The Mucin of White Fibrous Connective Tissue

ALL of the bodies belonging to the group of mucins and mucoids are possessed of considerable physiological interest, owing especially to their peculiar compound nature and the illustration which they afford of a possible intimate union between the proteid group and carbohydrate radicles. That there are a number, possibly a large number, of closely related bodies belonging to the mucins and rancolds there can be no question. Thanks to the labours of Hammarsten ~ and his pupils, many of these bodies have been subjected to careful and thorough investigation, and much light has been thrown upon their relationships and differences. There is still, however, much to be ascertained regarding these bodies, and any additional facts broadening or substantiating our present knowledge are to be welcomed as contributing toward a more complete understanding of their genetic relationships. The union of carbohydrate groups with proteid molecules is probably more common than has hitherto been supposed, as witness the peculiar gluco-nucleoproteid recently described by Hammarsten t as a constituent of the pancreas and other glands, and the identification by Kossel ~: of a peculiar carbohydl'ate group as a cleavage product of certain forms of nucleic acid. Presumably in these compound proteids of the mucin type the character of the proteid radicle as well as of the carbohydrate radicle is subject to variation, and it is easy to conceive of differences in the nature and properties of the mueins dependent upon varia-