STRUCTURAL RELATIONS OF RED BLOOD-CORPUSCLES. 385 



details of the exaraination. It will suffice to mention that every- 

 where^ although the corpse was still fresh, a very remarkable 

 saturation of the tissues in the neighbourhood of the blood-vessels 

 with the colouring matter of the blood was noticed. With regard 

 to the stomach in particular, there was found on its posterior 

 wall, running from the cardiac end to the fundus, a dark-red 

 tract of mucous membrane of a hand's breadth, in which both 

 the large blood-vessels were strongly marked by a sanguineous 

 imbibition of their neighbourhood, and also the intervening 

 islands of mucous membrane were of a diffuse red colour, the 

 intensity of which was further heightened by numerous scattered 

 points of extravasation. A corrosive destruction of the mucosa 

 had not taken place, nor was there any post-morieni softening of 

 the coats of the stomach. Still more remarkable was the fact 

 that also on the outer surface of the stomach the larger branches 

 of the blood-vessels were distinctly mapped out by the sangui- 

 neous imbibition of the tissues immediately surrounding them, 

 like the veins in the skin of a corpse that has been frozen. The 

 bloody discoloration of the transudations in the cavities of the 

 pleura, peritoneum, and pericardium was also very considerable. 

 The pericardial fluid, which amounted to about one ounce, was 

 perfectly clear and transparent, but at the same time as dark red 

 as a tolerably concentrated solution of haemoglobin. 



Having ascertained these facts, and knowing as I did the 

 above-described action of concentrated solutions of corrosive 

 sublimate on the red blood-corpuscles, I was the more anxious 

 to proceed to an examination of the blood, which I took from 

 the right ventricle of the heart. And, in truth, a very remark- 

 able change in the blood of the corpse became evident. Although 

 the blood, as mentioned, presented no signs of decomposition, 

 and could not at the temperature then existing have been frozen, 

 immediately after removal it presented the appearance of blood 

 imperfectly clarified by freezing. In thin layers it was perfectly 

 transparent. 



On microscopical examination I found no inconsiderable 

 number of red blood-corpuscles, but they were almost all ex- 

 ceedingly pale, and were neither disk- nor mulberry-shaped, but 

 presented mostly a spherical form, or one approaching to it. 

 Moreover, in many of them tvithout further treatment a nucleus 

 could he seen, which possessed a spherical form and sharp outline, 

 and was somewhat granular in character (fig. 7, a, b, c, d). In 

 the neighbourhood of the nucleus was a greater or less quantity 

 of colourless granular substance (protoplasm), but the granules 

 composing it had separated, and were very much scattered.^ 



^ The faded spherical blood -corpuscles with the nucleus and scattered 

 granules of protoplasm in their interior reminded me forcibly of the pale 



