1.
Hemosiderin may be produced outside of the animal body and is increased in the liver of rabbits, during
autolysis, for a period of from twenty-four to forty-eight hours. 2. Post-mortem
hemosiderin formation is most marked in parts of livers exposed to air, and
hemosiderin is, apparently, an oxidation product of
hemoglobin due to
enzyme action. 3.
Hemosiderin is derived from
hemoglobin directly and not from
hematin as an intermediate product. 4. The later stages of autolytic changes show that the
acid products of proteid
autolysis, especially the
phosphorus acids, are capable of producing a cleavage of
hemosiderin and uniting with the
iron to form a new series of products which react microchemically for both
phosphorus and
iron. In such cleavage, pigments analogous to the
bile pigments are formed. 5. The relationship observed between
hemosiderin and
hematoidin is such as would indicate that
hematoidin is the pigment matter of
hemosiderin. 6. Further, it seems probable that the vital cycle of
hemoglobin metabolism in the liver is largely intranuclear; the
hemoglobin is converted into
hemosiderin either within the nucleus or cell protoplasm; the
iron of the
hemosiderin is bound by an
acid radicle of the nucleo-proteid, and the
hematoidin is excreted as
bile pigment.