Rate of Elimination of Chloroform jrom the Blood, 579 



agreement with those we have described above, and therefore do not think it 

 necessary to publish them in detail. 



We take this opportunity of expressing our thanks to the Government 

 Grant Committee of the Eoyal Society for assistance in carrying out this 

 work. We also desire to express our indebtedness to our assistant, 

 Mr. G. W. Ellis, for the care he has taken in carrying out many of the 

 analyses. 



On the Rate of Elimination of Chloroform from the Blood after 



Anaesthesia. 



By George A. Buckmaster, Assistant Professor of Physiology, University 

 College, University of London, and J. A. Gardner, Lecturer on Physio- 

 logical Chemistry, University of London. 



(Communicated by Dr. A. D. Waller, F.K.S. Eeceived July 19, 1907.) 

 (From the Physiological Laboratory of the University of London.) 



In a paper* on the rate of assumption of chloroform by the blood, we- 

 showed that the percentage of chloroform rises very rapidly to a maximal 

 value. This is the cause of an early danger-point in anaesthesia. Subsequently 

 a rapid fall takes place, followed by a more or less rapid rise towards a 

 maximal value, which is maintained during the rest of anaesthesia. 



The following remarks will illustrate our conception of the anesthetic 

 process. The blood at first rapidly becomes charged with chloroform, which 

 is held almost entirely by the red corpuscles. The respiratory centre or 

 centres in the cat become affected quite early, and discharge impulses less 

 frequently than the normal. As a result of this the intake of chloroform 

 is lowered, and consequently the percentage of chloroform in blood falls,, 

 either owing to the tissues rapidly storing up the drug at the expense of 

 the blood, or because the elimination of chloroform is as rapid or more 

 rapid than the assumption, or to both these causes. If the first danger-point 

 is safely passed, the respirations improve in frequency and become rapid.. 

 It is known that many chemical substances, for instance, the group of 

 alcohols, ether or chloroform, which are lethal, primarily act as exciting 

 agents on living cells. Thus those bodies which in a given concentration are 

 lethal for protoplasm, in lower amounts check its activities, but in still less 

 amount, so long as this is above the indifferent point, inversely will act as a 

 stimulus and augment the energy-discharges of protoplasm. In the case oi 

 * * Roy. Soc. Proc.,' this volume, p. 555. 



