in leucocythemia. 



Spermatic stains yield with iodin the so-called Florence's crystals 

 which resemble those of Teichmann. These crystals, however, are 

 not characteristic of sperma but may be obtained from any lecithin- 

 (cholin)-containing fluid. They have been obtained from liver and 

 brain extracts, and from elder blossoms. According to Bocarius,^ 

 the crystals represent a derivative of cholin and not an iodo-spermin 

 as first supposed. 



It can be prepared from fresh human semen in the following 

 manner : The semen is washed out of linen by a little warm water, 

 evaporated to dryness, boiled with alcohol, and the insoluble por- 

 tion is allowed to subside by standing some hours. The precipitate 

 is filtered off, washed, and dried at 100°. This residue, containing 

 the spermin phosphate, is triturated, and then extracted with warm 

 ammoniacal water. From this solution, on slow evaporation, the 

 phosphate crystallizes in its peculiarly shaped crystals. 



The free base is obtained, on decomposing the phosphate with baryta 

 and evaporating the filtrate, as a colorless liquid which on cooling 

 crystallizes. From alcohol it crystallizes in wavellite-shaped crystak 

 which readily absorb water and carbonic acid from the atmosphere. 

 They are readily soluble in water and in absolute alcohol, almost in- 

 soluble in ether, and possess a strong alkaline reaction. When 

 heated on a platinum foil it gives off thick, white fumes and a weak 

 ammoniacal odor. With potassium bismuth iodid it yields orange- 

 colored crystalline floccules, which under the microscope appear as 

 ^ Zeits. phygioL Chem., 34, 339. 



