Familiar letters on chemistry, and its relation to commerce, physiology, and agriculture / by Justus Liebig ; edited by John Gardner.

  • Liebig, Justus, Freiherr von, 1803-1873.
Date:
1843
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Familiar letters on chemistry, and its relation to commerce, physiology, and agriculture / by Justus Liebig ; edited by John Gardner. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    result, that fibrine and albumen contain the same organic elements united in the same proportion— that is, that they are isomeric, their chemical com- position—the proportion of their ultimate elements —being identical. But the difference of their ex- ternal properties shows that the particles of which they are composed are arranged in a different or- der. (See ante, page 56). This conclusion has lately been beautifully con- firmed by a distinguished physiologist (Denis),who has succeeded in converting fibrine into albumen ; that is, in giving it the solubility, and coagulability by heat, which characterize the white of egg. Fibrine and albumen, beside having the same composition, agree also in this, that both dissolve in concentrated muriatic acid, yielding a solution of an intense purple color. This solution, whether made with fibrine or albumen, has the very same reactions with all substances yet tried. Both albumen and fibrine, in the process of nu- trition, are capable of being converted into mus- cular fibre, and muscular fibre is capable of being reconverted into blood. These facts have long been established by physiologists, and chemistry has merely proved that these metamorphorses can be accomplished under the influence of a certain force, without the aid of a third substance, or of its elements, and without the addition of any for-