296 REVIEWS. 



Microcyth<smia : a Morbid Condition of the Blood hitherto 

 undescrihedy By Professors Vanlair and Masius. 



In this memoir the authors designate by the name of 

 *' microcythemie" a disease of which they believe the prin- 

 cipal character to consist in a special alteration of the blood 

 morphologically expressed by the presence of an enormous 

 number of red corpuscles different from the ordinary red 

 corpuscles. To these they assign the name "microcytes," 

 from their small size, and the name microcythcemia is 

 formed on the model of leucocythcemia. The observation of 

 one case furnished the authors with the chief groundwork of 

 their paper, and we shall follow them in prefixing a short 

 relation of it to our summary of the memoir. 



A young married lady, after the birth of a child, 

 began to suffer from the following symptoms — pain in the 

 splenic region, cardialgia, painful vomiting, general jaundice, 

 and constipation. No gall-stones ; faeces not pale. In addi- 

 tion great weakness and gradual enlargement of the spleen. 

 Subsequently, aphonia without labial or laryngeal para- 

 lysis, followed by incomplete loss of power in, first upper, then 

 lower, limbs. The jaundice gradually disappeared. The 

 paralysis was more marked in upper than lower limbs, and 

 was accompanied by atrophy, with occasional intense pain. 

 There was no sign of want of co-ordinating power. The 

 jaundice and most of the symptoms improved, but the 

 paralysis and muscular atrophy increased. 



The most remarkable change was, however, in the blood. 



The blood was examined four times, once immediately 

 after venesection, the other times some hours after, but 

 having been carefully preserved in hermetically sealed tubes. 

 A considerable quantity was obtained by deep incisions and 

 scarifications. 



The macroscopic appearance of blood was quite natural, 

 as was also its coagulation. 



Microscopically, it presented the following appearances : — 

 The white corpuscles slightly less numerous than ordinarily 

 the case, and none exceeding "01 mm. in size. The red cor- 

 puscles also natural in colour, size ('006 to '008 mm.), and 

 shape. They some of them formed rouleaux, others became 

 spinous. The plasma was colourless. However, in the meshes 

 of the irregular network formed by the rouleaux were seen a 



^ I De la Microcythemie,' ,"par MM. ,Vanlair et Masius, Professeurs a 

 rUniversit6 de Liege. Bruxelles, 1871. 



