396 



Mr. W. W. C. Topley. 



9. Markwalder and Starling, ' Journ. Phys.,' vol. 48, p. 348 (1914). 



10. Markwalder and Starling, ' Journ. Pkys.,' vol. 47, p. 275 (1913). 



11. Ketchani, King, and Hooker, 'Amer. Journ. Phys.,' vol.31, p. 64 (1912-13). 



12. Fuhner and Starling, 'Journ. Phys.,' vol. 47, p. 286 (1913). 



13. Henderson, 'Amer. Journ. Phys.,' vol. 16, p. 325 (1906). 



14. Piper (unpublished). 



15. Piper, ' Archiv f. (Anat. u.) Phys.,' p. 343 (1912). 



16. Wiggers, ' Amer. Journ. Phys.,' vol. 33, p. 382 (1914). 



17. Evans and Ogawa, 'Journ. Phys.,' vol. 47, p. 446 (1914). 



18. Lewis and Mathison, ' Heart,' vol. 2, p. 47 (1910-11). 



19. Mathison, ' Heart,' vol. 2, p. 54 (1910-11). 



20. Patterson, Piper, and Starling, ' Journ. Phys.,' vol. 48, p. 465 (1914). 



21. Cannon, ' Amer. Journ. Phys.,' vol. 33, p. 356 (1914). 



The Influence of Salt-Concentration on Hemolysis. 

 By W.W. C. Topley, M.B., M.E.C.P., Bacteriologist to Charing Cross Hospital. 



(Communicated by Dr. F. W. Mott, F.R.S. Eeceived November 25, 1914.) 



(From the Bacteriological Department of Charing Cross Hospital.) 



The question of the effect of salt-concentration on the phenomena involved 

 in haemolysis has already received a considerable amount of attention. 



Nolf originally showed that the presence of certain salts, in definite con- 

 centrations, inhibited haemolysis, and his observations have been repeatedly 

 confirmed. 



Markl, working with acid sodium phosphate, showed that the introduction 

 of this salt into a haemolytie mixture caused complete inhibition of haemolysis 

 when a certain concentration was reached. He was also able to show that 

 the presence of this salt did not prevent the combination of the antibody 

 with the red cells. He therefore concluded that its action consisted in so 

 influencing the osmotic relations of the cell membrane that the complement 

 could not be fixed upon it. He found that this action was not specific for 

 acid sodium phosphate, but could be observed with other salts, notably with 

 hypertonic solutions of sodium chloride itself. 



These results were confirmed by Ehrlich and Sachs ; but these authors, 

 interpreting their findings in the light of the side-chain theory, believe that 

 the action of the increased saline concentration is produced by preventing 

 the chemical union of the amboceptor and complement, and not by any 

 change in the osmotic relations of the cell membrane. 



