ross on the fibrin of the blood. 367 



Art. v. — The Fibrin of the Blood — its constitution and 



FUNCTIONS AS EXPLAINED BY Dr. ChARLES GiRARD 



OF Paris. By A. Eoss, Esq., 



{Read March 9, 1874.) 



According to our text books of Anatomy and Physiology, the 

 fibrin of the blood is a "proximate principle," structureless and 

 held in solution by the S3rum ; its uses and real nature not definitely 

 known. 



I desire to call attention to its true structure and functions as 

 explained by Dr. Charles Girard of Paris.* 



When blood is drawn and allowed to cool rapidly, it forms a 

 clot, the fibrin separating from the serum, and forming a semi- 

 fiuid, having no definite structure, but seeming somewhat thready 

 (hence its name), and enclosing the red and the white corpuscles. 

 Dr. Girard suspecting the true nature of fibrin, made an experi- 

 ment for the purpose of determining it with very remarkable and 

 valuable results. I give a free translation of his own words. 



" I took a full 2:rown deer, in perfect h( alth, and opened a vein 

 and artery so as to effect a gradual extinction of life from loss of 

 blood. The heart in these circumstances lives longer than the 

 other organs ; its movements, in losing their intensity, permit a 

 small quantity of blood to remain in its cavities under the gradually 

 decreasing influence of life. The result is that the fibrin there 

 continues distended with serum, and when placed under the micro- 

 scope, without having lost its warmth, the cellular nature of the 

 fibrin becomes as distinct as that of the vitellus. The cells are 

 seen to be little transparent globules, having opaque points or 

 nuclei in their centres." 



I now proceed to give a resume of his views of the origin and 

 morphological relationships of fibrin. 



Every organic tissue is composed of cells variously modified. 



The lovrest form of mature organic life, and the earliest form of 

 each individual organism is equally a single cell, and the further 



* " La Vie au point du vue phisique," and " Principe s de Biologie appliques 

 a la Medicine." 



