362 C H £ M 
amber. Vauquelin has difcovered, that the bile of the 
ox, heated in the water-bath, and (lightly evaporated, 
may be afterwards preferved for many months without 
alteration, as is likewife the cafe with refpeil to vinegar 
which has been boiled. He likewife difcovered, that 
the altered bile of the ox, which exhales a fetid fmell, 
and has a brown dirty and turbid colour, becomes of a 
a beautiful green, and lofes its fmell when heated, fome 
concrete albuminous flakes are then feparated from it. 
Bije is much changed by air; none of the animal fluids 
give fo fetid a fmell. In uniting with water, it exhibits 
rays or ftreaks; the flocks difappear ; from dull it pafl'es 
to yellow, then green, according to the quantity or pro¬ 
portion of water. Mixed with water and heated, it lofes 
its ill fmell, and may be preferved unchanged. 
All the acids decompofe it in the fame manner as foap, 
and produce a coagulum. If this mixture be filtrated, 
and the fluid evaporated, a neutral fait is obtained, 
which is found to confift: of the acid made ufe of and 
foda. This valuable experiment, firfl: made by Cadet, 
proves the exiHence of foda in the bile. The matter re¬ 
maining on the filter, in thefe experiments, is thick, vif- 
cid, very bitter, and very inflammable ; its colour and 
confidence vary, according to the nature and concentra¬ 
tion of the acid made ufe of- The fulphuric acid gives 
it a deep green colour; the nitric acid, fomewhat con¬ 
centrated, a brilliant yellow; and the muriatic, acid, a 
very beautiful light green colour: thefe colours, however, 
vary greatly, according to the date of the bile, and of the 
acids. This precipitate has been conlidered as a fubdance 
limilar to refin, which fwells, melts, and takes fire on hot 
coals, is totally foluble in alcohol, and water precipitates 
it like the refinous juices. The ailion of acid on bile, 
proves, therefore, that it is a true foap, formed by an oil 
of the nature of refms, combined with foda. They like¬ 
wife indicate the prefence of a certain quantity of the al¬ 
buminous matter in this animal fluid, which caufes it to 
coagulate by fire, by acids, and by alcohol; it is the fame 
principle likewife which produces its putrefaction. Neu¬ 
tral falts, mixed with bile, prevent its putrefadiion. 
Metallic folutions, and bile, mutually decompofe each 
other ; the foda of this humour unites to the acid of the 
foiution, and the coloured oil of the bile precipitates in 
combination with the metallic oxyd, forming metallic 
ibaps, ufeful in painting. 
Bile unites readily with oils, and takes them out of 
cloths in the fame manner as foap. This fluid is foluble 
in alcohol, which feparates the albuminous matter. The 
tindlure of bile is not decompofed by water; which fhow's, 
that this fubdance is a true animal foap, equally foluble- 
in aqueous and fpirituous mendrua. Ether likewife dif- 
iolves it very readily. Vinegar decompoles bile in the 
fame manner as the mineral acids ; when the filtrated li¬ 
quor is evaporated, the acetit of foda is obtained, well 
crydallizecl. 
From thefe feveral experiments, it follows, that bile is 
a compound of much water, a peculiar aroma, albumi¬ 
nous mucilage, a peculiar concrefcible oil, and carbonat 
of foda. Cadet found it to contain a fait, which he thinks 
to be of the nature of fugar of milk, and whofe exiltence 
has been fince confirmed by Van Bochaute. But it is 
probable, that this pretended faline matter, is rather ana¬ 
logous to the iamellated Aiming and crydalline oily fub¬ 
dance, which Poulletier difcovered in the human biliary 
calculi, and of which we are about to treat. 
Bile, confidered with rei'pect to the animal economy, 
is a fluid which appears to allfd the procefs of digeilion. 
Its faponaceous quality renders it capable of uniting oily 
fubdances with water. Its bitter talte proves, that it fii- 
mulates the iritedine^, and promotes their aition on the 
aliments. Roux, a celebrated phyfician and chemifl, of 
the Faculty of Medicine at Paris, was of opinion, that 
the bile is likewife principally calculated to evacuate the 
colouring part of the blood from the body. It appears 
to be decompofed in the duodenum, by the adds which 
S T R Y. 
are almod always c'ifengaged in digedion. It is certain, 
at lead, that it is greatly altered, elpecially in its colour, 
w r hen it compotes part of the excrements. Judicious phy- 
ficians may therefore, in many cales,, make uleful infer¬ 
ences from the infpeition of thefe matters, w'hich indi¬ 
cate the date of the bile, and that of the liver, which 
feparates it. 
