750 
GEO. G. YANBERVEER. 
eructations of gas are present. Never had used eserine in indigestion, but 
in cases when it was used always combined pilocarpine, as it appeared to 
lessen the severe griping caused by the eserine alone. 
Dr. Culbert.—Does essayist give eserine when patient is weak ? No, it 
is too depressing. If there is no response to eserine give oil. 
LEUK/EMIA. 
By Geo. G. Vanderveer, D.Y.S. 
(A Paper read before the Long Island Veterinary Society). 
In the absence of veterinary literature upon this subject 
I am indebted to the works of Ziemsen and Pepper for the 
data necessary for the formation of this paper. 
The earliest investigations as to the nature of this disease 
are those of Bennett and Virchow, which were published in 
the autumn of 1845. Bennett supposed that the altered con¬ 
dition of the blood was due to the presence of pus, and it was 
not until six years later, 1851, that he abandoned his theory 
and gave the name leucocythsemia to the disease. 
Virchow’s reseaches led him from the first to assign the 
cause of this white blood to leucocytes. Two years later he 
published an article in which lie considered the conditions 
under which there might be an increase of the white cells, 
and their relations to the spleen, and also proposed the name 
leukaemia. 
In 185 3 Virchow separated two forms, splenic and lymphatic, 
and in 1869 Neumann discovered a myelogenous form. 
Leukaemia is characterized by a great and persistent 
increase in the white blood corpuscles, together with a simul¬ 
taneous decrease in the red cells, but it is unknown whether 
this relation is due to an arrest of the transformation of white 
into red cells or to an increased supply of white cells, or 
whether both of these causes act together. 
Little is known as to the causes of the disease, but all the 
factors which tend to produce primary diseases in the spleen, 
lymphatic glands and bone marrow should be considered. 
As to climate more cases have been reported in temperate 
regions thanm the tropics. 
