CHAP. II.] THE BLOOD. 81 



Mode of When defibrinated mammalian blood is mixed with 



separating ten times its volume of a solution of sodium chloride 



the proteids (made by mixing 1 volume of a saturated solution of 

 of the stroma. 



the blood corpuscles are, for the most part, deposited as a slimy 

 precipitate. The fluid is decanted from the precipitate, which is 

 again treated with the same weak solution of common salt and 

 set aside for a day, when, after decanting the fluid, the corpuscles are 

 obtained almost absolutely free from adhering serum. By employing 

 the centrifugal machine in effecting this separation the whole process 

 from first to last may occupy only a few hours. If the precipitate 

 obtained in this way is now treated with water without being disturbed, 

 the haemoglobin contained in the corpuscles is dissolved arid there 

 remains behind a gelatinous mass, which may be shaken with water 

 and ether, and then separated by filtration. The body thus obtained is 

 insoluble in water, soluble for the most part in a very weak solution of 

 sodium chloride, and in water which contains 0*1 p.c. of HC1, and in 

 weak solutions of alkalies. This body possesses all the characters of 

 the globulins, and is said by Kiihne to act fibrinoplastically 1 ; he 

 considers it to be paraglobulin. Instead of employing the above 

 method, which we owe to Hoppe-Seyler 2 , we may adopt a simpler 

 method recommended by Kiihne 3 , and having separated the corpuscles 

 as completely as possible from the serum (in this case too the cen- 

 trifugal machine should if possible be used) these are treated with a 

 large quantity of water. The solution is then subjected, to a stream 

 of 00 2 as long as white flakes continue to separate. The portion of 

 this precipitate which is soluble in water holding oxygen in solution 

 is composed of paraglobulin. 



According to Kiihne the red blood corpuscles were to be looked 

 upon as the chief source of the paraglobulin of the blood, and this 

 view was at one time shared by A. Schmidt. This author now, 

 however, refers all the paraglobulin of the serum to the breaking 

 down of the colourless corpuscles 4 . 



Peculiar! ^ ^ ie ^lood of the newt or frog be placed in a 



ties of the microscopic gas chamber 5 and subjected to the action 



stroma of the of a stream of CO 2 , the nucleus, which was at first 

 nucleated scarcely, if at all, visible, becomes beautifully distinct 



coloured an( j somewna t granular ; if a stream of oxygen or atmo- 



spheric air be then substituted for the C0 2 the nucleus 



1 We have seen that, according to Hammarsten, there is reason to doubt the 

 existence of any specific fibrinoplastic substance, the separation of fibrin being brought 

 about under certain circumstances by other bodies than paraglobulin. See p. 51 et seq. 



2 Hoppe-Seyler, Handbuch d. physiologisch- und pathologisch-chemischen Analyse. 

 3 te Auflage, Berlin, 1870, p. 318. 



3 Kiihne, Lehrbuch dcr physioL Chemie, p. 193. 



4 "Ueber die Beziehungen des Faserstoffes zu den farblosen und den rothen Blut- 

 korperchen und iiber die Enstehung der letzteren." Pfluger's Archiv, Vol. rx., p. 

 353358. Maly's Jahresbericht, Vol. iv., p. 122. 



5 See "Blood Corpuscles," by Dr Klein, Handbook for the Physiological Laboratory, 

 p. 17. 



6 



