ON THE TRANSFUSION OF BLOOD. 687 



oxygen of the globule is disengaged ; combustion occurs with produc- 

 tion of heat, but without flame, as is the case with starch; the blood 

 becomes venous and darkish ; then, sent back to the vessels of the 

 lungs, it resumes its arterial coloring with the vital air. 

 i In connection with the history of transfusion it is important to 

 know the quantity of blood contained in the organism ; this has been 

 estimated, by approximation, and attempts have been made to ascer- 

 tain it in the human subject. A criminal named Langguht was be- 

 headed at Munich, July 7, 1855: about eleven pounds of blood were 

 collected by Professor Bischoff. The weight of the body was one hun- 

 dred and forty pounds ; the pi-oportion of blood being one thirteenth. 

 This estimate has been accepted by many physiologists, although 

 some believe it is too low. Nothing certain can be arrived at on the 

 subject; does not the quantity of blood in our bodies vary according 

 to very many conditions ? It does not remain the same before and 

 after eating, while asleep and while awake. In hibernating animals, 

 as the marmot, or the dormouse, if the weight of the body decreases 

 one-fourth in the period of rest, that of the blood is considerably 

 reduced. The same fact is observed in fasting, the globules losing size 

 and color. Disease produces a similar result, and nothing is more 

 correct than the commonly-held opinion that "grief and privation 

 consume the blood." The precise ideas we now have of the nature of 

 this fluid have largely corrected Broussais's errors, and more than one 

 practitioner in our day would assent to Galen's precept, that "in 

 bleeding the measure of a half-pint must not be exceeded, and in any 

 case the veins of a patient under fourteen must be spared." The study 

 of transfusion proves the importance of the sanguine fluid better than 

 any genei-al considerations. We shall presently point out those well- 

 settled cases in which the physician may practise the operation ; but 

 the reader is now prepared to understand how each part of the body 

 derives supplies of life from contact with this fluid. The functions of 

 the tissues will be briefly analyzed in turn ; glands, muscles, nerves, 

 spinal marrow, brain, will display their special activity. We shall see 

 how the blood-globules feed singly all these flames, which blend and 

 mingle to light the torch of life. 



Secretion takes place by means of the glandular tissue. This func- 

 tion is connected with nutrition, and in the lower products of organ- 

 ized matter is identical with it. The simplest vegetables, and the 

 lowest animals, are instances of this blending. In the higher degrees 

 of animated beings, the elements of secretion separate and maintain 

 their own life, finding in the surrounding air or the moistening fluids 

 the conditions of their nourishment and work. In perfect organiza- 

 tions the glandular tissue becomes more complex, receiving nerves and 

 vessels ; natural transfusion of the blood begins to play an important 

 part. The size and secreting energy of the glands are directly related 

 to the quantity of blood passing through them ; thus the kidneys, in- 



