138 
EXTRACTS FROM EXCHANGES. 
suspicious blood to a laboratory of a neighboring city. To ex¬ 
amine the blood of a liv'ng animal, the author opens the jugu¬ 
lar vein, and collects the blood in a sterilized bottle, having a 
flat bottom. The bottle is then carefully closed, and the blood 
is allowed to coagulate in a slightly elevated temperature ; after 
this the serum is poured off, and the blood clots placed in alco¬ 
hol. On the following day they are cut with a knife into small 
squares, and placed back in the alcohol. Before one can pro¬ 
ceed with the microscopical examination, these squares are 
passed first through alcohol, and then through alcohol and ether. 
This is followed by an enclosure into collodion, after which they 
are cut with the microtome, and stained by a suitable method. 
In spite of the delicacy of the cuts, they possess a strong cohes¬ 
ion, and do not suffer in any way by the staining. Under the 
microscope the red blood corpuscles appear as regular mosaics ; 
also the white blood corpuscles are very slightly changed. To 
prevent the blood clot from infection by foreign microbes a 
sterilized eprouvette is filled with blood, and closed immediately 
with cotton. After coagulation it is placed in a dish filled with 
alcohol, and the coagulum is expelled by shaking or breaking 
of the eprouvette. For examination of the blood of dead ani¬ 
mals, this method will be found still simpler : A short while 
after death, a large blood vessel is opened, the coagulum taken 
out and placed in alcohol, which should be renewed two or 
three times. On the following; dav the coag-ulum can be cut in 
squares. This method as stated by Baruchello has the following 
advantages : (i) The coagulated blood cut in squares can be kept 
in alcohol for any length of time, whereby the examination can 
be made at any suitable time. (2) The entrance of foreign mi¬ 
crobes can be easily prevented, which by the general method is 
not the case, where a drop of blood is taken on a coverglass 
by puncturing the skin, and this is left drying in the air. (3 
The blood taken directly from a large blood-vessel is much more 
uniform in regard to the composition of its morphological ele¬ 
ments than that obtained by puncturing the skin. (4) When 
the microbes in the circulation are not numerous they may 
escape the blood taken by a puncture, while they could not re¬ 
main unnoticed in a number of sections: (5) This method is 
very simple, and does not require any special instruments .—(II 
Moderno Zooitaro.') 
Drs. James L. Robertson, W. J. Coates and H. D. Hanson, 
of New York, attended the banquet of the New England Alumni 
Association of the A. V. C., at Boston, April 19th. 
