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390 THE LIVER.
liver was not essentially changed which speaks against a simple storage
of food protein.
Glycogen and its Formation.
Glycogen was first discovered by Bernard. It is a carbohydrate
closely related to the starches or dextrins, with the general formula
m(C6Hio05). Its molecular weight is unknown, but seems to be very
large (Gatin-Gruzewska and v. Knaffl-Lenz1
). The largest quan-
tities are found in the liver of adult animals, and smaller quantities
in the muscles (Bernard, Nasse). It is found in very small quantities
in nearly all tissues of the animal body. Its occurrence in lymphoid
cells, blood, and pus has been mentioned in a previous chapter, and it
seems to be a regular constituent of all cells capable of development.
Glycogen was first shown to exist in embryonic tissues by Bernard
and Kuhne, and it seems on the whole to be a constituent of tissues
in which a rapid cell formation and cell development are taking place.
It is also present in rapidly forming pathological tumors (Hoppe-Seyler).
Some animals, as certain mussels (Bizio), Taenia and Ascaridae (Wein-
land 2
), are very rich in glycogen. Glycogen also occurs in the vegetable-
kingdom, especially in many fungi.
The quantity of glycogen in the liver, as also in the muscles, depends
essentially upon the food. In starvation it disappears almost com-
pletely after a short time, but more rapidly in small than in large animals,
and it disappears earlier from the liver than from the muscles. As
shown by C. Voit, Kulz and especially by Pfluger,3
it never entirely
disappears in starvation, as a re-formation of glycogen always takes
place. After partaking of food, especially such as is rich in carbo-
hydrates, the liver becomes rich again in glycogen, the greatest incre-
ment occurring 14 to 16 hours after eating (Kulz). The quantity of
liver-glycogen may amount to 120-160 p. m. after partaking of large
quantities of carbohydrates, and in dogs which had been especially
fed for glycogen Schondorff and Gatin-Gruzewska found still higher
results, even more than 180 p. m. Ordinarily it is considerably less,
namely, 12-30 to 40 p. m. The highest amount of glycogen in the liver
thus far observed was 201.6 p. m., found by Mangold 4
in the frog. The
1
Gatin-Gruzewska, Pfluger’s Arch., 103; v. Knaffl-Lenz, Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem.,
4«.
2
Zeitschr. f. Biologie, 41. The extensive literature on glycogen may be found in
E. Pfliiger, Glykogen, 2. Aufl., Bonn, 1905; and in Cremer, " Physiol, des Glykogens,"
in Ergebnisse der Physiologic, 1, Abt. 1. In the following pages we shall refer to these^
works.
1
Pfluger’s Arch., 119, which contains the literature.
*Itnd., 121
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