BLOOD, RESPIRATION, CIRCULATION AND DISTURBANCES 307 



tion, a thorn apple shape. On the basis of this hypothesis, whenever 

 we exert an influence on red blood corpuscles, we must consider the 

 effect upon each of the three colloidal constituents (stroma, hemo- 

 globin solution and lipoids) as well as its distribution among them; 

 from this the behavior of the blood corpuscles may be deduced 

 (hemolysis, swelling, shrinking, hardening, etc.). 



There is an extensive literature on the changes in the volume of 

 erythrocytes in neutral isotonic salt solutions; l I shall mention only 

 the names of GURBER, H. J. HAMBURGER, S. G. HEDIN, R. HOBER, 

 H. KOEPPE and M. OKER-BLOM. In these studies, the blood corpuscles 

 were usually regarded as vesicles with a more or less permeable mem- 

 brane filled with a solution of electrolytes. This conception does not 

 permit a general satisfactory explanation of all the observations that 

 have been made. There are already evidences of a revision which 

 shall ascribe due influence to the colloidal character of the corpuscular 

 constituents. R. HOBER * 7 immersed blood corpuscles in neutral salt 

 solution, which possessed the same osmotic pressure, but in relation to 

 the blood corpuscles, were somewhat hypotonic, so that hemoglobin 

 gradually escaped. This escape took place more or less slowly in 

 accordance with the salt employed and in the following order: 

 S0 4 < Cl< Br, N0 3 < I 

 Li, Na < Cs, Rb < K. 



This is the recognized lyotropic arrangement for colloidal pre- 

 cipitation, or what seems more likely to me, for swelling and shrink- 

 ing (see M. MICULICICH *). An investigation by EISENBERG contains 

 much important data which ought to yield valuable conclusions, in 

 connection with the theory outlined above. [NOTE. J. TAIT has 

 just published a paper Capillary Phenomena observed in Blood 

 Cells: Thigmocytes Phagocytosis, Ameboid Movement, Differential 

 Adhesiveness of Corpuscles, Emigration of Leucocytes. Quarterly 

 Journal of Experimental Physiology, Vol. XII, No. 1. Tr.] 



Leucocytes have a special significance which we have considered 

 in Chapter XVII. 



As has been frequently emphasized, the normal organism estab- 

 lishes a dynamic balance in the swelling of the organ colloids (see 

 p. 217 et seq.). The tissues, the blood plasma, the blood corpuscles 

 possess a certain swelling range, which is specific for each tissue. 

 If certain component colloid groups suffer disturbances in this 

 respect, in order to restore equilibrium all the other components 

 modify their state of swelling. This may occur in severe diarrhoeas 



1 Numerous investigations have been performed to determine the behavior 

 of blood corpuscles towards neutral salt solutions. From them it may be de- 

 duced that iso-osmotic solutions are not necessarily isotonic to blood corpuscles. 



