The Hospital Volume 21 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1897 Excerpt: ... albumen when inflamed, and in albuminuria we have no indication where the lesion is, or as to its nature. Thus the formed blood constituents found in the urine and its toxicity are of greater importance than the amount of albumen. The use of many modern drugs interferes with the i-eaction of certain ordinary tests. Thus, Esbach and Tanret's tests for albumen are interfered with by antipyrine, the presence of which can be detected by the green colour that appears on the addition of strong nitric acid. The tests for some forty of these drugs in the urine are given in an admirable paper by J. R. Moechel, '4 which is a storehouse of information. Leidlie15 points out that pyine and mucin do not exist as such in urine containing pus before ammoniacal fermentation. Pyine is an alkali-albumen and mucin a nucleo-albumen. Elliott16 recommends as a routine test for serum albumen, which will not react to any other albuminous body such as albumose, the common ferro-cyanide solution. He adds a drachm of it to two drachms of urine, and not till afterwards a little acetic acid, and finds it perfectly reliable. For detection of other proteids he advises the following procedure: Add a few drops of acetic acid with a drachm of potassio-mercuric-iodide to half a test tube of urine. If no precipitate occurs, there is no form or any trace of albumen present. Otherwise, heat, and if the precipitate is not dissolved we have either serum albumen (for which the ferro-cyanide test suffices), an oleo-resin, the precipitate of which is dissolved by alcohol, or mucin, which is not so dissolved. If the original cloud did disappear on heating we have either peptones, shown by the sulphate ammonium test; proteose, which is unaffected by it; or alkaloids, where alone the cloud is dissolved ..