BLOOD OF THE TWO SEXES. 337 



than arterial blood. KRUGER l and his pupils found that the blood 

 from the vana lienalis is generally richer in haemoglobin and solids than 

 arterial blood; still the contrary is often found. The blood from the 

 splenic vein coagulates slowly. 



The Blood from the Veins of the Glands. The blood circulates with 

 greater rapidity through a gland during activity (secretion) than when 

 at rest, and the outflowing venous blood has therefore during activity a 

 lighter red color and a greater amount of oxygen. Because of the secre- 

 tion, the venous blood also becomes somewhat poorer in water and richer 

 in solids. 



The blood from the Muscular Veins shows an opposite behavior, for 

 during activity it is darker and more venous in its properties because 

 of the increased absorption of oxygen by the muscles and still greater 

 production of carbon dioxide than when at rest. 



Menstrual Blood, according to an old belief, has not the power of 

 coagulating. This statement, is nevertheless, false, and the apparent 

 uncoagulability depends in part on the retarding action of the mucous 

 membrane of the uterus upon coagulation (CRISTEA and DENK 2 ) and in 

 part on a contamination with vaginal mucus, which disturbs the coagula- 

 tion. Menstrual blood, according to GAUTIER and BOURCET, contains 

 arsenic and is also richer in iodine than other blood (see Blood-serum, 

 page 269). 



The Blood of the Two Sexes. Women's blood coagulates somewhat 

 more quickly, has a lower specific gravity, a greater amount of water, 

 and a smaller quantity of solids than the blood of man. The amount 

 of blood-corpuscles and haemoglobin is somewhat smaller in woman's 

 blood. The amount of haemoglobin is 146 p. m. for man's blood and 133 

 p. m. for woman's. 



During pregnancy NASSE has observed a decrease in the specific gravity, 

 with an increase in the amount of water, until the end of the eighth month. 

 From then the specific gravity increases, and at delivery it is again 

 normal. The amount of fibrin is somewhat increased (BECQUEREL and 

 RODIER, NASSE). The number of blood-corpuscles seems to decrease. 

 In regard to the amount of haemoglobin the statements are somewhat 

 contradictory. COHNSTEIN found the number of red corpuscles diminished 

 in the blood of pregnant sheep as compared with non-pregnant, but 

 the red corpuscles were larger and the quantity of haemoglobin in the blood 

 was greater in the first case. MOLLENBERG found in most cases an 

 increase in the amount of haemoglobin in pregnancy in the last months, 



1 v. Middendorff, Centralbl. f. Physiol, 2, 753; Kruger, 1. c. 



2 Cristea and Denk, Maly's Jahresb., 40, 181. 



