THE AMERICAN 



MONTHLY 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL, 



Vol. XL APRIL, 1890. No. 4 



All communications for this Journal, whether relating to business or to editorial 

 matters, and all books, pamphlets, exchanges, etc., should be addressed to Ameri- 

 can Monthly Microscopical Jotirnal, Box 6jo, Washington, D.*C. 



European subscriptions may be scfit directly to the above address accompanied 

 by International Postal Order for $i.i^ per atmum, or they may be sent to Messrs. 

 Triibner &^ Co., j/ Ludgate Hill, Loiidon, or to Mr. W. P. Collins, i^y Great 

 Portland street, London, accompanied by the yearly price of five shillings. 



Concerning the Rules and the Application of Reichert's 

 Ha^niometer.* 



' By FREDERICK GAERTNER, M. D., 



PITTSBURG, PA 



This apparatus is designed to ascertain the amount of haemoglobin in 

 either a diseased or a normal condition of the blood. It was devised by 

 Prof. E. von Fleischl. and patented by Carl Reichert, of Vienna. (See 

 frontispiece.) This little instrument, the Htemometer, is the result of 

 a need felt by physicians and scientists of having an instrument which 

 will give a quantitative judgment (analysis) of the value and function 

 of the haimoglobin in the circulating blood. It was further necessitated 

 by the inapplicability of the methods thus far prescribed for this purpose 

 to the cases encountered by physicians; and, finally, it arose from the 

 hope of advancing our physiological and clinical knowledge by rat- 

 ing the per cent, of hsemoglobin in diseased human blood. 



The Htemometer cannot be used either by daylight or by the electric 

 light, and only by the light of oil lamps, candles, and gas. 



Every examination of blood by means of the HtEmometer must con- 

 sist of these three operations: i. To obtain and measure the blood. 



2. To dissolve it in water, and to fill the instrument with this solution. 



3. To arrange the instrument and read the results. 



This apparatus consists of a small and simplv constructed horseshoe 

 base, composed of a foot, column, mirror, and table. Beneath the table 

 is a frame wliich bears the glass wedge K, the latter being propelled by 

 the milled-head screw R. Upon the table is a cylindrical vessel G,the 

 one-half of which («) is filled with blood which has been diluted with 

 water, so as to be examined. The other half (a') is filled with pure 

 spring water, after a tube, whose capacity has been exactly guaged, has 

 itself been filled with blood by capillary action. It is brought into the 



* Read before the Iron City Microscopical Society. 

 Copyright, 1890, by C. W. Smiley. 



