Kinin forming and destroying activities in human bile and mucous membranes of the biliary tract.

1. Human bile and tissue homogenates from the mucous membranes of the biliary tract possess plasma kinin forming activity (kininogenases) and plasma kinin destroying activity (kininases) in varying degrees.2. The common bile duct, especially its lower part, had high kininase activity.3. The liver possessed a high kininase activity, but no kinin forming activity.4. The inactive precursor of plasma kinin, kininogen, was not detected in the bile.5. Results from different pathological conditions are reported.6. The implications of the findings are discussed. Special importance is attached to the question of a formation of kininogenases in the liver and to the significance of a plasma kinin activity in the bile and the biliary tract.