"ARTERIN" (?) AND "PHLEBIN" (?). 191 



with another constituent of the corpuscle ; but the statement itself, as made 

 by Hoppe-Seyler, is incorrect. Although the fact has been denied by some 

 writers, there can be no question whatever, on the evidence of so eminent 

 an observer as Klihne, 1 as well as of Funke, 2 Brisegger and Bruch, 3 Bottcher, 

 Kolliker, L. Beale, 4 Owsjannikow, 5 Eichardson, 6 and Klebs, that what Preyer 

 terms " intraglobular crystallisation" can and does occur, i.e. a single crystal 

 forms in the interior of a coloured blood corpuscle. The process is most easily 

 followed in the blood corpuscles of certain fishes, 7 though it has also been 

 observed in those of the dog (Kiihne) and of the rat. 8 The most remarkable 

 fact with regard to intraglobular crystallisation is, that when water is added 

 to a preparation exhibiting it, the crystal at once disappears, and the cor- 

 puscles resume their original appearance. 7 



Again, at first sight, the difference in behaviour of the blood corpuscles 

 and of haemoglobin towards peroxide of hydrogen appears thoroughly in 

 favour of Hoppe-Seyler's hypothesis. It was, however, shown by Bergengruen, 

 who first discovered the facts in reference to H 2 2 , that the decomposing 

 action exerted by the blood corpuscles on H 2 2 depends upon their stroma. 

 Solutions of perfectly pure crystals of oxyhaemoglobin have no action what- 

 ever on peroxide of hydrogen, whilst the stroma of the coloured blood 

 corpuscles exerts an intense action. 8 All forms of protoplasm (splenic 

 cells, colourless corpuscles, yeast cells), decompose H 2 2 , though the stroma 

 of the coloured corpuscles acts most powerfully. The fact of the decom- 

 posing action being exerted by the stroma, and the stroma only, explains 

 why the blood corpuscles are not oxidised whilst oxyhaemoglobin is so, the 

 colouring matter in the corpuscles not coming in contact with the unde- 

 composed H 2 2 . 



The greater readiness, as compared with pure haemoglobin, with which, 

 according to Hoppe-Seyler, the blood corpuscles give up either the oxygen or 

 the carbonic oxide which may be combined with their colouring matter (if the 

 facts were true, which we are not prepared to admit), would be much more 

 probably due to a katalytic action, exerted by some other constituent of the 

 corpuscle, than to any radical difference between the colouring matter of the 

 corpuscles and haemoglobin. 



The one point of difference between the colouring matter of the corpuscles 

 and oxyhaemoglobin, which at first sight appears most difficult to explain, is 

 the action of solution of potassium f erricyanide. As von Mering 9 showed, if 

 fresh defibrinated blood be mixed with solutions containing 2J, 5, and 10 per 

 cent, of the ferricyanide, the mixture assumes a scarlet colour, and even after 

 twenty-four hours contains the blood-colouring matter unaltered. On adding, 

 however, the same solution of the ferricyanide, in the same proportions, to 

 solutions of pure oxyhaemoglobin, they assume almost instantaneously the 

 colour, and exhibit the spectrum of methaemoglobin. 



1 W. Kiihne, Virchow's Archiv, Bd. xxxiv. S. 423. 



2 "Ueber Blutkrystallisation," Ztschr. f. rat. Med., 1852, N.F., Bd. i. S. 288-292. 



3 " Blutkrystalle, und organisclie Krystalle ueberhaupt" (15th Sept. and 15th Oct. 

 1852), Verhandl. d. naturf. Gesellsch. in Basel, 1854-1857, Bd. i. S. 173-185. 



4 "Observations upon the Nature of the Red Blood Corpuscles." Quart. Journ. Micr. 

 Sc., London, 1864, pp. 32-43. 



5 " Zur Histologie der Blutkorperchem," Bull. Acad. d. sc. de St. Pttersbourg, vol. viii. 

 pp. 561-572 (describes intraglobular crystallisation in Osmerus eperlanus). 



6 "Structure of the Red Blood Corpuscles," Philadelphia, 1870 (describes intraglobular 

 crystallisation in Menobranclws). 



7 Kiihne, see W. Preyer, "Die Blutkrystalle," Jena, 1871, S. 2 and 3. See also Funke's 

 "Atlas of Physiological Chemistry" (London, printed for the Cavendish Society, 1853), 

 Plate x. fig. 5. and the description at p. 17 of the " Description of the Plates." 



8 Paul Bergengruen, "Ueber die "Wechselwirkung zwischen Wasserstoffsuperoxyd und 

 verschiedenen^Protoplasniaformen," Inaug. Diss., Dorpat, 1888. 



9 "Ueber die Wirkung des ferricyan. Kalium auf Blut," Ztschr. f. physiol. Chem., 

 Strassburg, 1883, Bd. viii. S. 186, 189. 



