1869.] 



in the Blood and Urine. 



21 



albumen, which, as the process of vivification proceeds, enters into com- 

 bination with iron, which originally exists in the yolk. 



The presence of a sulphocyanide in saliva must be referred to one of 

 two sources. It is either an exclusive product of the secretion itself, or it 

 previously exists in the blood and is extracted from it as a component of 

 the saliva. The amount of sulphocyanide found in different analyses 

 varies greatly ; my own results show only about half a grain in twenty 

 ounces of saliva from a healthy subject. This nearly agrees with the 

 observations of Bidder and Schmidt. "Wright makes the quantity very 

 much greater. If we take the estimate at only half a grain in twenty 

 ounces of saliva, and reckon this to be the quantity of the secretion swallowed 

 in twenty-four hours, the salt might be probably found in the blood and 

 in the urine. 



If, however, my experiments have been rightly interpreted, it is certain 

 that sulphocyanide of potassium or sodium is not a mere product of the 

 salivary glands, We have seen that it is found in the blood of all orders 

 of vertebrate animals, and we know that fish do not possess salivary organs. 

 Assuming that it is extracted out of the blood, what is its use in the saliva 1 



Considering its composition, it seemed possible that it acted either as an 

 antiseptic or else as an agent w T hich prevented fermentation in the ali- 

 mentary canal, and thus indirectly aided digestion. 



The conditions which favour the fermentation of saccharine matter, 

 namely, acidity and the proper temperature, are constantly present in the 

 stomach. Is sulphocyanide of potassium in saliva destined to check 

 this fermentation, which, under favourable circumstances, may occur in 

 less than an hour ? 



Carefully conducted experiments proved that it neither possesses the 

 power of preventing ordinary fermentation nor that of checking it when 

 already in action. 



We shall now see what is its action in preventing putrefaction. Two 

 equal portions of roast mutton were placed, the one in water, and the 

 other in the same quantity of a solution of sulphocyauide of potassium of 

 the strength of 1 grain of the salt to 1 ounce of water. After some 

 weeks the meat which had lain in water was found to be broken up into 

 shreds, and was quite putrid ; that in the sulphocyanide solution was 

 merely softened, and had a sour smell, but was not putrid. 



Sulphocyanide of potassium, therefore, possesses an antiseptic power; 

 but whether or not this property comes into operation in the alimentary 

 canal is a question I cannot now decide. 



I have made many quantitative analyses to determine the amount of 

 sulphocyanide eliminated with the urine in various diseases, including 

 typhus, typhoid, and scarlet fever. 



Not to enter into details at present, it will be sufficient to state what 

 the results showed with much uniformity. In all diseases in which wast- 

 ing of the body was marked, the excretion in the urine of a sulpho- 



