a 



Tests with Precipitim 387 



with anti-human and anti-pig sera, subsequently proved to be roebuck 

 blood-stains, medico-legal case at Marklissa. (17) Dried blood sent from 

 Luxemburg, diagnosed human, subsequently proved to come from a 

 suicide. The blood had been found in front of a house where the suicide 

 lived, the body having been thrown into the Mosel (whence it was 

 recovered) by his relatives who wished to keep the fact hidden that the 

 man had committed suicide. (18) Blood-stains on wool-fragments from 

 waistcoat and basket for carrying wood, diagnosed as human, confirmed 

 by evidence in court. (19) Blood-stained trousers, diagnosis fowl blood. 

 Prisoner suspected of stealing chickens, had claimed the spots to be due 

 to rabbit blood ; microscopic examination of the stains had however 

 shown the presence of elliptical corpuscles. Comparative tests made 

 with other avian bloods (goose, duck) showed the reaction to take place 

 much more slowly and feebly with these bloods. (I doubt that such tests 

 to distinguish avian bloods medico-legally can have much value, in view 

 of my results, see p. 200.) The diagnosis confirmed in the course of the 

 trial. (20) Three shirts and a handkerchief in connection with a 

 murder, human blood proved to be spattered on two of the shirts. 

 (21) Blood-stained trousers, shirt, stockings from a murder case at Strass- 

 burg Landgericht, diagnosis human blood, the prisoner having claimed 

 that the blood came from a cow which had knocked off a horn. (22) Blood- 

 stains on numerous articles of clothing were diagnosed to be human and 

 from sheep. It was subsequently proved in court that the man had 

 committed a murder, also that he had slaughtered some sheep two 

 weeks before the murder. 



Uhlenhuth (18. ix. '02, p. 679) does not attach any particular im- 

 portance to the weaker or stronger reactions which occur in dilutions 

 of dried blood, depending upon the length of time the blood has been 

 dried. He makes control tests upon material as far as possible of similar 

 age. So as to have such material of different ages on hand for this 

 purpose, he dries sterile bloods of various kinds in Petri dishes, and 

 stores the dried scales in test-tubes, a method by no means as convenient 

 nor as compact as mine, where the blood is allowed to dry on filter-paper 

 which it has saturated (see p. 63). 



The generalized reactions obtained with anti-bovine sera with different 

 bovine bloods, will apparently make it unnecessary in most cases to 

 prepare special antisera for the blood of each bovine species, for we have 

 seen that antibovine sera produce marked, in some cases almost equivalent 

 reactions in the blood dilutions of different species of Bovidae. Uhlenhuth 

 reached this conclusion, although he has examined but three bovine 



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