Abstract
The works of a large number of investigators have shown that under ordinary conditions the cleavage of urotropin into its components, formaldehyd and ammonia, takes place only in the urinary tract and in other acid media. In the neutral tissue fluids this cleavage does not take place.
During their work on infectious abortion in cattle, Mohler and Traum 1 fed urotropin to cows for the purpose of ascertaining whether this substance would pass into the udder as formaldehyd as stated by Klein. 2 In a number of tests on 5 cows that received from 10 to 80 grams of urotropin per day, the milk contained urotropin but no formaldehyd.
In his studies on acid intoxication, Szili 3 found that the alkalinity of the blood of rabbits, dogs and sheep could be appreciably lowered by the intravenous injection of 0.6 per cent, hydrochloric acid. Insofar as the cleavage of urotropin in the urinary tract is probably brought about or assisted by the acid phosphates present it seemed reasonable to suppose that this cleavage might also be brought about in the neutral tissue fluids if the alkalinity of these fluids were slightly lowered by the administration of acid.
In the work now in progress, cows receive large doses of urotropin by mouth (up to 3 grams per kilo of body weight) followed immediately by the intravenous injection of several liters of 0.6 per cent. (n/6) or 0.9 per cent. (n/4) hydrochloric acid, in Ringer solution. Samples of milk are obtained and tested for formaldehyd.
The theory involved in this procedure is as follows: The urotropin in contact with acid or acid phosphate breaks up into formaldehyd and ammonia. The ammonia thus liberated is available for neutralizing the acid injected, so that an animal that has received urotropin should be more resistant to the harmful effects of the injected acid than one that has not received urotropin.
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