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XV. Contributions to Animal Chemistry. — Paper V. 
On the Oxidation of Ammonia in the Human Body, with some Remarks on Nitrification. 
^t/Henry Bence Jones. M.D.,M.A. Cantah.,F.R.S., Physician toSt. George s Hospital. 
Received December 18, 1850, — Read January 30, 1851. 
In a paper lately communicated to the Royal Society, I showed that the effect of 
tartrate of ammonia on the acidity of the urine was totally different from that of 
tartrate of potash ; and that carbonate of ammonia taken in very large quantities did 
not produce any alkaline reaction of the urine ; on the contrary, the acidity was 
rather increased than diminished by large doses of carbonate of ammonia. I repeated 
these experiments with carbonate of ammonia, hoping to obtain more decided results ; 
but I could not determine the fact of any great increase in the acidity of the urine, 
although it was again apparent that no diminution of the acid reaction resulted 
from taking carbonate of ammonia. 
I also repeated these experiments on many patients in St. George’s Hospital 
suffering from chronic rheumatism, but though some took on an average 50 grs. of 
carbonate of ammonia daily for seven or more weeks, yet no alkaline state of the 
urine could be produced. 
In consequence of these observations, I suggested in my paper that an inquiry into 
the occurrence of nitric acid in the urine would probably give the solution of this 
unexpected effect of carbonate of ammonia. 
Hitherto but few observations have been made on the occurrence of nitric acid in 
the urine in health or disease. Dr. Prout, in the Medico-Chirurgical Transactions, 
vol. ix. p. 481, mentions that he found nitric acid in the pink sediment from the urine 
of those labouring under febrile and inflammatory diseases, but he says nothing of 
the urine containing it in solution ; hence, possibly, it came from the baryta used in 
the process of testing the sediment. Wurtzer also obtained nitric acid; Lehmann 
thinks, that in this case also it came from the impure baryta. 
Thus, then, regarding the presence of nitric or nitrous acids in the urine our know- 
ledge is deficient. Moreover, the difficulty of recognizing very sm.all quantities of 
nitric acid is considerable, and the accurate determination of the quantity present in 
organic liquids is almost impossible. 
Through the kindness of Mr. Faraday I was allowed the use of the laboratory at 
the Royal Institution, and I obtained the assistance of Dr. Price to conduct my ex- 
periments without interruption. 
The delicacy of the different tests for nitric acid was first ascertained, and then a 
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