﻿PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTION OF URANIUM 



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elements^ of; the blood which are essential to the process of coagu- 

 lation. Neither the addition of thrombokinase, fibrin ferment, nor 

 calcinm chloride to blood previously treated with sodium uranium 

 tartrate will cause clotting to occur. Nor is it possible to bring 

 about clot fonnation in such blood by precipitating the uranium 

 with disodium hydrogen phosphate. 



(5) Neither the spectroscope nor photographic records made by 

 means of the diffraction gTating reveal the formation of any chem- 

 ical combination between uranium and the haemoglobin of the 

 blood. This is a variation from the action of the cyanides which 

 form cyanhaimoglobin when added to solutions of hremoglobin. 



(6) If a solution of sodium uranium tartrate be added to a 

 solution of meth^emoglobin, no change whatever occurs in the spec- 

 trum of the solution. If, however, a cyanide be added to the 

 metha;moglobin cyanmethaemoglobin is at once formed. 



(7) The cyanides prevent the formation of a blue oxidation 

 product from tinctiire of guaiac by the oxidizing ferments present 

 in an aqueous extract of potato peelings. No such inhibitory ac- 

 tion is exercised by uranium upon this reaction. The cyanides 

 also prevent the evolution of gas when hydrogen peroxide is added 

 to blood to which a small amount of cyanide has previously been 

 added. But no inhibition is exercised upon this ferment action 

 by uranium. 



(8) It seems extremely probable that the pharmacological ac- 

 tions of the cyanides and of uranium differ from each other much 

 more widely than has been generally believed. 