Dr. Bodock of Liverpool has fucceeded. in forming 
a fubdance extremely fimilar to the refin of bile, from 
the craffamentum of blood digefted with the nitric 
acid. Two ounces of crafiamentum were boiled with 
one ounce of nitric acid, till the whole of the crafiamen¬ 
tum was diflolved. During the diflblutipn, a great quan¬ 
tity of azotic gas was dilengaged, and a (mail quantity 
of nitrous and carbonic acid gas. When the foiution 
cooled, a Iamellated fubdance, confiding chiefly ofadipo- 
cire was depofited, and the fupernatant liquid was of a 
dark green colour It w'as faturated with potalh. No 
precipitation followed, but the cryftals of nitrat of pot- 
afh procured by evaporation were impregnated with a 
brownifh coloured matter lblnble in alcohol. This mat¬ 
ter, when feparated from the alcohol, had a pitchy con¬ 
fidence, a deep yellow colour, and a bitter tafle. When 
boiling water was poured on the adipo-cire, a fimilar 
matter was procured from it. De Secretione,Edin. 1798. 
The extrait of the gall of bullocks, and of many other 
animals, is ufed as a very good dom.achic medicine. It 
fupplies the defeit and inaitivity of the bile, reftoies the 
tone of the flomacb, and eftablifhes the functions of that 
organ, when debilitated; but great care muft be taken in 
its ufe, becaufe it is acrid and heating; and it mult be 
adminiftered only in very lmall doles, elpecially in irrita¬ 
ble iubjedts. 
Of Biliary Calculi. —Whenever the human bile is 
detained in the gall-bladder by any caufe, and elpecially 
by fpafmodic contradtions, as in melancholic or hyfteric 
diforders, long-continued grief, &c. it thickens, and pro¬ 
duces brown, light, inflammable concretions, of a very 
ftrong bitter talte, which are called biliary calculi. Thele 
concretions are often very numerous, diftending the gall¬ 
bladder, and fometimes entirely filling it. They produce 
violent hepatic cholics, vomiting, jaundice, &c. Fourcrdy 
diftinguilhes them into three varieties : the firfl: are brown, 
blackilh, irregular, tuberculated, and formedas it were by 
biceps. The fecond, which are harder, brown, yellowifn, 
or greenilb, exhibit concentric layers, and are often co¬ 
vered with a dry, fmooth, and greyifh, crult. Their form 
is commonly angular and polyhedral. The third variety 
comprehends the white oval concretions, more or lets, 
irregular in their form, covered with a whitilh and often 
unequal cruft, in fryers of a pathol’e appearance, or in 
tranfparent cryftaliine plates, often radiating from the 
centre to the circumference. 
The biliary calculi, of the fecond variety,, have been 
examined by Poulletier de la Salle. He has obferved, 
that they are.foluble in alcohol. After having digefted 
the ftones in ftrong fpirit of wine for a certain time, he 
obferved that the fluid was filled with (lender, brilliant, 
cryftaliine particles, having all the appearances of a fait; 
and the experiments made on this faline fubilance, gave 
occafion to fufpeit, that it was an oily fait, fimilar, in 
fome of its properties, to the acid fait, known by the 
name of flowers of benzoin, but its nature is not at all 
known. If water be added to the foiution of calculi in 
alcohol, a fat matter will be precipitated, which Four- 
croy calls adipo-cire. 
The difcovery of Poulletier de la Salle has thrown light 
on fome fails, collefted by the Royal Society of Medi¬ 
cine, relpeiling the ftones of the gall-bladder. Thislo- 
ciety received from feveral phyliclans, biliary calculi of 
the third variety we have mentioned, which have not hi¬ 
therto been delcribed. They confift of a mafs of crys¬ 
talline tranfparent laminse, fimilar to mica, or talc, which 
have ablolutely the fame form as the fait difcovered by 
Poulletier. It even appears, that the human bile is ca^> 
