Ii6 



Scientific Proceedings (106). 



mine the amount of calcium in the blood of patients with boils. 

 We proceeded on the idea that the calcium might be decreased in 

 such patients. As it happened, we first examined a number of 

 patients with acne and we were much surprised to find the amount 

 of calcium markedly increased in such. After testing about ten 

 patients with acne we examined our first patient with boils and 

 found the calcium was slightly below normal in amount. In one 

 other patient with a large boil on the arm the amount of calcium 

 was extremely low; that is, 5 mg. per 100 c.c. of plasma. Thus 

 it is seen that in most of the patients with acne the amount of 

 calcium in the blood was markedly increased while in some of the 

 patients with furunculosis the amount of calcium was very low. 



So far as we have searched the literature we have not found 

 any results reported on the amounts of calcium in the blood of 

 patients with acne and furunculosis. The amounts of calcium 

 found by us in the blood of patients with acne were so extremely 

 large that we determined to subject the gravimetric method, which 

 we used, to a careful investigation. We ran through six blanks by 

 the ashing method, which we used, with negative results. In one 

 test we used 20 c.c. of our distilled water and found it free from 

 calcium. In case No. 2, 22 c.c. of plasma were obtained at one 

 time and divided into two portions of eleven c.c. each. In one 

 portion the calcium was determined by Mr. Osterberg and in the 

 other by Thro. The results disagreed by only 1.8 mg. per 100 c.c. 

 of plasma. In case No. 6, Mrs. Ehn divided the whole blood into 

 two lots of 25 c.c. each and her determinations of calcium agreed 

 exactly. Six times the titration method, as given by Halverson 

 and Bergeim l , was used as a control. While the results were 

 not in strict agreement with those obtained by ashing, it was noted 

 that if high results were obtained with one they were also obtained 

 with the other. It is our opinion that the ashing method is more 

 accurate with large amounts of plasma than with small amounts. 

 It is also believed that it is better to use blood plasma or serum 

 than whole blood, since results are obtained sooner and variations 

 in corpuscular volume do not affect the results. In every one of 

 our patients the volume of corpuscles was greater than the volume 

 of plasma. 



halverson, J. O., and Bergeim, O., Jour. Biol. Chem., 1917, 32, 159-170. 



