THE BLOOD. ' . 553 



fugalizing, the serum lying between the separate blood-corpuscles is 

 eventually removed. In these blood-corpuscles we can determine the 

 sum of the hemoglobin and protein. If in addition the hemoglobin and 

 albumin content of the total blood and the albumin content of the serum 

 are determined, then from these values the relative amounts of serum and 

 blood-corpuscles in the blood as a whole can be estimated. We may cite 

 an example: 1 



One thousand grams of defibrinated beef-blood contain on an average 

 172.9 grams of hemoglobin plus albumin. 



In the blood-corpuscles from 1000 grams of the same blood there were 

 found 124.0 grams of hemoglobin plus albumin. 1000 grams serum con- 

 tained 72.5 grams of albumin. 



In the serum from 1000 grams of blood there was present, therefore, 

 172.9 124.0 = 48.9 grams of albumin. 



Accordingly, we may compute the amount of serum in 1000 grams of 

 defibrinated blood as follows: 



48 9 



=^-= .100 = 67.45 per cent serum. 



7Z.o 



100 67.45 = 32.55 per cent blood-corpuscles. 



After having established the relative amounts of serum and blood- 

 corpuscles, then from an analysis of the blood as a whole, and of the serum 

 alone, we can estimate how much of each substance is present in the blood- 

 corpuscles. 



G. von Bunge 2 has shown, by means of the following observation, that 

 this method gives us, within certain limits, quite reliable results. The 

 blood-corpuscles of pig's blood contain no soda. This enables us to com- 

 pute the relative amounts of serum and blood corpuscles by merely deter- 

 mining the amount of soda in the blood, as a whole, and in the serum by 

 itself. 



Bunge found in 1000 grams of defibrinated pig's blood, 2.406 grams Na2O 

 in " " " the serum ..... 4.272 grams Na 2 O 

 Pig's blood therefore contains 



100 = 56.3 per cent serum. 



100 - 56.3 = 43.7 per cent blood-corpuscles. 



Now if the calculation was made with reference to the albumin content, 

 as in the first case cited, he obtained the values: 56.6 per cent serum and 

 43.4 per cent blood-corpuscles. 



1 Cf. Abderhalden: Z. physiol. Chem. 23, 521 (1897); 25, 67 (1898). 

 a Z. Biol. 12, 191 (1876). 



