122 



Dr. W. Stirling and A. Rannie. 



Carbolic Acid. 



The changes induced in the corpuscles by a saturated (1 in 20) 

 watery solution of carbolic acid were peculiar, and somewhat difficult 

 to describe on account of the rapidity with which the final stage was 

 reached. The appearances seen were as follows : — On irrigating the 

 blood with the solution of the reagent it was found that the corpuscles 

 first affected had lost a great part — or the whole — of their haemoglobin, 

 while the nucleus had become much swollen and of a globular form. 

 (Fig. 5, a.) The nucleus in this condition often showed well the plexus 

 in its interior, but at other times it was seen to contain a number of 

 dark yellow globules — derived no doubt from the perinuclear part of 

 the corpuscle — but did not show the plexus. The corpuscle itself con- 

 sisted of the swollen nucleus with only a narrow rim of the perinuclear 

 part around it. In some corpuscles haemoglobin was collected into a 

 semi-globular mass attached to one side of the nucleus. (Fig. 5, e, /.) 



In other corpuscles the nucleus had a crescent-shaped mass of 

 haemoglobin on either side of it. The haemoglobin still in connexion 

 with the nucleus, either in its interior or attached to its sides, was 

 smooth in appearance and darkened in colour ; over the part of the 

 slide first invaded by the reagent many long dark streaks of granular 

 colouring matter were seen. It appeared as if the corpuscles attacked 

 by the acid had had their envelope dissolved or had burst at one side, 

 allowing of the escape of the colouring matter. 



On selecting some unaltered corpuscles in the centre of the slide, 

 and watching the gradual action of the acid upon them as it passed 

 under the cover- glass, the following appearances were observed : — The 

 corpuscles seen on the flat first showed the barred arrangement of the 

 perinuclear part already described as occurring under the action of 

 several other reagents, and which is due to the varying thickness of 

 the corpuscles at different parts. (This variation was seen in a cor- 

 puscle on edge, which has then a crenated appearance.) Very soon 

 the corpuscles became granular in appearance, the haemoglobin becom- 

 ing at the same time much darkened. The nucleus became more 

 distinct, was pale in colour, and had a granular appearance. Many of 

 the corpuscles were observed to have given way at one side, and their 

 contents to have been partly extruded. The nucleus soon became 

 much swollen, and often exhibited an intranuclear plexus. The 

 contents of the corpuscles were scattered about the field of the 

 microscope in the form of small dark granules. Many of the darkly 

 granular corpuscles above mentioned appear to become gradually 

 decolorised, while in others the granules appeared to melt down into 

 dark yellow homogeneous semi-fluid particles, which were seen adher- 

 ing to the greatly distended nucleus.* 



* The liberation of the hsemoglobin is of importance in connexion with poisoning 



