1881.] 



On the White Blood Corpuscles. 



413 



coloured while the vapour will be quite colourless, and will remain so 

 up to the critical point. 



Now let the fluid be raised above its critical point, all the internal 

 space will be coloured, showing that (the contents being gaseous) the 

 gas dissolves the solid while the vapour does not. We have here a 

 clear separation of the two kinds of aeriform fluids. The definition 

 which I applied to the gaseous state at the beginning of this paper 

 does not apply to the vaporous state, as we know that any quantity of 

 it will not distribute itself throughout a space, because if we try to 

 force vapour into a space already saturated, we cause a change of 

 state, and a portion of the matter becomes liquid. Thus, instead of 

 only two we have four distinct states of matter : solid, liquid, vaporous, 

 and gaseous. 



XVI. " The Relation of the White Blood Corpuscles to the 

 Coagulation of the Blood." By L. C. Wooldridge, B.Sc. 

 Lond., Physiologisehe Anstalt, Leipzig. Communicated 

 by Dr. Lauder Brunton, F.R.S. Received June 8, 1881. 



(Abstract.) 



The following is an abstract of some researches which have been 

 carried out by the author in the Physiological Institute of the 

 University of Leipzig. 



It has long been known that the white blood corpuscles are con- 

 cerned in the coagulation of the blood. 



Alexander Schmidt, to whom we principally owe our knowledge of 

 this fact, has distinctly formulated the part they play. He considers 

 them as the source of two of the three factors which are, according to 

 his well-known theory, necessary for the formation of fibrin. 



The two components which arise from the white blood corpuscles 

 are, according to Schmidt, paraglobulin and fibrin ferment. 



The recent researches of Hammarsten have made it very probable 

 that paraglobulki is not directly concerned in the formation of fibrin. 



If this be true, and if the views of Schmidt concerning the parti- 

 cipation of the white corpuscles be also correct, the latter must neces- 

 sarily only play a very subordinate part ; that is, they must be mere 

 ferment producers. 



In order to arrive at exact conclusions on this subject, the author 

 has considered it necessary: — 1st. To attain some more knowledge 

 than we at present passess concerning the chemical nature of the white 

 blood corpuscles. 2nd. To have exact data for the amount of white 

 blood corpuscles which disappears daring coagulation. 



2 f 2 



