it exists in urine.  Both creatine and creatinine are readily soluble in water.  A series of bases, closely allied to creatinine have been isolated from the flesh of large animals by A. Gautier; they are known as Gautier’s flesh bases.  When administered to animals, these act more or less powerfully on the nerve centres, inducing sleep and in some cases causing vomiting and purging in a manner similar to the alkaloids of snake venom, but less powerfully than the ptomaines.  These bases are formed during life as a result of normal vital processes and are termed leucomaines.

Another class of bases of an alkaloidal nature, are termed ptomaines; these differ from the leucomaines, being produced by putrefactive or bacterial agency from dead flesh.  The poisoning which has occasionally resulted from the eating of sausages, pork-pies, tinned meats, etc., is due to their having contained ptomaines.

Such quantities of waste products as are produced in the healthy body are excreted with ease, but it is otherwise in certain diseases.  Either specially noxious substances are produced, or the usual substances are in excessive quantity and not eliminated with sufficient rapidity; in consequence the body is poisoned.  Those who eat largely of flesh, introduce into their system the excretory matter contained therein, which super-added to the excretory matter resulting from the vital processes of the body puts an unusual and unnatural strain upon the liver and kidneys.  It has been observed, that the eating of the flesh of some trapped animals has produced severe symptoms of poisoning.  The pain and horror of having a limb bleeding and mangled in a most cruel steel trap, the struggles which only add to the misery, slowly being done to death during hours or even days of torture, has produced in their bodies virulent poisons.  Leucomaine poisons have also been produced by the violent and prolonged exertions of an animal, fleeing from its pursuers, until its strength was completely spent.  Cases are also known, where a mother nursing her infant, has given way to violent anger or other emotion, and the child at the breast has been made violently ill.  We must not expect the flesh of any hunted or terrified animals to be wholesome.  Animals brought in cattle ships across the Atlantic, suffer acutely.  After rough weather they will often arrive in a maimed condition, some being dead.  To this is added the terror and cruelty to which they are subjected whilst driven by callous drovers, often through a crowded city, to the slaughter house to which they have an instinctive dread.  It is only to be expected that the dead flesh from such animals, should contain an unusually large quantity of the more poisonous flesh bases.

Purin Bodies.—­The term purin has been applied to all bodies containing the nucleus C_{5}N_{4}.  It comprises the xanthine group and the uric acid group of bodies.  The principal purins are hypoxanthin, xanthin, uric acid, guanin, adenin, caffeine and theobromine.  Purins in the body may either result from the wear and tear of certain cell contents, when they are called endogenous purins; or they are introduced in the food, when they are distinguished as exogenous purins.  These purins are waste products and are readily converted into uric acid.  The production of some uric acid by tissue change is, of course, unavoidable; but that resulting from the purins in food is under control.