186 THOMPSON YATES AND JOHNSTON LABORATORIES REPORT 
IV. — Solubilities of Gases in Serum and Haemoglobin in Presence of 
Chloroform 
It was thought that such compounds as are shown by the above experiments to 
be formed between chloroform and serum or haemoglobin solution might interfere 
with the carriage of oxygen and carbon-dioxide by the blood. Accordingly, experi- 
ments were carried out upon serum and haemoglobin solutions to test this point. 
A volume of about 500 c.c. of serum or of haemoglobin solution, obtained as 
for the experiments in Section 3, was completely deprived of gases by exhaustion 
with a Topler pump at 40° C, afterwards- saturation with air, or air and carbon- 
dioxide, was carried out upon two equal volumes contained in similar bottles, to one 
of which a sufficient quantity of chloroform was added to make a one per cent, solution, 
while the other served as a control. The gases dissolved in each case were then 
collected by means of the Topler pump as before, and analysed. 
The results throughout were negative, and thus proved a fortiori that at the 
anaesthetizing values chloroform does not depress the solubility of the respiratory 
gases in the blood. 
As an example, an experiment with serum shaken up with a mixture of air and 
carbon-dioxide may be quoted : — 
A volume of 500 c.c. of serum was exhausted as above described. 
(a) A volume of 150 c.c. or this serum was poured into a 500 c.c. stoppered 
bottle, and shaken up with a mixture of air and carbon-dioxide. 
Exhaustion and analysis of the gases in 70 c.c. gave the following results at 
14 0 C. and 759 mm. : — 
C0 2 41-2 c.c, O = 1-4 cc. N = 5-4 c.c. 
(J?) A second volume of 150 c.c. of the exhausted serum treated exactly similar, 
but with i"5 grammes of chloroform added, gave the following results from 70 c.c, 
at the same temperature and pressure : — 
CO, 41-4 c.c, O = i-8 c.c. N = 6-4 c.c. 
There was obviously a slight leakage of air, but the figures are sufficient to 
show that there is no appreciable change in the solubilities due to the presence of the 
chloroform. 
V. — On the Solubilities of other Anaesthetics in Water and Serum 
Respectively 
A series of experiments was carried out upon the effects of addition of a number 
of other anaesthetics to serum, and determinations made of the relative solubilities 
of these anaesthetics in water and serum. 
The anaesthetics so tested were ethyl ether, ethyl acetate, amyl alcohol, amyl 
acetate, benzol, and xylol. 
