very occasionally a positive reaction is given in a case of tuberculous meningitis. A positive reaction indicates general syphilitic affection of the nervous system, and is very marked in general paralysis of syphilitic origin.

Diagnosis of Death by means of Indicator Threads. S. Rebello. (Arch. intern. pharmacodynamie, 1922, 26, 395, through Chem. Abstr., 1923, 17, 293.) Threads stained with alcoholic and alkaline solutions, respectively, of bromothymol blue are passed by means of a needle through a fold of skin and left for 1 hour, at the end of which time the threads are withdrawn, and a change of colour in the indicator towards the acid side (yellow) is taken as conclusive evidence of death. The method is extended by choosing appropriate indicators to cover the range of H-ion variations of various tissues.

Duodenal Secretion, Method for Examination of Digestive Ferments in. R. Da made. (Comptes rend. Soc. Biol., 1922, 86, 947, through J. Pharm. Chim., 1922, 26, 229.)

Amylase. A starch paste is made with soluble starch 2, in distilled water 100. Five c.c. of this is mixed with 1 c.c. of the duodenal secretion and maintained at 37° C. for 1 hour. The amount of glucose formed is then determined. The amylolytic index is the number of Mgm. of glucose found in the 5 c.c. of digested starch solution. This will vary from 15 to 35.

Lipase. -Steapsin readily saponifies butyric ether, liberating butyric acid. This hydrolysis is taken as the measure of the lipase action. One Gm. of pure neutral butyric ether is shaken up with 9 c.c. of distilled water, 2 drops of phenolphthalein reagent, and a few drops of N/10 NaOH if the mixture is not perfectly neutral. After an hour, the amount of butyric acid liberated is titrated with N/10 NaOH solution. The number of c.c. required is the lypolytic value. This varies from 1-2 to 3.2 with a mean of 2.25.

Trypsin. One c.c. of duodenal solution is introduced into 20 c.c. of 120 gelatin solution, neutralized to phenolphthalein, and kept for 1 hour at 20° C. The digestion of the gelatin gives rise to a certain acidity directly titratable in presence of phenolphthalein and of amino acids. Twenty c.c. of the digestion liquid is titrated with N/10 NaOH and the number of c.c. noted. To the neutral result of this titration 5 c.c. of commercial formaldehyde solution and 5 c.c. of EtOH 90 per cent. are added.

The HCHO liberates the amino acids. This second acidity is again titrated with N/10 NaOH. The trypsin value may be represented by the sum of the c.c. of the two titrations. As a rule the number of the first titration is 2.1 c.c. and that of the second 3.25 c.c. or a mean total of 5-35. The lowest figure recorded has been 4.9 and the highest 7.5.

Gattner and

Fæces, Blood in, Method for Detection. Schlesinger. (Deutsch. med. Woch., 1922, [16], through Pharm. Zentralh., 1922, 63, 375.) Two Gm. of fæces is thoroughly rubbed down with 8 c.c. of distilled water. A series of 10 testtubes is arranged. The first is left empty, and in each of the others 2 c.c. of distilled water is placed. Into both the first empty tube, and the second one containing 2 c.c. of water, 2 c.c. of well mixed suspension of fæces is poured. After thoroughly shaking up this second tube, 2 c.c. of its contents is transferred to the third. From this, after thorough mixing, 2 c.c. is turned into the fourth, and so on, until the last tube will contain 4 c.c. for further dilution, if necessary. A reagent is then prepared of 10 c.c. of a 1:10 solution of benzidine in glacial HC,H,02, 2 c.c. of perhydrol, 10 c.c. of distilled water, and 8 c.c. of N/10 H2SO4. Of this 3 c.c. is added to each tube of the series, except the last. In presence of much blood, a sharp blue colour will be apparent in the more dilute tests. The reagent will keep for about 3 days. This method is useful as an approximate indication of the amount of blood present. (See also Y.B., 1920, 43.)

