[Reprinted from The Medical News, February 25, 1893.] 
ALBUMOSE. 
By R. W. FISHER, Ph.G., M.D. 
OP SALT"lAKH CITY, UTAH. 
The presence of albumose in the urine has not re- 
ceived the attention it deserves; in the first place, 
because of its rarity, and in the second, because it 
seems difficult to associate the substance with any 
particular pathologic condition. 
Nearly all writers on the chemistry of the urine 
either quote from some other work or give it some 
new name, till the subject is much bewildered and 
the chemical reactions are not well understood. 
That this form of albumin is much oftener present 
than recognized, is, I am quite sure, owing to 
methods used. The routine method in general use, 
as is well known, is to add acetic acid to the urine 
and boil. If this gives no reaction it is taken as 
final. As the reactions given further on will show, 
this would fail to demonstrate the presence of albu- 
mose. 
Bence Jones was the first to write on this subject. 
He found albumose in the urine in a case of molities 
ossium, and gave it the name of hydrated deutroxid 
of albumin. Kuhne also describes a case and gives 
it the name of hemialbumose. Da Costa de cribes 
a number of kinds of albumin, and to this one gives 2 
the name albumose, which I have adopted. Roberts 
does not record any cases but says it is considered 
identical with the pro-peptone of Schmidt-Mulhein, 
and with the peptone of Meissner. 
Peptone is very frequently found in the urine in 
cases of rheumatism or when the exudation is being 
absorbed in pleurisy or pneumonia, and should be 
carefully excluded. 
The best test for peptone is the overlaying test 
with Fehling’s solution, which gives the rose-colored 
zone; but if albumin is present the color is purple. 
Potassium ferrocyanid and acetic acid give a pre- 
cipitate with albumose, but not with peptone. 
All the writers on this subject have made the same 
mistake in stating that albumose is not precipitated 
by heat. If the urine is very acid, or if there has 
been any acid added, there will not be any pre- 
cipitate on heating. Holland, in speaking of this, 
called it acid albumin. 
In making a test, one should be sure the urine 
is not too acid; otherwise there will be no pre- 
cipitate and this form of albumin will escape notice. 
There must be some change in the kidneys, as in all 
the cases I have seen there were hyaline casts. 
My attention has only recently been called to this 
subject, and I have had no opportunity to examine 
the kidneys post-mortem. In my experience the 
substance has always been found in some diseased 
condition of the bones. 
Whether there is any connection between the two 
conditions, I am not prepared to state at present. 
The following are the tests for albumose. It is 
precipitated by alcohol, carbolic acid, nitric acid, 3 
chromic acid, mercuric chlorid, tannic acid, picric 
acid, and metaphosphoric acid. If the urine be first 
acidulated with acetic acid, albumose will be pre- 
cipitated by potassium ferrocyanid, potassio-mer- 
curic iodid, sodium chlorid, magnesium sulphate. 
All these precipitates are dissolved by heat. 
The best method for separating the proteids is given 
by Da Costa. Saturate the urine with ammonium 
sulphate, which will precipitate ovalbumin, serum- 
albumin, paraglobulin ; collect on a filter and test 
the filtrate for peptone. Dissolve the precipitate in 
distilled water and acetic acid, add ether, and if 
ovalbumin it will be coagulated. To the solution 
add magnesium sulphate and acetic acid, and para- 
globulin and albumose are precipitated. Da Costa 
says magnesium sulphate will precipitate albumose, 
but unless acetic acid be added there will be no 
precipitate If the precipitate will dissolve on heat- 
ing, it is albumose ; if not, is paraglobulin. 
The mistakes that are generally made are in con- 
founding albumose with peptone, mucin, and para- 
globulin, but with a little care and applying the well- 
known tests these can be excluded.