On the Coagulation of the BloocL 



261 



the ferment globulin had been added coagulated in about two 

 minutes. 



The question will be asked, how is it if the ferment is a globulin it 

 can be extracted by means of distilled water from the ferment powder ? 

 The answer to that question is that the water is enabled to dissolve 

 the globulin by a portion of the salts, especially sodium chloride, in 

 the ferment powder entering into solution at the same time. That 

 this is the correct answer was shown by the following experiment : — 

 A quantity of the ferment powder was subjected to prolonged washing 

 with warm (40° C.) distilled water; it was then suspended in water, 

 and dialysed for three weeks, thymol being added to prevent decom- 

 position. At the end of this time it was dried over sulphuric acid ; 

 it was then found that warm water was able to extract only the 

 faintest trace of proteid from the powder, and that this extract had 

 little or no ferment action, while an extract of the same powder with 

 a 0*3 per cent, sodium chloride solution contained much more proteid 

 and had powerful ferment properties. 



Serum globulin prepared from sheep's and horse's serum by re- 

 peated precipitation with magnesium sulphate, and finally by dialysis, 

 was found to possess powerful ferment properties ; this entirely con- 

 firms Al. Schmidt's statement that he has been unable to prepare 

 from serum " fibrinoplastic substance" free from ferment.* This is 

 easily explained when one considers that serum globulin as prepared 

 from serum contains a certain admixture of cell globulin derived from 

 the disintegration of white blood corpuscles ; and this is precipitated 

 with the globulin which pre-existed in the blood plasma. On the other 

 hand, serum globulin prepared from a liquid like hydrocele fluid which 

 does not coagulate spontaneously, has no such ferment properties. 

 This confirms Hammarsten's statement that he has obtained from 

 hydrocele fluid a pure paraglobulin free from ferment, and which 

 exerted no fibrinoplastic activity. 



I will here quote a typical experiment which brings out the fibrino- 

 plastic properties of globulin prepared from serum, and the absence 

 of such properties in the globulin prepared from hydrocele fluid : — 



Ox sodium sulphate plasma was diluted with four times its volume 

 of liquid in each of the succeeding experiments; the diluted plasma 

 was then divided into two parts, one part was kept at the temperature 

 of the air (14° C), the other at the temperature of 40° C. in an incu- 

 bator. 



Thus the plasma which was diluted with a saline solution of globulin 

 from hydrocele fluid, coagulated at approximately the same time as 

 that in which the saline solution alone was employed as the diluent, 



* I have also confirmed Schmidt's statement that serum globulin (Schmidt's 

 fibrinoplastic substance) which is precipitated by a stream of carbonic acid, has 

 ferment properties. 



