(From the Departement of Pathology and Bacteriology of the University 



of Chicago.) 



The Physiological Destruction of Erythrocytes in Birds. 



By 

 Preston Kyes. 



(With Plate XX.) 



The power of vascular endothelium to ingest red blood-corspuscles 

 under pathological conditions has received extensive recognition. That 

 such endothelium performs a definite physiological function in the 

 destruction of red blood-corpuscles under normal conditions however 

 has not been established. Of the earlier publications those of Lowit [1] 

 and v. Kupffer [2, 3] contain the most definite statements in support 

 of such a physiological destruction of erytrocytes. Much of the force 

 of these contentions is lost however because the observations sup- 

 porting them were confined to the less reliable histological methods 

 of fresh tissue study, and a fair statement of the present statuts of 

 the question is that of Howell [4] who says: "Certain large cells have 

 been described in the spleen which at times contain red blood- 

 corpuscles or fragments of them in their cytoplasm. It has been 

 supposed that these and other phagocytic cells, such as the Kupffer 

 cells of the liver capillaries, may actually ingest the red corpuscles 

 and thus be responsible for their constant destruction. This view 

 cannot be considered as demonstrated." 



In a study of the phagocytic destruction of foreign bodies in- 

 jected into the blood stream of birds, my attention has been drawn 

 to a phagocytosis of red blood-corpuscles which is constantly taking 

 place in these animals and which is independent of experimental 

 conditions. It is the purpose of this paper to cummnicate morpho- 