3

Fæces, Blood in, The Pyramidone Test for the Determination of. F. Hirschberg. (Deut. med. Wochschr., 1923, 49, 414.) A portion of the fæces is triturated with acetone, which removes the colouring matter. The residue is freed from acetone by filtration and by blotting with filter paper. It is then mixed with 2 c.c. of glacial HC,H,O,. The mixture is filtered. From 10 to 15 drops of a 1 : 200 solution of pyramidone is floated on the filtrate. A white contact zone is always obtained and, in the presence of blood, a lilac-coloured ring appears above this. (See also Y.B., 1920, 43.)

Fæces, Coagulable Protein in, Detection of. R. Coope. (Lancet, 1923, 204, 1311.) About 20 Gm. of fæces is taken, and worked up with twice the weight of water at 50° C. to a homogeneous cream. An equal volume of a saturated (54 per cent.)

solution of (NH),SO, is added and well mixed, and the mixture is filtered through ordinary filter paper. If the first runnings are turbid-as is sometimes the case, especially in the light yellow stools of a milk diet-they should be returned until the filtrate comes through perfectly clear. If the original fæces are fluid, the (NH4)2SO, solution is added without previous dilution with water. Five to 10 c.c. of the clear filtrate is taken, and tested for albumin by heat coagulation. Salicylsulphonic acid may be used as a confirmatory test. Trichloracetic acid is not allowable, as it often produces some turbidity even in the absence of coagulable protein. The reaction is positive only when a definite turbidity develops; on standing for some time a flocculent coagulum sinks down to the bottom of the test-tube. Occasionally very slight turbidities, only recognized with difficulty or when the test-tube is put into reflected light, occur in apparently normal stools. They should be disregarded. On boiling the filtrate there is often a perceptible change in colour, which must not, of course, be mistaken for the development of a slight turbidity. The reaction of the fæcal filtrate is usually slightly acid, and it has never been found either too alkaline or too acid for heat coagulation. It should be added, however, that artificial acidification of the fæcal emulsion, even by so feeble an acid as H,BO,, makes filtration very slow (owing presumably to clogging of the filter by free fatty acids), and the filtrate tends to be turbid. The delicacy of the test varies considerably with different stools. In a series of control experiments, the minimal amounts of added blood serum which were detected in 100 Gm. of original fæces ranged from 0.125 to 0.5 c.c. In infants a positive reaction is frequent, especially in diarrhoeic stools. In older children and adults, however, the presence of fæcal albumin is almost invariably due to some pathological process-usually bleeding, or exudation of serum into the gut. In a series of over 250 non-infantile stools, there have been but two positive findings to which no pathological explanation could be definitely assigned.

Intestinal Bacterium which Digests Cellulose. J. Khauvine-Delauny. (J. Pharm. Chim., 1922, 26, 470.) The human intestines contain a strictly anaerobic bacillus which digests cellulose exclusively, and has been isolated in 60 per cent. of the cases investigated. This is the first record of a cellulose digestive in the human intestines.

Leucocytes, Stain for. H. B. Cross. (Johns Hopkins Hospital Bulletin, 1921, 32, through Amer. J. Pharm., 1922, 94, 548.) The following solution is recommended for staining leucocytes in exudates Distilled water, 100 c.c.; glycerin, 20 c.c.; alcohol (95 per cent.), 20 c.c.; phenol, 2 c.c. In this dissolve: Crystal violet, 0.06 Gm.; pyronin, 0.20 Gm. The stain is ready for use without filtering, and is stable if protected from sunlight and evaporation. Films are made and allowed to dry in air without heat or other fixation. Staining takes place in 5 to 10 seconds, after which the preparation is washed with distilled water. Any excess of water is mopped up with blotting paper, but the film itself should not be blotted. The cell nuclei are stained violet and the cytoplasm of a uniform delicate lavender, the cell limits being well defined. Bacteria are a deep purple. Erythrocytes appear as pale lavender shadows. Plasma cells and mast cells exhibit a characteristic structure and stain darkly throughout, so that they are easily recognized.

