AmNoZ\m&Tm'}  Abstracts  from  the  French  Journals.  549 
once  formed,  and  are  condensed  in  the  other  flask,  displacing  iodine  ; 
the  operation  completed  the  contents  are  poured  into  a  flask  of  50 
cc.  capacity,  and  the  volume  completed  with  water.  The  iodine  is 
estimated  (and  the  bromine  by  difference)  by  means  of  sodium 
hyposulphite  solution  in  presence  of  an  equal  weight  of  starch. 
Following  are  some  of  the  results  obtained  by  this  process : 
Bromine. 
Calculated.  Found. 
50  cc.  urine  containing  0*20  gm.  potassium 
bromide,  0T3  gm.  0*122  gm. 
50  cc.  urine  containing  0*50  gm.  potassium 
bromide,  0*33     "  0*32  " 
50  cc.  urine  containing  0*50  gm.  gallobromol 
or  dibromogallic  acid  (C7H405Br2),  .  .  .   0-243   "  °'24  " 
— Jour,  de  pharm.  et  de  Chim.,  October,  1893,  P-  29%- 
The  comparative  action  of  iodoform  on  staphylococcus  and  on  the 
elements  entering  into  the  composition  of  blood  has  been  investi- 
gated by  Dr.  E.  Maurel  {Bull.  Gen.  de  Ih'erap.,  September,  1893,  p. 
241),  by  (1)  submitting  the  blood  elements  to  the  action  of  a  staphyl- 
ococcus culture  on  gelose ;  (2)  submitting  the  same  elements  to  the 
action  of  iodoform  ;  (3)  submitting  staphylococcus  to  the  action  of 
iodoform;  and  (4)  allowing  iodoform  to  act  simultaneously  on  that 
micrococcus  and  on  the  blood  elements.  The  leucocytes  of  human 
blood,  absorb,  at  body  temperature,  the  staphylococci  of  a  gelose 
culture,  but  succumb  to  that  absorption  within  two  hours  ;  the  blood 
corpuscles  separate,  but  dissolve  and  disappear  after  fifteen  hours  ; 
and  fibrin,  which  is  at  first  precipitated,  is  redissolved  after  twenty- 
four  hours.  Iodoform  in  doses  varying  from  10  cgm.  to  2-50  gm.  per 
liter  of  blood  has  no  toxic  action  on  the  leucocytes  ;  on  the  contrary, 
their  activity  seems  to  increase  proportionately  to  the  dose  employed. 
The  author  found  that  iodoform  has  no  apparent  action  on  the  repro- 
ductivity  of  staphylococcus,  but  lessens  its  virulence  against  leuco- 
cytes when  blood  is  submitted  to  its  presence  at  the  same  time. 
From  these  results  the  author  draws  the  conclusions,  that  three 
distinct  properties  must  be  recognized  in  various  microbes,  but 
especially  in  staphylococcus,  viridence,  re  productivity  and  survivency, 
and  that  the  efficiency  of  iodoform  against  staphylococcus,  which  has 
been  demonstrated  by  clinical  practice,  is  due  to  its  double  action  in 
increasing  the  activity  of  the  leucocytes,  and  in  diminishing  the 
virulence  of  the  staphylococcus. 
