• BLOOD. 279 



The serum contains, on an average, 7-8§ of inorganic consti- 

 tuents ; just the same amount as in acute rheumatism. 



[Blood, in a case of erysipelas of the hand, analysed by 

 Rindskopf, \delded 7*71 of fibrin. The blood-corpuscles were 

 not determined. 



In a case of erysipelas in the face, occurring in a young man 

 aged 20 years, recorded by Heller, the blood separated into 618-96 

 parts of clot and 351-04< of serum. The clot was tolerably firm, 

 and covered with a bufty coat. The serum was of a fawn 

 colour, and turbid, in consequence of suspended hsematoglobu- 

 lin. It contained no bilipha3in. 



It is a well-known fact that the blood of phthisical patients 

 exhibits the ordinary characters of inflammatory blood. 



The clot is usually rather small, consistent, and covered ^vith 

 a bufiy coat : the serum is clear, and of a bright yellow colour. 

 The blood differs considerably during the progressive stages of 

 the disease. 



Andral and Gavarret observe that, whatever be the stage of 

 the disorder at which the blood is analysed, the fibrin seems 

 always on the increase, and the corpuscles on the decrease ; but 

 the proportion of the increase on the one hand, and decrease on 

 the other, varies with the progress of the disease. If the tuber- 

 cles are still in a crude, unsoftened state, the increase of fibrin 

 is only small, and its whole amount may be estimated at about 

 4j and the decrease in the amount of corpuscles, although 

 perceptible, is by no means great. As the tubercles begin to 

 soften, the quantity of fibrin usually increases to about 4-5, while 

 the amount of corpuscles continues on the decrease. Sub- 

 sequently, upon the formation of vomicte in the lungs, the fibrin 

 rises to 5-5, and sometimes even to 5-9 : it never, however, at- 

 tains the height observed in pneumonia. In the very last stage 

 of the disease, as the blood becomes poor, the fibrin diminishes 



