PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL AGENTS UPON BLOOD. 
711 
Gas from pure calf’s blood, twenty-four hours’ action with 100 per cent, of air: — 
No. 49. — In 100 parts of air. 
Oxygen . . . 
Carbonic acid . 
Nitrogen . 
12 - 10 ) 
5-94) 
81-96 
■Total oxygen 18-04 
Gas from calf’s blood plus strychnine, dissolved in a minimum of very dilute hydro- 
chloric acid, twenty-four hours’ action with 100 per cent, of air : — 
No. 50. — In 100 parts of air. 
Oxygen . . . 
Carbonic acid . 
Nitrogen . . 
17*82) 
2<7 gjTotal oxygen 20-55 
79-45 
Thus it is seen that strychnine is one of those substances possessing the strange pro- 
perty of preventing the chemical decompositions and transformations of the constituents 
of the blood upon which the absorption of oxygen and exhalation of carbonic acid depend. 
Oxygen. 
I Carbonic acid. 
Nitrogen. 
Total oxygen. 
In 100 parts of gas from pure calf’s blood 
12-10 
5-94 
81-96 
18-04 
Ditto plus strychnine 
17-82 
2*73 
79-45 
20-55 
The next point to determine is, does strychnine act in the same manner on blood in 
the living animal as out of it \ 
The results of the two following experiments seem to indicate this, but as they were 
performed with the view of solving an entirely different question not requiring any con- 
trolling experiments, they had none made with them, and therefore they can only be 
taken for what the results of single experiments are worth. 
Into the peritoneal cavity of a healthy full-grown cat was injected a solution of -^tli 
of a grain of strychnine. In five minutes the animal became convulsed, and in four 
minutes more it died. On opening the body eight minutes after death, some of the 
blood was found already coagulated in the greater vessels, and the portion that was 
fluid coagulated as soon as it flowed into a capsule. The blood had a dark purple 
colour, and when shaken on the sides of a glass looked almost grumous and granular, 
as if the corpuscles were broken up, and had allowed their contents to escape. Under 
the microscope plenty of healthy red corpuscles were seen, many of them running into 
rolls ; but besides these, although there were no broken-up cells to be seen yet there 
were an unusual number of small granules in the field. The animal was fasting, never- 
theless there were also a considerable number of white corpuscles present. The blood 
contained 0-22 gramme of urea to the oz. (0-709 per cent.) and abundance of sugar. 
Gas from blood of cat poisoned with strychnine, twenty-four hours’ action with 100 
per cent, of air in a room of moderate temperature : — 
mdccclxv. 5 F 
