EXPERIMENTS ON THE EFFECTS OF INJECTION OF EGG-ALBUMEN AND SOME OTHER PROTEIDS

Abstract

The conclusions which we derive from our observations are as follows: 1. The excretion of injected, egg-albumen as such is in no case complete. The quantity retained varies from 23 to 100%. 2. The amount retained varies: a) directly with the slowness of absorption. This is determined by the manner of administration. b) directly with the time during which the proteid remains in the body; and therefore inversely to the rapidity of excretion. c) inversely to the quantity injected; this has however much less effect than (a) or (b). d) with individual peculiarities; but these are not very conspicuous. 3. The excreted proteid coagulates at the same temperatures as the injected albumen. 4. Injection of egg-albumen does not cause the appearance of globulins in the urine. 5. The proportion of proteid coagulating at lower temperatures is less in the urine than in the injected solution. When a solution has been heated to 73° before injection, the urine also does not coagulate below this temperature. 6. Egg-albumen injected into the hen is excreted as with mammals. 7. The albuminuria lasts in typical cases from 1½ to 3 days, according to the manner of administration. The excretion begins very shortly (7 minutes) after injection. 37 per cent of the total proteid injected may be excreted in an hour. About three-fourths of the total excretion takes place within the first 17 hours; the excretion is almost completed in the next 15 hours, only traces being excreted thereafter. With hypodermic injection the amount is more nearly equal on 2 or 3 successive days, since the absorption may extend over 2 days. 8. Alkali-albumin, as well as muscle-proteids (from foreign species) are completely retained. An unconverted mixture of egg-albumen and sodium carbonate behaves like egg-albumen. 9. A small amount of proteid (less than 5%) is excreted unchanged by the faeces. 10. A variable proportion is excreted as non-coagulable proteid. The quantity of this is proportional to that of the coagulable proteid of the urine. 11. The rest undergoes complete metabolism to urea. 12. The total nitrogen excretion is increased beyond the amount of nitrogen introduced as albumen. 13. Starvation appears to cause an increase in the ratio of the urea to the total nitrogen of the urine. 14. The effects of intravenous injection of egg-albumen on circulation and respiration do not differ from those of an equivalent injection of the solvent. Albumen causes, however, a specific diuresis, beginning 50 minutes after the intravenous injection, and reaching its maximum in about 2 hours. It causes neither glycosuria nor hæmoglobinuria. 15. The injection of egg-albumen, alkaline egg-syntonin, or muscle extracts, causes in rabbits a rise of temperature of 1 to 2° C. This begins in about an hour, usually reaches its maximum in from 6 to 8 hours, and then falls rapidly. It may in rare cases persist for several days. It is indifferent qualitatively whether the injection is made by the jugular or the ear-vein, hypodermically, or into the peritoneum. Even extremely small quantities injected into the ear-vein cause this rise. The fever does not cause histological alterations in any organ examined. The injection of normal salt solution may cause a rise, but this is much smaller. 16. The injection of egg-albumen causes but very slight histological changes. The kidneys are usually congested, especially in the cortex. The cells may be slightly cloudy. A slight degree of nephritis may occur, but this is not of such degree as to effect permanent lesions. The injection of muscle extracts may give rise to a more pronounced parenchymatous nephritis. 17. Urethane is fatal to rabbits in doses of 0.75 to 1.0 grm. per kilo. The symptoms consist mainly in a very marked fall of temperature, and in medullary paralysis. 0.5 grm. per kilo. lowers the temperature 2.3° C. Doses as small as 0.6 grm. per kilo cause very marked histological changes, consisting mainly in extensive granular and vacuolar degeneration of the hepatic epithelium, which are so acute as to be fully developed when death occurs in 1½ hours after injection. Doses of 0.35 grm. per kilo. do not produce this change. Chloretone did not cause the degeneration, but is followed by congestion of the abdominal viscera. 18. Native egg-albumen, injected into the femoral vein of a dog, was followed in one case by a fatal ending with convulsions and coma, after several intervening cases of good health. Further experiments demonstrated that there is no toxicity inherent in fresh egg-albumen, nor can it be developed by breeding the eggs in the shell. The cause of the above fatal issue must therefore be sought in some extraneous toxic agent which contaminated the solution. Muscle-extracts were also devoid of toxicity. Alkali-albumin produces no changes beyond those which may be attributed to the free alkali contained therein.

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