Bakewell, — On the Red Corpuscles of the Blood. xxxi 



Observations on the Growth and Reproduction of the Red Corpuscles of the 

 Blood. By Egbert H. Bakewell, M.D. 3 communicated by Dr. Hector 

 to the Wellington Philosophical Society. 



Plate XXIX. 



But little is known respecting the mode of growth and reproduction of the 

 corpuscles of the blood. The recent discovery of nucleated red corpuscles in 

 the marrow of mammalian vertebrates has thrown some light on the subject, 

 but it is only necessary to read the numerous and conflicting hypotheses as to 

 their formation, which may be found in even the most recent compendia of 

 physiology, to show that nothing certain is known of the matter. The red 

 corpuscles of mammalia are somewhat of an anomaly in the body. Bearing 

 the outward form of cells, having many of the properties of cells, yet destitute 

 of a nucleus, and springing into being as it were without any certain parentage, 

 they have always been the crux of physiologists. The writer was led to think 

 that some knowledge of their mode of origin and reproduction might be 

 obtained by growing them artificially, from the results accidentally obtained in 

 the course of observations made on the virus of small pox in the year 1871-72. 

 The writer was at that time physician to the Small-pox Hospital in Port of 

 Spain, Trinidad, and, having taken up his residence at the hospital for the 

 purpose of better investigating the pathology of the disease, was in the habit 

 of collecting the matter from the varioles in capillary glass tubes, such as are 

 commonly employed for vaccine lymph. These, when filled, were taken to 

 the writer's room for microscopical examination. It was not long before he 

 observed a marked difierence between specimens taken from the same patient 

 at the same time, according as they were examined immediately, or after an 

 interval of a few hours. It was found that up to a certain point the same 

 series of changes which the matter undergoes when in contact with the 

 patient's body in the variolous vesicle would take place in a sealed tube in his 

 room. This room was in a roughly-built wooden house exposed without shade 

 to the tropical sun, and having an iron roof. The temperature was generally 

 .at 90° nearly all day, and rarely below 70° all night. Some account of these 

 experiments will be found in papers on the "Pathology and Treatment of 

 Small Pox," published in the ' Medical Times and Gazette' of 1872, and 

 reprinted as a pamphlet. The subject has engaged the writer's attention, and 

 he has been engaged in experiments with vaccine matter and pus at intervals 

 ever since. As these experiments are still incomplete, it would be premature 



