444 . Veterinary Medicine. 



The absorption of bile elements and especially of tatirocholic 

 acid, which is a solvent of the red blood globules, and would set 

 free their globulin might account for the characteristic condition 

 of the blood. The powerful aspiratory action of the chest, 

 would speedily empty the whole of the liver blood vessels, and 

 lessening their tension below that of the biliary radicals would 

 determine an active absorption of bile or of the more diffusible 

 of the bile elements. A inanife.st objection to this view is the 

 absence of an icteric tint in the mucous membranes of the affected 

 animals. The visible mucosae are of a brownish red hue, such as 

 might come from haemoglobin dissolved in the blood serum, 

 rather than the yellow tint which might be expected from bile 

 pigment. Tlie theory of poisoning by bile acids therefore, would 

 require an explanation of concurrent suppression or decomposi- 

 tion of the bile pigments. 



Other sources, however, offer solvents for liaemoglobin, benzoic 

 acid, which is derived from a cellulose in the fodders, and forms 

 the .source of hippuric acid, dissolves red globules (Landois). 

 In the over-fed horse with active digestion, but inactive bod}' and 

 liver, this must accumniulate in the liver, spleen and portal sys- 

 tem, and when suddenly drawn into the blood without time for 

 oxidation in the liver it will contribute to the condition of hsemo- 

 globingemia. 



Peptones, being very diffusible, are ver}' rapidly absorbed, but 

 they are not found, in healthy conditions, in the portal vein 

 (Neumeister). These are manifestly transformed into albumen 

 in the intestinal mucosa (Salvioli), or taken up by the very 

 numerous leucocytes and transformed or carried elsewhere (Hoff- 

 meister). But peptones injected into the blood of the dog render 

 it incoagulable, and in large quantity are fatal (Landois). An 

 excess of glycogen dissolves the red globules, and the conditions 

 of heavy feeding and torpid liver, are calculated to produce this 

 in great excess and to store it in the liver cells. 



Under the extra vigorous aspiratory force of the chest, these 

 highly diffusible agents, present in great excess, are likely to be 

 drawn on through the mucosa, into the portal vein, liver, and cava, 

 without an opportunity for complete transformation by leucocytes 

 or liver cells. These would tend to rob the blood globules of 

 their normal physiological vigor, would unfit them for maintain- 



