396 Proceedings of Royal Society of Edinburgh. [sess. 
of the blood in the different divisions of the circulatory apparatus, 
and, in the second place, to indicate the results which have been 
obtained by the use of oxygen in cases of cyanosis. The two 
following cases are of interest from the first point of view. 
Case 1 . — A tradesman, aged 48 years, was under treatment in 
my ward for arterio-sclerosis with interstitial myocarditis. He 
was very cyanotic. The heart was considerably enlarged and 
there was escape at both mitral and tricuspid orifices. The radial 
arteries, like those throughout the rest of the body, were rigid, but 
the pressure was not high. There were oedema of the lungs and 
albuminuria, with great anasarca. The patient became maniacal, 
and then passed into a comatose condition from which he was 
rescued by venesection. The opportunity was taken of obtaining 
two or three drops of arterial blood, and the condition of matters 
was as follows. Artery : haemoglobin, 125 per cent ; erythrocytes, 
5,130,000; and leucocytes, 5980 per cubic millimetre. Vein: 
haemoglobin, 135 percent.; erythrocytes, 5,300,000; and leucocytes, 
6250 per cubic millimetre. On the following day another drop 
of arterial blood was obtained and compared with that from the 
subcutaneous capillaries. The results were the following. Artery : 
haemoglobin, 120 per cent.; erythrocytes, 5,268,000; and 
leucocytes, 6100 per cubic millimetre. Capillary: haemoglobin, 
130 per cent.; erythrocytes, 6,830,000; and leucocytes, 11,620 
per cubic millimetre. After this blood-letting the patient, by 
means of various cardiac remedies, rapidly recovered and went home 
in a few weeks with no symptoms of circulatory disorder and with 
blood practically normal. 
Case 2. — A pithead boy, aged 16 years, is at present under 
treatment in my ward for a group of symptoms which seem only 
explicable by the diagnosis of mediastinal pericarditis. On 
admission, in September 1902, the boy was deeply cyanosed. His 
heart was but slightly enlarged and had no abnormal sounds. 
The pulse was of low pressure, and manifested in the most beautiful 
manner the features of the pulsus paradoxus. The patient had 
enormous enlargement of the liver and considerable increase in the 
size of the spleen, along with hydrothorax, ascibes, albuminuria, 
and anasarca. The subcutaneous blood was frequently and 
regularly examined, and showed an amount of haemoglobin varying 
