PROGRESS OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ART. 153 
the intestine, and the neutralizing agent is probably the 
bile. 
Bernard does not look at chyle in the light that it was 
considered by the ancient physiologists, as the quintessence 
of the alimentary substances, destined to repair the body’s 
waste. Chyle is often only lymph mingled with fat, so that 
the saccharine and albuminoid principles of food are absorbed 
by the mesenteric veins, and pass through the liver before 
reaching the lungs. Fatty substances are absorbed by the 
chyliferous vessels, and therefore enter the systemic veins, 
and proceed to the lungs, without having previously passed 
through the liver. There is no doubt that some fat is taken 
up by the mesenteric vein, as well as by the lacteals, so that 
the differences in the materials absorbed by veins and lym- 
phatics must not be accepted as absolute. 
The pancreatic juice acts on all alimentary substances more 
or less, but next to its property of emulsionating fat, is that 
of modifying amylaceous substances. When the pancreas is 
destroyed in dogs, and these animals are fed on boiled pota- 
toes, these are passed with the faeces, just like fat, in the 
unchanged state. 
If an animal be killed shortly after it has been made to 
swallow some food containing starch, the latter is found in 
the stomach, turning blue on the addition of iodine, and 
not reducing the tartrate of copper and potash ; whereas, 
in the duodenum, all trace of starch is lost, and sugar is dis- 
covered after the pancreatic secretion has mingled with the 
chyme. 
The pancreatic juice has another important use which 
remains to be spoken of ; and that is, a peculiar action on 
nitrogenized substances. If raw meat be placed in some of 
the juice, the meat speedily softens and putrefies. The same 
occurs with albumen or casein in the raw state ; but if the 
azotized principles are previously boiled or acted upon by the 
gastric juice, then they are absolutely dissolved by the 
secretion of the pancreas. The pancreatic juice therefore 
serves many purposes, and acts on every kind of aliment. 
Heart diseases. — There are several cases of diseases of 
the heart recorded in the Veterinary Journals for 1 855, and 
which journals we have already almost sifted for new and 
interesting matter. Reichte, in the c Repertorium der 
Thierheilkunde,’ at page 304, says that he had an ox for a 
short time under treatment, and which ox presented the fol- 
lowing symptoms, viz. : enormous distension of rumen by 
gas, diarrhoea, great dulness, laboured respiration, small 
XXX. £] 
