296 Mr. T. Andrews's Chemical Researches 



country is Dr. Clanny's; from which, and a corresponding 

 analysis of the blood in health, he inferred, that the water, as 

 well as the albumen and fibrin, are deficient in quantity; that 

 the colouring matter, and what he denominates free carbon, 

 are greatly in excess, and that the saline constituents are 

 entirely wanting. Dr. O'Shaughnessy is the next chemist 

 who turned his attention to the subject ; but he seems to 

 have confined himself principally to the serum, of which he 

 has published a very elaborate examination. He found its 

 specific gravity increased in consequence of the deficiency 

 of water, the animal matter considerably in excess, but a 

 diminution of the salts, especially of the carbonate of soda,, 

 which in one case was absent, the serum being devoid of ac- 

 tion on test paper. But the latest, and by far the most valua- 

 ble researches on cholera blood are those of Dr. Thomson, 

 which, although they do not exhibit its true composition, yet 

 furnish data from which it may be nearly calculated. He 

 agrees with Dr. Clannyin the excess of colouring matter and 

 deficiency of water, albumen and fibrin (but he confesses 

 that the deficiency of the latter may be doubted) in the blood; 

 while in the serum he found the albumen increased, but the 

 salts normal in amount and composition*. 



A few of these different results may have arisen from va- 

 riations in the composition of the specimens of blood which 

 were subjected to analysis; others can be referred only to 

 errors of experiment ; but the principal source of them is the 

 diversity of the modes of analysis which were followed. It is 

 for this latter reason that I shall enter with more minuteness 

 than might otherwise be necessarj- into the details of the fol- 

 lowing experiments. 



Specimen 1. Cholera Hospital, Belfast. — This was ob- 

 tained from a rapid case of cholera ; but I know nothing moi'e 

 of its history. 



The blood was taken from the vena cava immediately after 

 death, and introduced into a vial, in which it afterwards 

 coagulated. The serum was slightly tinged red, but perfectly 

 transparent; the crassamentum was not in this case darker 

 than it often appears in healthy blood. Their relative pro- 

 portions were 



Serum ■iPG 



Crassamentum 58*4; 



100-0 



* An abstract of Dr. O'Shaughnessy's results will be found in Phil. Mag. 

 and Annals, N.S. vol. xi. p. 46!) : Dr. Thomson's researches on cholera 

 blood were published in the same volume, p. .'547. Edit. 



