THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE BLOOD IN 

 ASIATIC CHOLERA. 



By Haxs Aeon. 



[From the Physiological Laboratory, Philippine Medical School, and Biological 

 Laboratory. Bureau of Science, Manila, P. I.) 



All attempts to counteract the action of the toxins of the cholera 

 vibrio, directly or indirectly, have thus far failed to give satisfactory 

 results in the treatment of Asiatic cholera. There is at present only 

 one method which is of distinct value in this disease, namely, the 

 injection of large quantities of saline solution. Of course, this treat- 

 ment is only symptomatic, tending to replace the great loss of water, but 

 the curative action of its replacement is. so great that without doubt 

 we must regard loss of water as one of the main factors producing the 

 grave results of the disease. The idea is a very old one that loss of 

 fluid from the body is one of the most important factors in Asiatic 

 cholera. The autopsy findings, such as a dry skin, peritoneal cavity 

 and pericardial sac, as well as the increased viscosity of the blood, all 

 confirm this belief. Investigators have repeatedly considered the question 

 as to the effect of a great loss of fluid on the composition of the tissues 

 of the body and of the extent to which changes in the composition of 

 the tissues and fluids of the body are concerned in producing the stage 

 of collapse and early death in Asiatic cholera. The earliest and. most 

 authoritative investigations of the chemical composition of the blood 

 were made in 1850 by C. Schmidt ' in Dorpat. However, Schmidt's 

 conclusion that there is a constant withdrawal of water from the blood 

 in stages of collapse has been doubted by several authors because he 

 used too few control subjects. The following question also frequently 

 has been discussed during recent years : Does the blood, in addition to 

 the loss of water, also suffer a loss of salts, and, if so, to what degree? 

 The answer is without doubt of great importance in the treatment of 

 Asiatic cholera, since, if water alone is lost from the blood, then we need 

 only to replace it; but if this is true of salts as well, then the latter must 

 also be restored by the injection of an equivalent amount. 



' Zur Characteristik der epidemischen Cholera gegeniiber verwandten Trans- 

 sudationsanomalien. Leipzig, 18S0. 



98151 3 395 



