^46 Veterinary Medicine. 



globules. These are, of course, most concentrated and effective 

 in the seat of their production, yet when drawn suddenly in large 

 amount, into the general circulation, by the vigorous aspiratory 

 action of the chest, they may prove seriously detrimental to the 

 blood at large. 



Again a variety of toxic matters are introduced into the system 

 in the food and others are developed from the food in the stomach 

 and intestine. Brieger found in the gastric peptones a potent 

 alkak'id having the effect of urari, and which in excess would 

 determine muscular paralysis. The alkaloidal and other poisons 

 produced by fermentations in the intestines have to be safely dis- 

 posed of. The ptomaines, if not too abundant, are arrested or 

 even decomposed in the liver which thus stands as a guardian, at 

 the outlet of the portal system, to protect the body at large. But 

 this anti-toxic function of the liver is only exercised in the 

 presence of glycogen (Rogers, Landois), and forced muscular 

 movement soon removes all glycogen from the liver of the dog 

 (Landois). Again glycogenesis in the liver is now believed to be 

 dependent on a ferment produced by the pancreas. If therefore, 

 the sudden active exercise and the aspiratory action of the chest 

 freed the liver of its glycogen, and hurried the alkaloidal and 

 other poisons through its capillaries too rapidly to allow of the 

 protective action of the liver cells, or if the pancreas as well as 

 the liver had become torpid and had failed to produce the requisite 

 amount of glycogen-ferment for the liver, the poisoning of the 

 blood and system at large would be innninent. 



Not to mention the other toxic products which come from im- 

 perfect metamorphosis in the liver, it may be noted that a venous 

 condition of the blood or an excess of carbon dioxide contributes 

 greatly to the solubility of the red blood globules. It also tends 

 greatly to modify the fibrinogenous elements. Thus the blood 

 of a suffocated animal fails to coagulate or coagulates loosely, 

 and the blood of the portal vein of a suffocated horse is strongly 

 toxic (vSauson ). Now the conditions attendant on the on.set of 

 equine hsemoglobinaemia are such as to give free scope to both of 

 these inimical influences. The great mass of blood in the portal 

 vein, spleen and liver is venous blood strongly charged with car- 

 bon dioxide, and by the sudden, active exertion this is forced 

 rapidly through the liver and lungs without time for full aeration, 



