122 Chapter VIII 



These observations were so controlled as to make it clear that the 

 effects were not in any way due to leucocytes. 



The reaction just described between oxygen and the nucleated 

 corpuscles of the goose has been used by Warburg as a typical re- 

 action by which to test the action of narcotics upon living matter. 

 Having determined the rate at which reduction takes place in 

 the manner we have described he went on to determine the rate 

 at which it is inhibited by various substances. The results of a 

 single set of determinations will show the general plan of the 

 research. 



Suppose the problem be to determine the effects of various 

 strengths of potassium cyanide upon living matter; the corpuscles 

 were suspended in '9 / NaCl solution containing the required 

 strength of potassium cyanide and incubated for 5 hours (in the 

 case of other organic substances usually 2 hours). The degree of 

 reduction which was found would then be expressed as a percentage 

 of what it would have been had the potassium cyanide not been 

 present. 



The following figure will show the elegance of the results which 

 may be obtained by this method. 



In contradistinction to the small amount of metabolism which 

 normal blood exhibits, a most interesting fact was discovered by 

 Morawitz (2) , namely that the blood of anaemic animals had a very 

 considerable metabolism. 



The technique is simple. Healthy rabbits were given daily in- 

 jections of phenylhydrazine hydrochloride until they became anaemic. 

 When the haemoglobin content had reached about 20 % of its normal 

 value, the blood was withdrawn from the carotid or other artery as 

 the result of an aseptic operation, defibrinated by shaking with glass 

 beads and thoroughly shaken with oxygen. One portion of the 

 blood was analysed at once in the Barcroft-Haldane apparatus, the 

 remainder, about 3 c.c., was placed in a glass bottle from which 

 air was excluded, and kept in a water-bath at known temperature 

 and for a known time. The oxygen present was then analysed. An 

 example will perhaps make the method most clear. 



Rabbit No. 3. Made anaemic by injections of phenylhydrazine 

 between 10 May and 4 June. Haemoglobin value sank to 18%. 



Bled and killed on June 4. Maximal oxygen capacity of 1 c.c. of 

 blood 0*043 c.c. After two hours at room temperature oxygen in 

 blood nil. 



