On the Removal of Diffusible 

 Substances from the Circulating 

 Blood by Means of Dialysis 



JOHN J. ABEL, M.D.. L. G. ROWNTREE, M.D., AND 



B. B. TURNER, M.D. 



HERE are numerous toxic states in which the eliminating organs of 

 the body, more especially the kidneys, are incapable of removing from 

 the body, at an adequate rate, the natural or unnatural substances 

 whose accumulation is detrimental to life. In the hope of providing 

 a substitute in such emergencies, which might tide over a dangerous 

 crisis, as well as for the important information which it might be ex- 

 pected to provide, concerning the substances normally present in the 

 blood, and also for the light that might thus be thrown on intermediary 

 stages of metabolism, a method has been devised by which the blood of 

 a living animal may be submitted to dialysis outside the body, and 

 again returned to the natural circulation without exposure to air, in- 

 fection by microorganisms, or any alteration which would necessarily 

 be prejudicial to life. The process may be appropriately referred to as 

 "vividiffusion." 



Essentially, the method consists in passing the blood of an animal 

 which has been made incoagulable in injection of hirudin from a 

 cannula connected to an artery through a tube or a series of tubes, 

 made of celloidin or other suitable dialyzing membrane, contained 

 in a jacket filled ^vith a saline solution or artificial serum, and back by 

 another cannula into a vein of the same animal. The tubes and 

 cannulae before connection are filled with a saline solution approxi- 

 mating to the composition of the blood, like Locke's or Ringer's 

 solutions, which is displaced into the system when the circulation is 

 established. Except that the blood-pressure falls somewhat, according 

 to the proportion of the blood outside the body, the animal shows no 

 immediate symptoms, and with due regard to asepsis, makes a rapid 

 and complete recovery after an experiment that may last several hours. 



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