1907. | Destiny of Cholesterol in the Animal Organism. 215 
effect of introducing gall stones into the gall bladders of dogs, have shown 
that when the gall bladder is healthy the gall stones tend to disappear, while, 
on the other hand, when cholecystitis is present they remained unchanged. 
In his Text-book of Physiology, Schifer has also suggested that the 
constant presence of lecithin and cholesterin in the bile may well be 
associated with the destruction of the red corpuscles, which contain 
relatively considerable amounts of these substances. 
It will be seen from the foregoing sketch that we know little or nothing 
definite as to the functions of cholesterol, and we certainly know nothing 
whatever of the breaking up of cholesterol in the animal body. 
From the very general occurrence of cholesterol and its frequent 
association with lecithin, we cannot but think that it must play an 
important part in the cell economy, and must not be considered merely as a 
waste product. In this connection the experiments of Flexner, Noguchi,* 
Preston Kyes,t Abderhalden and Le Count, on hemolysis produced by 
cobra poison in the presence of lecithin and the inhibitory effect of 
cholesterin appear to us very significant. 
Whatever may be the value of Flint’s views on the cholesterol problem, 
he was correct in his statement that cholesterol is found in human feces in 
the modified form of “ stercorine.” | 
This body was rediscovered in 1896, by Bondzynski{—who gave it the 
name of coprosterol—and was thoroughly investigated by Bondzynski and 
v. Humnicki.|| It crystallises in long slender needles melting at 95° to 96° C. 
and behaves chemically as a saturated alcohol; it is dextrorotatory and gives 
colour reactions similar to those of cholesterol. Its formula, Co;H.s0, was 
confirmed by the analyses of a large number of derivatives, and its discoverers 
regarded it as a dihydrocholesterol formed by bacterial reduction in the 
intestine. They fed a man with cholesterol and found that it was excreted 
mainly as coprosterol, and, later, Miller proved that on a milk diet, in which 
* “Snake Venom in Relation to Hemolysis, Bacteriolysis, and Toxicity,” ‘Journ. of 
Experim. Med.,’ vol. 6, No. 3, 1902. 
+ “Ueber die Wirkungsweise des Kobragiftes,” ‘ Beit. klin. Wochenschr.,’ Nos. 38 and 
39, 1902 ; also “ Lecithin und Schlangengift,” ‘Zeit. f. physiol. Chemie,’ vol. 41, p. 273, 
1904; also “Zur Kentniss der Kobragift aktivierenden Substancen,” ‘Berl. klin. 
Wochenschr.,’ Nos. 2—4, 1903. 
{ “Die Beziehungen zwischen Cholesterin, Lecithin, Kobragift, Tetanuslaxin, Saponin 
und Solanin,” ‘ Zeitschr. f. experim. Path. u. Therap.,’ vol. 2, p. 199, 1905. 
§ “Cholesterol of Human Feces,” ‘ Ber. der Deut. Chem. Ges.,’ 1896, vol. 29, p. 476. 
|| “The Fate of Cholesterol in the Animal Organism,” ‘Zeit. Physiol. Chem.,’ 1896, 
vol. 22, p. 396. 
J “ Reduction of Cholesterol to Coprosterol in the Human Intestine,” ‘ Zeit. physiol. 
Chem.,’ 1960, vol. 29, pp. 129—135. 
