Highly-magnified crystals 

 of oxy-hemoglobin from hu- 

 man blood. 



BLOOD 



under Corpuscle*. The third function is to 

 gather up the waste throughout the body and 

 convey it to the kidneys and other organs of 

 excretion, by which it is expelled from the 

 system. 



The Blood in Circulation. The various func- 

 tions rrfermi to in the preceding paragraph 

 could not be carried on by the blood had there 

 IflEffl no provision made for its circulation 

 through the body. How it passes through the 

 trunk- lines and 

 brandies of the 

 marvelous circu- 

 latory syste ra- 

 the network of 

 veins, arteries 

 and capillaries 

 is fully described 

 under the head- 

 ing CIRCULATION 

 or THE BLOOD. A 

 drop of blood 

 traveling from 

 the heart through 



the body and back again makes the complete 

 circuit in about half a minute. 



Blood Poisoning. Blood poisoning is caused 

 by the presence in the blood of germs, or bac- 

 teria (which see). Blood poisoning sometimes 

 results as a complication of or as secondary to 

 such diseases as appendicitis or typhoid fever. 

 It is occasionally a result of infection by instru- 

 ments on which bacteria have found lodgment-. 

 Even a scratch with an infected needle or knife 

 may cause blood poisoning that will terminate 

 fatally. Any object that has been brought in 

 contact with decaying animal matter or with 

 diseased organs is especially dangerous. Sur- 

 geons have been known to contract blood 

 poisoning while performing operations, and to 

 die from the effects. Formerly the loss of life 

 due to blood poisoning contracted during oper- 

 ations was very great, but modern methods 

 of sterilization have worked a revolution in the 

 practice of surgery. Now the instruments, the 

 hands of doctors and nurses and the body of 

 the patient are thoroughly scrubbed and treated 

 with antiseptics, and the danger from infection 

 ( is reduced to a minimum. Cuts and bruises 

 that are seemingly trivial may be a source of 

 danger if dirt finds lodgment in them, and it is 

 a wise plan to pour a harmless antiseptic, such 

 as iodine, over the wounds to prevent possible 

 infection. Blood poisoning, formerly exceed- 

 ingly difficult to combat, is now successfully 

 fought with an antitoxin. 



776 BLOODHOUND 



Transfusion of Blood. This is an operation 

 for the relief of those suffering from certain 

 diyft*< or from the effects of hemorrhage. 

 Transfusion is the injection into one person of 

 blood taken from another. If the transference 

 is from vein to vein the operation is known as 

 direct or immediate transfusion; if the blood 

 is first freed from fibrin and injected from a 

 receptacle the operation is called indirect trans- 

 fusion. In recent years physicians have shown 

 a tendency to substitute for blood-injection 

 th:it of a hot salt-solution having a temperature 

 of about 115 F. The solution, containing six 

 drams of sterilized salt to one gallon of steril- 

 ized water, is injected into the veins of the 

 patient or into the tissue beneath the skin. 

 This operation is considered superior to the 

 older method in that it is more efficient, less 

 dangerous and less difficult to perform. W.A.E. 



Related Subjects. The above article cannot 

 be fully understood without reference to some or 

 all of the topics that follow : 

 Anaemia Circulation 



Antitoxin Heart 



Aorta Lungs 



Arteries Veins 



Capillaries 



BLOOD, AVENGER OF. In most primitive 

 societies when a man was intentionally killed 

 or seriously injured by another his nearest rela- 

 tive felt it to be not only his right but his 

 solemn duty to take vengeance. This next of 

 kin was known as the avenger of blood. The 

 act of vengeance, even if it went so far as mur- 

 der, was not looked upon as a crime, and failure 

 to execute it brought dfsgrace not only upon . 

 the avenger of blood himself, but upon the 

 dead as well. As society developed, these 

 ''blood feuds," as they were called, became sub- 

 ject to stricter regulation, and among many 

 peoples cities of refuge were established, to 

 which a manslayer might flee to be safe from 

 the avenger until his case was investigated. 

 The law of Moses appointed such cities, and 

 the Greeks had them in abundance (see CITIES 

 OF REFUGE). Still later it was provided that 

 the criminal might gain his safety by paying a 

 fine known as blood money, which the avenger 

 was compelled to accept (see BLOOD MONEY). 



The vendetta of Corsica and the feud of 

 Kentucky, which play so large a part in litera- 

 ture dealing with those sections, are but sur- 

 vivals of the old avenger of blood idea. 



BLOODHOUND, a breed of hound distin- 

 guished by a remarkably keen scent. All 

 hounds are primarily hunting dogs. The blood- 

 hound, which of all the many breeds is prob- 



