EFFECTS ON THE BLOOD 249 



Utheim ('22) states that in Marriott's clinic the decrease in blood volume 

 and the concentration (anhydremia) are considered important factors in the 

 pathogenesis of athrepsia. 



Inanition in Animals. — The changes in the blood of animals (vertebrates) 

 during total inanition, or on water alone, will now be considered. 



Morgagni (1761) observed that in a starved puppy the heart was distended 

 with blood, but the large vessels nearly empty. Haller (1771) likewise noted 

 a decreased amount of blood in the vessels of fasting frogs. Lucas (1826) 

 confirmed Dutrochet (1816) as to the apparent decrease in the number of red 

 blood corpuscles, but observed no change in the color and consistency of the 

 blood in starved animals (various amphibians, birds and mammals). Collard 

 de Martigny (1828) in starved dogs and rabbits always found "la presque 

 entiere vacuite du systeme sanguin." In rabbits of the same litter he measured 

 the amount of blood escaped and remaining in the large vessels, finding a 

 progressive decrease up to n days of starvation. Thus the blood, though 

 concentrated, decreased in volume so that he believed death results from its 

 insufficiency to supply the tissues. Magendie (i85i-'52) likewise observed a 

 concentration of the blood, with marked increase of solids and red corpuscles, 

 in a stallion given water only. 



Chossat ('43) in starved pigeons (loss of 40 per cent in body weight) found an 

 average decrease in collectable blood from 12.74 to 4.88 g., an apparent decrease 

 of 61.7 per cent. He considered the decrease in solids still greater, since the 

 water content of the blood increases, whether water is ingested or not. Starved 

 chickens likewise became anemic. Bidder and Schmidt ('52) observed an even 

 greater apparent decrease of 94 per cent in the escaped blood of a starved cat, 

 with loss of about 50 per cent in body weight. The unreliability of this method 

 is shown by Sedlmair's ('99) observation of 54.3 g. in the weight of the collect- 

 able blood in a control cat, 1.5 g. in one starved cat, and 27.9 g. in another. 

 Heidenhain ('57), however, by more accurate quantitative methods found the 

 blood volume in starving mammals to decrease nearly in proportion to the body 

 weight. His results were confirmed by Panum ('64) and Voit ('94) for the dog. 

 See ('66) also concluded that during inanition the loss in blood volume is roughly 

 proportional to the decrease in body weight, with a tendency to hydremic anemia. 

 Bourgeois ('70), like many earlier authors, noted merely an apparent poverty 

 of blood in the vessels of various mammals and birds, starved with or without 

 water. 



C. H. Schultz (1843) ascribed death in starved proteus, cats and dogs to 

 oxygen deficiency caused by the marked shrinkage in the red blood cells. A 

 similar shrinkage described by Jones ('56) and other observers was probably 

 due to imperfect technique in the examination of the blood. 



Malassez ('75) gave an extensive review of the earlier literature; and also 

 made observations on fasting guinea pigs and frogs, indicating a decrease in the 

 total mass of blood. Red cell counts indicate a preliminary increase, due to 

 concentration of the blood, with a later decrease, due to hydremia. Duperie 

 ('78) found in a young guinea pig an increase of 500,000 per cu. mm. in the red 

 cells in 1 day of fasting. In an adult in 4 days the red cells increased from 5,518,- 

 oco to 6,696,000, but the leukocytes meanwhile decreased from 12,000 to 5,200. 



