Selected monographs.

  • New Sydenham Society.
Date:
1888
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Selected monographs. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

    35/372 (page 21)
    My principal object was, 1, To ascertain if chemical analysis confirmed the presence of excess of fat revealed by the micro- scope ; 2. To ascertain the quantity of carbon contained either in the proteid matters taken separately, or in the whole of the organic materials (proteid and fatty matters), in order to find out definitely whether gangrene leads to an augmentation in the relative quantity of carbon or not. For this purpose I chose as far as possible similar regions, either on the same subject or on subjects of the same age, in order to compare them in the healthy state and in the state of gangrene.* I deprived them very completely of the osseous particles which they contained, in order that the residues of the calcareous salts might not lead to a cause of error in the estima- tions. It was most important to obtain similar conditions throughout; the principal obstacle was in the quantity of water impregnating the tissues, a quantity which it was impossible to foresee, since it depended on the state of engorgement of the parts, and on the evaporation, which might vary considerably. It seemed to us that this inconvenience might be avoided, and that one might arrive at comparable results by proceeding in three series of operations: 1. To place the parts to be analysed in the stove at a temperature of 60° C. for several days, until desiccation should be complete, weighing them before and after- wards ; 2. To treat them with ether until the fat disappeared, the difference giving the weight of fatty matter; 3. To place the residue in a tube for organic analysis, and estimate the carbon according to the ordinary methods. It will therefore be well understood that the carbon found in a hundred parts of the sub- stance only belongs to organic matters deprived of all fat. The following are the gross results :— First Series of Analyses. No. 1.—The lip of a child of 8 years old in the healthy condition. Water 49 23 Fatty material 14-91 Other organic material 35-86 of which 167 carbon 100-00 It will be observed that these analyses bear both on dry and on moist gangrenes; latter are not without interest, as a term of comparison.