4:70 CHEMISTRY OF THE LEUCOMAlNS. 



of the toxicity was due to organic matter. Stadthagen arrived at 

 practically the same results, that 80-85 per cent, of the toxicity was 

 due to the inorganic constituents. A part of the toxicity, 15—20 per 

 cent., is therefore due to organic substances. No one organic sub- 

 stance in the urine, as urea, creatin, etc., possesses this toxicity. 

 Stadthagen has further shown that alkaloidal bodies as peptotoxin, 

 guanidin, methyl guanadin, cholin, neurin, xanthocreatinin are ab- 

 sent from normal urine. 100 liters of urine examined by Brieger's 

 method for bases gave only ammonia, a little trimethylamin, besides 

 creatinin. Dresbach^ (1900), employing the same method, obtained 

 poisonous extracts. Gtiutier has supposed that the urine poison was 

 a proteid analogous to that in the venom of serpents, but Stadthagen 

 showed that proteids were absent. Ferments like pepsin were also 

 excluded from consideration because of their minute amount. His 

 experiments were largely negative, so far as the detection of an 

 organic poison was concerned. Stadthagen disproved the existence 

 of a special urine poison. The poisonous action of normal urine is 

 therefore due to the sum total action of the inorganic salts, chiefly 

 potassium, and the normal organic constituents as urea, creatinin, 

 etc., which by themselves possess but slight action. 



Guinard recently tested the action of normal urine from dif- 

 ferent animals. On an average, the toxicity per kg. rabbit was as 

 follows : Dog, 193 c.c. ; man, 132.7 c.c. ; pig, 53 c.c. ; ox, 38.5 

 c.c. ; guinea-pig, 35 c.c. ; sheep, 33.8 c.c. ; goat, 32 c.c. ; ass, 29.4 

 c.c. ; horse, 29.2 c.c. ; rabbit, 16 c.c. ; cat, 13 c.c. The urine of a 

 bear possessed toxicity similar to that of the dog ; that of the lion 

 and tiger corresponded to that of the cat. In the case of the horse 

 the urine was less toxic from weak animals, from young animals, and 

 from males than from strong or old animals or females. The urea 

 per liter of urine varied from 15 g. in the dog to 118 g. in the cat. 

 While rabbits are killed, per kilo, by an injection of 45 c.c. of nor- 

 mal urine, dogs are killed by an intravenous injection of 100 c.c. per 

 kilo (Mairet and Bosc). If the thyroid gland is removed, the toxic 

 effects are increased (Godart and Slosse). 



While Guinard failed to observe any effect or toxicity following 

 the injection of the urine of pregnancy, Chambrelent and Demont 

 found that the toxicity was diminished in the later months. The 

 average urotoxic coefficient was 0.27. Mairet and Bosc examined 

 the toxicity of the urine in nervous disorders and found it to be in- 

 creased, especially in lypemania and mania. In general, however, 

 the toxic action was the same as that of normal urine, though at 

 times it produced specific nervous symptoms approximating those of 

 the disease. 



Increased toxicity of the urine was observed by Surmont in 

 atrophic cirrhosis, tuberculosis, and carcinoma of the liver. On the 

 ■ JiwiTO. Elop. Med., 5, 315, 1900. 



