79 



blood, his results led him to conclusions of an opposite character, 

 which serve to confirm the more generally received doctrine. 



In one set of experiments a certain quaintity of fresh ox-blood 

 was first shaken with renewed portions of air until it had become 

 thoroughly saturated with oxygen, then introduced into a graduated 

 glass vessel with 100 per cent, of ordinary air, corked carefully up, 

 and kept during twenty-four hours in a room of moderate tem- 

 perature. In order to favour the mutual action of the air and blood, 

 the vessel was frequently agitated. At the expiration of twenty-four 

 hours the gas was analysed by Bunsen's method. In an example 

 cited the following was found to be its composition : 



Oxygen 10-421 



n if -J K n K ( total ox yg en -. 15>4 7 



Carbonic acid 5'05 J 



Nitrogen 84-53 



100-00 



On comparing this with the composition of the common air 

 (oxygen 20'96; carbonic acid 00*002 ; nitrogen 79'038) which had 

 been introduced into the vessel, it is seen that 10 - 54 per cent, of 

 oxygen has disappeared, while 5 '05 per cent, of carbonic acid now 

 exists, where only a trace of its presence could before be detected. 



Similar results were obtained with defibrinated blood. In a case 

 where defibrinated arterial blood from a calf, after complete satura- 

 tion with oxygen, was kept in contact with an equal volume of air 

 during twenty-four hours, and treated exactly as in the previous ex- 

 ample, the gas on analysis yielded in 100 parts, 



, 



Carbonic acid .... 5 '96 

 Nitrogen ........ 82' 71 



100-00 



showing in this case also that the air which had been imprisoned 

 during twenty-four hours along with blood, no longer possessed its 

 original composition, but that some of its constituents had been 

 materially increased, while others had diminished in a manner no less 

 marked. 



It would appear from these examples that the blood had probably 

 become oxidized in two ways ; first, by giving off a quantity of car- 