Milk, Tubercle Bacillus in, Thermal Death-Point of. F. W. Campbell Brown. (Lancet, 1923, 205, 318.) It has been shown that by using 25 strains of the tubercle bacillus no wide difference in the thermal death-point is found. The thermal death-point of this organism is practically similar for human and bovine types. The previous wide variations in results have been due to too little care in carrying out the experiments, and to the fact that the lesions caused in test animals had not previously always been given sufficient time to develop and be accurately diagnosed. If a temperature of 60° C. be used, it requires 20 minutes' exposure to this degree of heat to prevent milk so treated carrying infection to the guinea-pig. If a temperature of 70° C. be used, it requires 5 minutes' exposure to ensure the same results. Of these two combinations of time and temperature factors, the former excels the latter, when the food value of the treated milk is also considered. Until bovine tuberculosis can be stamped out at its source—namely, in the cow-proper pasteurization of milk is the only safe method of rendering milk safe as a diet for human consumption.

Paregoric as Precipitation Reagent for Cerebro-spinal Fluid. R. Targowla. (Comptes rend. Soc. Biol., 1922, 86, 22, through Bull. Sci. Pharm., 1922, 29, 284.) In a hæmolysis tube, 5 drops (or 0.25 c.c.) of freshly distilled water, 15 drops (or 0.75 c.c.) of the cerebro-spinal fluid, and 15 drops (or 0.75

c.c.) of paregoric elixir, French Codex. A control tube contains 20 drops (1 c.c.) of distilled water and 15 c.c. of the elixir. After mixing the tubes are set aside for 12 or 24 hours. In cases of syphilis the fluid will cause a total or partial precipitation while there will be no precipitate in the control. The reaction is specific; it is, however, negative for nervous syphilitic affections. [The French Codex preparation differs from our B.P. Tinct. Camph. Co. in containing 0.2 per cent. of camphor and 0.5 per cent. of anise oil, by weight.-Ed., Y.B.]

Phenol, Mercuric Chloride, and Potassium-Mercuric Chloride, Comparative Germicidal Efficiency of. J. G. Cadora. (J. Amer. Pharm. Assoc., 1923, 12, 401.) It is found that HgI,KI, because of its remarkably high germicidal coefficient, its relatively low toxicity as compared with HgCl2, and its freedom from any coagulating or precipitating action on proteins, is far more efficient as a germicide than either phenol or HgCl2, and, notwithstanding its greater cost, its efficiency value is 15 times that of HgCl, and is approximately 150 times that of phenol.

Phenoltetrachlorophthalein for Testing Liver Function. S. M. Rosenthal. (J. Amer. Med. Assoc., 1922, 79, 2151.) The normal liver removes phenoltetrachlorphthalein from the blood stream with rapidity and uniformity. The damaged liver takes up the dye much more slowly; large amounts may remain for a prolonged period in the plasma, where the dye can be accurately and quantitatively estimated. Experiments have shown that practically none of the dye is taken up by the red blood cells. In this series of cases of liver disease the abnormal results have not paralleled the degree of jaundice or hepatic enlargement. The highest degrees of retention have been present in acute hepatitis, in a case of cirrhosis in which there was a small liver, and in advanced cases of hepatic carcinoma. A fixed dosage of tetrachlorphthalein according to the body weight is used, so that a unit of work is imposed on each unit, by weight, of liver tissue. For these reasons, borne out by clinical and experimental observation, it seems probable that the test gives an index of the total amount of functioning liver tissue. No reactions or untoward effects, following the injection of tetrachlorphthalein, occurred in any of these cases. Transitory induration of the vein wall at the site of injection was frequent, and in two cases localized thrombosis developed and persisted for several days. No dye appeared in the urine in the normal