284 



CIRCULATING FLUIDS 



Z,. Carcinoma medullare colli uteri. 



[The sanguineous discharge from the uterus of a woman, aged 

 34 years, presenting all the characters of intense anaemia, was 

 analysed by Drs. Lenzberg and Morthier. It was of a dark 

 red colour, and the separation into clot and serum was not very 

 perfect. There appeared, however, to be about 543 of the 

 former, and 457 of the latter. 



The blood consisted of: 



Here we see that there is an enormous increase of fibrin, 

 and a great diminution of the corpuscles, while the residue of 

 the serum remains almost normal.] 



On the probable cause of the peculiar change in the composition 

 of the blood in inflammatory diseases. 



Although, in consequence of the deficiency of our knowledge 

 regarding the true nature of inflammation, an attempt to ex- 

 plain the primary causes of the change undergone by the blood 

 during this process may be deemed precipitate, yet the an- 

 nouncement of an opinion (though it have no higher claim than 

 a mere hypothesis) may be of sernce in directing the attention 

 of other investigators to the subject. 



Numerous observations have shown us that blood retained 

 for any length of time in an organ, and thus prevented from 

 meeting wdth a due supply of oxygen, becomes poorer instead 

 of richer in fibrin ; whereas there is undoubted evidence that in 

 inflammation the fibrin is increased. Moreover, blood impeded 

 in the course of the circulation becomes darker, (a sign that 

 there is not a due supply of oxygen,) Avliile blood in inflamma- 



