310 Mr Shore, On the action of Lymph [Feb. 22, 



Subsequent experiments showed that the intravascular clotting 

 produced in the rabbit by the injection of the lymph of the dog is 

 not always so complete as in the experiments just recorded. In 

 many cases the animal died very soon after the injection was 

 completed, but on examination clots were found only in the heart. 

 In some cases the clots were restricted to the right side of the 

 heart. Again in some cases the animals died within two or three 

 minutes after the injection, and generally after some disturbed 

 respiration, but the blood even in the heart was found to be 

 fluid. Sometimes however in these cases a careful examination 

 has revealed minute clots in the right side of the heart and in 

 the pulmonary vessels. The blood in these cases usually clotted 

 almost instantly it was shed. Several cases have occurred in 

 which the injection of lymph produced no obvious effect on the 

 rabbit. 



I am not able at present to fully explain this considerable 

 variability in action. The explanation is to be sought rather in 

 the condition of the lymph injected than in variations in the blood 

 of the rabbit. It would be naturally expected that the variation, 

 in the density, the amount of proteids, and the number of 

 leucocytes, &c. which occur in the lymph of the dog, would 

 influence the amount necessary to be injected to produce intra- 

 vascular clotting. The rate of clotting of the lymph limits the 

 amount which can be used, and it is rare that more than 10 c.c. of 

 normal lymph can be collected before clotting has set in. This is 

 a serious difficulty in the work, and in the negative cases observed 

 a rapid clotting lymph was generally recorded. The most active 

 lymph in producing intravascular clotting is that obtained from a 

 dog in active digestion. Wooldridge also observed that the intra- 

 vascular clotting produced by the injection of tissue-fibrinogen is 

 more readily produced and is more extensive when the animal 

 experimented with is in full digestion. I have however observed 

 that the opaque white lymph in these cases is sometimes inert. 



Large quantities of lymph, which does not clot, may be 

 obtained by the injection of peptone into the vascular system. 

 Such lymph is however unable to cause intravascular clotting 

 when injected into a rabbit. So also is "salted lymph," that is 

 lymph received into solutions of neutral salts. That this can be 

 explained by the presence in the lymph in these cases of sub- 

 stances opposing the action of the clotting-exciting substance, is 

 probably shown by the fact that tissue-fibrinogen can be separated 

 from the plasma of such lymph, and that its injection leads to 

 intravascular clotting. 



Tissue-fibrinogen was obtained from lymph in the following 

 way. The lymph was allowed to drop directly from the thoracic 

 duct into a very small quantity of very dilute acetic acid, a few 

 more drops of the diluted acid being added from time to time as 



