Selected monographs.

Date:: 1888

Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Selected monographs. Source: Wellcome Collection.

97/440 (page 81)

these experiments permit us to infer its presence, or at least they do not prove that it was absent, inasmucli as the addi- tion of acids caused a precipitate or cloudiness whicli disap- peared on heating, and which Stokvis, without further testing, referred to the presence of fat or of fatty acids. But since we now know that peptone-like substances fre- quently occur in the urine in cases of phosphorus-poisoning, there is quite as much probability in the former assumption, viz. that they were present in these experiments, as that the reactions manifested were due to the presence of fat. Kohts has performed eight experiments with poisonous doses of phosphorus—six on dogs, two on rabbits. With the exception of the case of one dog, which died suddenly on the second day, and one rabbit, the reports of all the other experiments state that, after the poisoning took place, albu- men invariably appeared once or several times in small quantity, and that in one rabbit the quantity was consider- able. No mention is made of the methods used for its detection, but we may suppose that the ordinary means were employed, viz. boiling and nitric acid. It follows that the sentence with which Kohts concludes his report, that no albuminuria appeared in any of the animals experimented ' on, with the exception of one rabbit, directly contradicts his own observations. Investigations on this subject have been very carefully contains clear, acid urine, which is rendered slightly turhid on the addition of nitric acid, excess of which causes the turbidity to disappear. The same degree of cloudiness is obtained when the urine is heated with a little acetic acid. This can be only serum-albumen, which Stokvis's own experiments show to be soluble in excess of nitric acid, in cold urine. Exp. 2. A dog poisoned with phosphorus. Death on the fifth day. The urine on the last day con- taining biliary colouring matter, and rendered turbid by nitric and acetic acids, but not by heating; urine found in the bladder exhibiting the same reactions. Exp. 3. A dog poisoned with arsenious acid. Death on the fourth day. Urine of the last two days turbid on addition of nitric and acetic acids; the turbidity disappears on heating, and does not return on the addition of sulphate of soda ; urine in the bladder gives similar reactions. Exp. 4. Dog poisoned with arsenious acid ; killed on the eleventh day, though then appearing pretty well (!) The report on the urine simply states that there was no trace of albumen, but only a few epithelial cells in a state oE fatty degeneration. Nothing found post mortem, but very slight (!) fatty degeneration of the organs. 6