1911.] Destiny of Cholesterol in the Animal Organism. 465 



After recovering from the operations and feeding for some days the animals 

 were killed and their livers analysed. 



Experiment VII. — As a control a rabbit (G), weighing 3 - 4 kgrm., was 

 anaesthetised with ether on July 13, and 10 c.c of sterilised olive oil injected 

 into the peritoneal cavity. The animal did not eat well until July 18, 

 when its weight was 2 - 8 kgrm. After this date it took its food (extracted 

 bran) readily, and its weight remained quite constant until July 28. On 

 the following day another 10 c.c. of olive oil was injected as before. It was 

 killed on August 6, when its weight was 2 - 4 kgrm. The liver, which was 

 normal in appearance, weighed 5T27 grm., i.e., 2 - 05 per cent, of body weight. 

 Some oil still remained unabsorbed in the cavity. The weight of free and 

 combined cholesterol in the liver was found to be 0*1 698 grm., the free 

 cholesterol 04418 grm., and the ester cholesterol, by difference, - 028 grm. 



The faeces of the animal were collected during the whole experiment, 

 and after drying weighed 364 grm. They were extracted with ether, and 

 the fats in the ethereal solution saponified with sodium ethylate. After 

 separating the soaps and washing, the ethereal solution was evaporated to 

 dryness. The oily residue obtained was taken up in alcohol and precipitated 

 with digitonin. The precipitate was thoroughly washed with ether and then 

 with water, and after drying weighed 0*254 grm. This precipitate was 

 decomposed by heating in xylene vapour, according to the method of Windaus 

 for recovering the cholesterol from its digitonin compound. 



After evaporating the xylene and crystallising from alcohol, crystals were 

 obtained which under the microscope had the form of typical cholesterol 

 crystals. The fasces therefore contained - 06l7 grm. of cholesterol, an output 

 of - 0028 grm. per day. 



Experiment VIII. — A vigorous rabbit (H), weighing 37 kgrm., was 

 anaesthetised with ether, and 10 c.c. of olive oil, containing - 5 grm. of 

 cholesterol in solution, injected into the peritoneal cavity on July 13. As 

 in case of rabbit (G) it took very little food (extracted bran) until July 16, 

 when its weight was 3 kgrm. The weight remained fairly constant until 

 July 29, when it weighed 2*8 kgrm. Another 10 c.c. of oil containing 

 - 5 grm. of cholesterol was again injected. The animal was killed on 

 August 6, when its weight was 2 - 8 kgrm. Some of the oil was still 

 unabsorbed. The liver, normal in appearance, weighed 59 - 01 grm., or 

 2-1 per cent, of the body weight. It contained - 3485 grm. of free cholesterol 

 and no ester cholesterol. During the experiment it passed 669 grm. of fasces 

 (dry). This was treated as in the control experiment, and - 695 grm. of 

 digitonin compound was obtained, corresponding to 04689 grm. cholesterol, 

 an output of - 0073 grm. per day. 



