84 
Proceedings of Royal Society of Edinburgh. [sess. 
(/) What is their Action in the Coagulation of Milk? 
The only extracts which caused the coagulation of milk were : — 
Rabbit. 
Child. 
Adult. 
Post-mortem. 
Pathological. 
Stomach 
Liver 
Pancreas 
Stomach 
Pancreas 
Large Int. 
Placenta 
Livers I. and II. 
Lung 
Pancreas 
(Eclamptic) 
I shall now enumerate some of the more interesting results : — 
I. Extracts op the Intestines. 
Paschutin* has proved that inversin can be obtained more 
effectively from the mucous membrane of the intestine than from 
the juice itself. 
7, in no instance , obtained a reaction showing the presence of 
inversin in the intestines of the rabbit or child. 
Is it possible that such an enzyme is not present in rabbit or 
child’s intestines ; or again, is it possible that glycerine failed to 
extract the enzyme inversin? Again, all the intestines examined 
yielded extracts which with 0*2 per cent. HC1 had a marked 
action on fibrin. The same extracts had no action, or only 
doubtful action, in alkaline solutions. If we lay aside the action 
of organisms, which, if they had been present, would have 
caused digestion of fibrin in alkaline solutions, we have to conclude 
that the digestion is due to a ferment of the nature of pepsin 
which acts in an acid medium. 
Is it not probable, then, that a proteolytic ferment is secreted 
by the intestinal mucous membrane which is related closely to 
pepsin ? 
Of course, in physiological conditions, pepsin would not exert 
its influence in the process of digestion, as the intestinal juice is 
alkaline. 
We know that a juice is secreted from the upper part of the 
* Archiv. f. Anat. v. Physiol 1871, pp. 305-384. 
