Colloids in Biology and Medicine.

This is a lucid account of colloidal chemistry and its application in medical biology. The author reviews the fundamentals of colloids, the physical phenomena peculiar to this field, and the methods of colloidal research. The biocolloid carbohydrates, proteins, other food products and condiments, enzymes, and immunity reactions are considered especially with regard to the colloidal properties manifested, and the bearing of these on vital and on in vitro activities. That portion of the text dealing with the organism as a colloid system presents the colloid reactions concerned with the distribution of water in normal and diseased tissues. Fischer's theory of edema is discussed fully. There follows a similar discussion of salt distribution, assimilation and dissimilation —processes involving the conversion of crystalloid foodstuff into colloids which may be retained for use. Growth, the formation of layered structures, ossification, and certain pathologic changes are given a colloidal chemical basis. The colloidal chemistry