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He does not deny tliat natron was used, but considers that it was only used for 
packing, as for instance in the mouth, and in that case it was mixed with fat, e. g. butter, 
to form a paste. 
He maintains that the fatty acids are derived not from tiie fat of the body only, 
but from the albuminous material, and that during mummification, fixed fatty acids were 
formed which, later on, were converted into volatile fatty acids. He bases this hypo- 
thesis on the fact that the older the mummy, the greater the amount of volatile fatty 
acids as compared with the quantity of fixed fatty acids. 
Schmidt found a large quantity of higher fatty acids in the natron used for pack- 
ing. He is of opinion that the volatile acids present in this natron were not due to 
the decomposition of some fat added, but originated in the body fat and tissues. He has 
found for instance the higher fatty acids in the spleen and liver, which had never been 
in contact with natron. 
Schmidt summed up his opinion as follows : «We see that the old Egyptians worked 
witli very simple methods. The following are the only important parts of their process: 
1st: Removal of the most easily putrescible viscera, 2nd: The salt bath, 3rd: Thorough 
drying of the corpse in the air, and 4th: The rolling of the body in bandages. » 
Modern researches on the microscopical changes taking place in putrefying or 
mummifying tissues help us very little, for the microscopical appearance of putrefying 
organs has not been the subject of many careful investigations. 
The appearance of putrefaction in nervous tissue shows itself first in the axis 
cylinder and nerve fibres, which break up into fragments. The nervous cells of cerebral 
and peripheral ganglia resist for a long time. 
In the lungs, the epithelial lining of the alveoli and bronchi is first affected. This 
is loosened and finally disappears totally. The elastic tissue long remains unaltered. 
The epithehum cells of the liver, kidneys and stomach become opaque and lose 
their nuclei. The epithehum cells of the kidney — especially those of the tubuli contorti 
— fall off, and chronic nephritis may then be simulated. The connective tissues of all 
organs keep their nuclei longer than the epithelium cells. 
The unstriated muscular fibres retain their characteristic appearance for a long 
time, and so do the striated muscular fibres which lose their striation only slowly. The 
heart fibres show their characteristic arrangement, and the structure of kidney and liver 
is no longer recognisable. 
The state of the stomach gives no valuable information as self digestion varies 
considerably. 
It is stated that in contradiction to putrefying organs, dried (mummified) tissues 
retain their characteristic structure for a much more extended period. 
