Chemistry, inorganic and organic : with experiments / by Charles Loudon Bloxam.
- Charles Bloxam
- Date:
- 1875
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Chemistry, inorganic and organic : with experiments / by Charles Loudon Bloxam. Source: Wellcome Collection.
637/708 page 609
![greon portion of the spectrum is seen to be crossed^ by two broad black bands, which are also seen when arterial blood is employed. When venous blood is examined in the same way, it exhibits only one broad black band, not coincident with either of those furnished by arterial blood ; but on shaking the venous blood, with air till it has become red, the two black absorption bands are seea in its spectrum. Arterial blood Avhich has been shaken with carbonic acid gives the single broad band characteristic of venous blood. These optical properties are found useful for the identification of blood-stains. The liquid in which the blood globules float is an alkalinesolutioncon- taining albumen, fibrine, and saline matters in about the proportions here indicated. 1000 parts 0/Liquor Sanguinis co?z^am Water,. .... 902-90 Albumen, . . . 78-84 Fibriae, . . . . 4-05 Fat, ' . . . . 1-72 Organic substances of un- ) „.„, known nature . . j| •''J* Mineral substances, , . 8-55 T]\^ mmeral suhstances consist of— Sodium, » . . . 3-341 Clilorine, .... 3-644 Potassium, , . . 0-323 Oxygen, . , . . 0-403 Phosphoric acid, . . 0-191 Sulphuric acid, . . 0-115 Pliosphate of lime, . . 0-311 Phosphate of magnesia, . 0-222 The alkaline character of this liquid appears to be due to the presence of carbonate and phosphate of soda. • The albumen present in the serum of blood causes it to coagulate to a gelatinous mass when heated, this property being the distinctive feature of albumen. This substance may be obtained as a transparent yello'vv mass, resembling gum, and dissolving slowly in water, by evaporating either serum of blood or white of egg below 120° F.: but if the tempera- ture be raised above that point, the albumen is coagulated, and cannot be redissolved in water unless heated with it under pressure. ' ' Albumen, like caseine, has never been obtained perfectly free from saline matters, particularly the alkaline and earthy phosphates, and much difficulty attends the exact determination of its composition. Recent analyses, by G. S. Johnson, of some remarkable compounds of albumen with the acids, confirm the formula originally proposed by Lieberkuhn viz., CjgHijgNjgSOj^ (Journal of the Chemical Society, August 1874). It will be remembered that a substance identical with, or very closely resembling, albumen, and known as vegetable albumen, is found in those vegetable juices which are coagulated by heat. Fibrine, as existing in blood, dilfers from all other animal substances by its tendency to spontaneous coagulation. When coagulated it exhibits characters very similar to those of coagulated albumen; but when sepa- rated from the freshly-drawn blood by violent stirring, it forms elastic strings which dry into a yellow horny mass. Fibrine is one of the most important constituents of the animal frame, for all muscular flesh consists of this substance. The gluten found in the seeds of the corealia bears a very close resemblance to fibrine, and is often called vcgatablo fibrine. The same formula has been often assigned to iibrine as to albumen, and its complexity would explain its dispo.sition to putrefy when removed from the induoncc of life. It does not api)ear quite certain that the Iibrine dissolved in the blood is identical in composition with that of 2(i](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21497382_0637.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
