148 THE BLOOD. 



proteids in the serum, and of proteids and haemoglobin in the subsided 

 corpuscles, and in the whole blood respectively ; and, calculating from 

 the results obtained, the amount of plasma and of corpuscles respectively 

 in 100 grms. 1 An earlier method consisted in determining the amount 

 of fibrin in a given quantity of the whole blood, and of the plasma 

 respectively, and from this calculating the percentage amount of plasma 

 in the sample of blood. 2 Bunge determined the proportions in a similar 

 manner by estimating the sodium in a sample of blood, and also in 

 plasma of the same blood. This method is only applicable to certain 

 animals (horse, pig) which have no sodium in their blood corpuscles. 



The following example of the application of these methods is given by 

 Bunge : 3 



(A) By Hoppe-Seyler's method :- 



In 100 grms. of defibrinated pig's blood were found 



>?/ -10.00 > mean : 18 '90 grms. proteids + haemoglobin. 



In the blood corpuscles of 100 grms. of the same blood 



(a) 15-04) 



(b) 15-13 > mean: 15-07 grms. proteids + haemoglobin. 

 (e) 15-05) 



In the serum of 100 grms. of blood were 



18-90-15-0 7 = 3 -8 3 grms. proteids. 

 In 100 grms. of serum 



(b\ 6-79 [ mean: 6'77 proteids. 



From this the amount of serum in 100 grms. of the defibrinated blood 

 may be computed 



6-77 : 3-83 : : 100 : 56-5. 



Therefore 100 grms. blood contained 56*5 parts serum and 43 '5 corpuscles. 

 (J5) By estimation of sodium 



In 100 grms. of the whole blood of the same pig was found 



$ 0-2409 } mean : ' 2406 grms ' Na '' 

 In 100 grms. of serum 



(6) : 4260 } mean : ' 4272 S rms - Na A 

 0-4272 : 0-2406 : : 100 : 56'3. 



Therefore, by this method, 100 grms. blood contained 5 6 -3 parts serum 

 and 43*7 corpuscles a result which agrees closely with that obtained by Hoppe- 

 Seyler's method. 



Similarly, in horse's blood, Bunge found by Hoppe-Seyler's method 46 '5 per 

 cent, serum, and 53 -5 corpuscles, and by the sodium method 46 -9 serum and 

 53'1 corpuscles. 



A rapid approximate determination may be made by Blix's method 

 (haematocrit). 4 The blood is mixed with a definite amount of 2J 

 per cent, potassium bichromate, and centrifugalised. The corpuscles 

 rapidly accumulate at the bottom in an almost solid mass, and their 



1 " Handb. d. physiol. chem. Analyse," Aufl. 2, Berlin, 1865. 



2 Hoppe, Virchow's Archiv, 1857, Bd. xii. S. 483. 



3 "Physiol. and Pathol. Chemistry," trans, by Wooldridge, 1890, pp. 243, 244. 



4 Hedin, Skandin. Arch. f. Physiol., Leipzig, 1890, Bd. ii. S. 134. Gaertner, Berl. med. 

 Wchnschr., 1892, No. 36, p. 890. 



