FIBRIN, a peculiar organic compound, found both in vegetable and animal substances. Fibrin is a soft solid, white, insipid, inodorous, and insoluble in water. It is procured in its most characteristic state from animal matter. It exists in the chyle and in the blood, and constitutes the chief part of animal muscle; hence it must be regarded as the most abundant constituent of animal bodies. Fibrin may be readily obtained by agitating new-drawn blood with
a bundle of twigs, when it will adhere to them in long reddish filaments, which may be rendered colourless by washing in cold water. When dried, fibrin becomes semitransparent, yellowish, and brittle. It is composed of 53.36 carbon, 19.69 oxygen, 7.02 hydrogen, and 19.93 azote. Fibrin is a most important element of nutrition, and is essential to the sustenance of carnivorous animals.