OZONE IX THE BLOOD. 79 



The absorption of oxygen on the part of the blood is thus independent of 

 the pressure. This is seen also in shed blood, which, on the one hand, permits 

 more abundant escape of the chemically combined oxygen only when the pressure 

 becomes reduced to about 30 mm. of mercury (at a temperature of 12 C. with 

 increasing temperature at a lower pressure), while, on the other hand, it takes up 

 only little more oxygen even if the air-pressure be enormously high, up to six 

 atmospheres. The same phenomenon is exhibited by the blood in the living 

 body, for both on the highest mountains as well "as in the deepest valleys 

 it takes up oxygen in accordance with its requirements. Also, animals breathing 

 in a closed space are capable of abstracting the oxygen from the surrounding air 

 down to the minutest trace. 



In spite of the chemical combination existing between the hemo- 

 globin and the oxygen, the total amount of oxygen in the blood can 

 be driven out by those agents that set free absorbed gases: (a) by 

 evacuation ; (b) by boiling ; (c) by the passage of the gases ; because 

 the chemical union of oxyhemoglobin is so feeble that it is broken 

 up by the physical procedures named. 



Among chemical agents, reducing substances, such as ammonium 

 sulphid, hydrogen sulphid, solutions of alkaline subsalts, iron filings, 

 etc., extract oxygen from the blood. 



The amount of iron present in the blood 0.55 in 1000 parts is in direct 

 proportion to the amount of hemoglobin, this to the number of erythrocytes and 

 the latter in turn approximately to the specific gravity of the blood. The amount 

 of oxygen taken up by the blood has been shown to be almost proportional to 

 the specific gravity of the blood. It is, therefore, also proportional to the amount of 

 iron in the blood. According to Hoppe-Seyler i atom of iron may combine with 

 2 atoms of oxygen in the blood. According to Bohr the combination is said to be an 

 unstable one. The latter investigator even differentiates, several varieties of com- 

 bination between oxygen and hemoglobin, in accordance with the amount of 

 bound oxygen namely, 0.4 or 0:75 or 3 cu. cm. of oxygen, at a temperature 

 of 15 C. and an oxygen-pressure of 150 mm. to i gram of hemoglobin. Also 

 carbon monoxid is believed by Bohr to be taken up in varying amounts in an 

 analogous manner. 



Immediately after escape of the blood a slight loss of oxygen takes place as 

 a physiological manifestation of tissue-respiration within the living blood. 

 After having been outside the circulation for some time the amount of oxygen is 

 found to undergo progressive diminution, and after a long time and at a high 

 temperature the oxygen may have wholly disappeared from the blood. This latter 

 loss of oxygen is due to decomposition within the shed blood, in consequence of 

 which reducing substances form and these take up the oxygen. Not all varieties 

 of blood act .in this connection with equal energy in the destruction of oxygen. 

 The venous blood of active muscles acts most energetically, while the blood of 

 the hepatic veins is scarcely at all active. In place of the oxygen that has dis- 

 appeared carbon dioxid makes its appearance in the blood, whose color becomes 

 dark. At times the amount of carbon dioxid is even larger than that of the 

 oxygen destroyed. 



AS TO THE PRESENCE OF OZONE IN THE BLOOD. 



On account of the varied and in part active oxidation-processes that 

 take place through the intermediation of the blood, the question has 

 been raised whether the oxygen in the blood may not be present 

 in the form of ozone (O 3 ). However, neither in the blood itself 

 nor yet in the gases evacuated from the blood can ozone be found. 

 Nevertheless, the red blood-corpuscles, as well as the hemoglobin, have 

 a definite relation to ozone. 



The hemoglobin acts as a conveyer of ozone, that is, it is capable of 

 taking away the ozone from other bodies, and conveying it to other 

 oxi Hzable substances. 



