Observations on some of the colouring matters of the bile and urine, with especial reference to their origin : and on an easy method of procuring haematin from blood / by C.A. Mac Munn.

  • MacMunn, Charles Alexander, 1852-1911.
Date:
[1883]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on some of the colouring matters of the bile and urine, with especial reference to their origin : and on an easy method of procuring haematin from blood / by C.A. Mac Munn. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    OBSERVATIONS ON SOME OF THE COLOURING MATTERS OF BILE AND URINE, WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO THEIR ORIGIN; AND ON AN EASY METHOD OF PROCURING HAEMATIN FROM BLOOD. By C. A. MAC MUNN, M.A., M.D. PI. I. (1) Easy and rapid method of procuring Haematin. An easy method by means of which the decomposition products of haemo- globin can be procured in a short time has been long wanted, and the method I am about to describe is both easy and rapid. I may remark that the methods which until very recently have been used for the preparation of haematin are* (1) the decomposition of haemoglobin by means of oxalic or acetic acid in the presence of ether which takes up the haematin formed, and treating with water, alcohol, and ether; (2) the very elaborate method of Hoppe-Seyler which requires the previous formation of haemin or hydrochlorate of haematin; (3) coagulation of blood by an excess of cold alcohol, and boiling the precipitate with alcohol and sulphuric acid and further treatment; besides these three there are other methods which I need not mention, as in most of them the thorough separation of proteid from coloured constituent is not accomplished. Nencki and Sieber'^ have lately published another method which depends on the formation of haemin and its solution by amyl alcohol; from the haemin thus formed and separated by amyl alcohol they readily obtained haematin and haenia- toporphyrin. In 1880' when endeavouring to work out the connection between the colouring matters of blood, bile and urine, I found that chloroform was an excellent means of separating the acid haematin formed by the action of alcohol acidulated with sulphuric acid on blood, but owing to pressure of other work I had to postpone the further study of this subject until lately. Even now the subject is not thoroughly worked ' Gamgee, Physiol. Chem. Vol. i. p. 114. ' BerVnicr Berirhtc, Vol. xvii. pp. 22*37-2276.