Azotised Bodies

Azotised Bodies are those substances which contain azote or nitrogen as one of their constituents, and which form part of the living structure of a plant or animal, or are produced during its natural decay. The principal members of the group are albumen, present in white of eggs and the juices of plants and animals; globulin, or crystallin, a variety of albumen found in the lens of the eye; vitellin, another variety of albumen, composing the greater bulk of the yolk of the egg; paralbumen, a third variety of albumen found in the animal system during certain diseases; fibrin, which occurs largely in the seeds of cereals and in animal muscle; casein (or cheese matter), present in all milk; legumin, a variety of casein found in peas, beans, and leguminous seeds in general; gelatin, which is present in the skin, bones, and other parts of animals; chondrin, a variety of gelatin obtainable from the cornea of the eye and the permanent cartilages; isinglass, another variety of gelatin manufactured from the inner membrane of the floating bladder of sturgeons and other fishes; glue and size, which are secondary forms of gelatin; urea, uric acid, and hippuric acid, which are present in the urine of the higher animals; kreatin and kreatinin, occurring in the juice of flesh; several forms of urinary calculi, which are found as stones in the bladder; and the very large and important class of alkaloids, including strychnine, morphine, quinine, &c. The principal members of the series of azotised bodies will be considered under their special headings; and the use of several of them as articles of diet will be noticed under FOOD.