oeeurring in the Liquor Sanguinis. 143 



time that they may arise from tlie degeneration of granular white 

 corpuscles. Schultze's observations were confined to the blood of 

 healthy persons, and he seemed of the opinion that no pathological 

 significance was to be attributed to them. 



By far the most systematic account is given by Dr. Eiess, * in an 

 article in which he records the results of a long series of observa- 

 tions on their presence in various acute and chronic diseases. His 

 investigations of the blood of patients, which were much more 

 extensive than any I have been able to undertake, show that, in all 

 exanthems and chronic afiections of whatever sort, indeed, in almost 

 aU cases attended with disturbance of function and debility, these 

 masses are to be found. He concludes that their number is in no 

 proportion to the severity of the disease, and that they are more 

 numerous in the latter stages of an aSection, after the acute 

 symptoms have subsided. The former of these propositions is 

 undoubtedly true, as I have rarely found masses larger or more 

 abundant than I, at one time, obtained from my own blood when in 

 a condition of perfect health. These two accounts may be said to 

 comprise everything of any importance that has been written con- 

 cerning these bodies. The following observers refer to them 

 cursorily : — Erb,t in a paper on the development of the red cor- 

 puscles, speaks of their presence under both healthy and diseased 

 conditions : he had hoped, in the beginning of his research, that 

 they might stand, as Zimmerman supposes (see below), in some 

 connection with the origin and development of the red corpuscles ; 

 but, as he proceeded, the fallacy of this view became evident to him. 

 Bettelheim % seems to refer to these corpuscles when he speaks of 

 finding in the blood of persons, healthy as well as diseased, small 

 punctiform, or rod-shaped, corpuscles of various sizes. Christol 

 and Kiener § describe in blood small round corpuscles, whose 

 measurements agree with the ones under consideration ; and they also 

 speak of their exhibiting shght movements. Eiess, |] in a criticism 

 on a vi^ork of the next-mentioned author, again refers to these 

 masses, and reiterates his statements concerning them. Birsch- 

 HirschfeldlF had noticed them and the similarity the corpuscles 

 bore to micrococci, and suggests that under some conditions 

 Bacteria might develop from them. Zimmerman ** has described 

 corpuscular elements in the blood, which, with reference to the 

 bodies in question, demand a notice here. He let blood flow 

 directly into a solution of a neutral salt, and, after the subsidence 



* Reichert u. Du Bois-Eeymond's AicMv, 1872. 



t Vii'diow's ' Archiv,' Bd. xsxiv. 



X 'Wiener med. Presse,' 1868, No. 13. 



§ 'Comptes Reudus,' Ixvii., 1054. Quoted in ' Centralblatt,' 18(J9, p. 96. 



II ' Ccntralblatt,' 1873, No. 34. 



II 'Ibid., 1878, No. 39. 



** Virchow's ' Archiv,' Cd. xviii. 



