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experimental  work  dealing  with  the  relationship  in  question  seems  to 
be  that  of  Ponfick,*  who  found  that  in  haernoglobinaemia,  haenio- 
globinuria  occurred  onty  when  the  amount  of  haemoglobin  set  free 
m  the  blood  exceeded  one-sixtieth  of  the  total  amount  contained  in 
the  red  cells.  If  less  were  set  free,  then  the  activity  of  the  liver  was 
sufficient  to  convert  the  haemoglobin  into  the  constituents  of  the 
bile,  in  particular  into  bile  colouring  matter,  whereby  hypercholia, 
icterus  and  dark  coloration  of  the  urine  were  produced. 
The  reinvestigation  of  this  subject,  which  it  was  decided  to 
undertake,  includes  two  distinct  enquiries;  (l)  Is  haernoglobinaemia 
present  m  blackwater  fever?  (2)  Is  haemoglobinuna  readily  producible 
as  the  result  of  haernoglobinaemia,  and,  if  so,  is  there  any  quantitative 
relationship  between  the  two  ? 
The  first  enquiry  involved  the  examination  of  the  blood  plasma 
in  blackwater  fever  before,  during  and  shortly  after  the  haemo- 
globinuria.  As  control  observations  the  plasma  of  normal  persons, 
who  had  never  had  blackwater  fever,  was  examined,  and  in  order  to 
afford  further  comparison  the  plasma  of  individuals  suffering  from 
malaria  and  other  morbid  conditions  was  studied. 
Method.  The  mode  of  examination  was  as  follows: — The  finger, 
having  been  previously  carefully  cleansed  and  dried,  was  pricked 
with  a  bayonet  pointed  needle  and  blood  allowed  to  fall  drop  by 
drcp  into  a  collecting  vessel  containing  o'  i  c.cm.  of  a  i  per  cent, 
solution  of  potassium  oxalate,  about  O' 5  c.cm.  (ten  drops)  of  blood 
being  collected.  Without  any  delay  the  oxalated  blood  was  centri- 
fugalised  until  the  red  cells  were  completely  precipitated.  The 
supernatant  plasma  was  pipetted  off  and  transferred  to  a  small  glass 
cylinder  1 8  mm.  high  and  4  mm.  in  internal  diameter.  This  was 
then  placed  under  a  double  spectroscope,  a  cell,  the  height  of  which 
could  be  varied,  filled  with  a  solution  of  haemoglobin  of  suitable 
concentration,  being  placed  in  the  path  of  the  second  spectrum,  and 
the  height  of  the  column  of  the  solution  it  contained  altered  until 
the  oxyhaemoglobin  bands  which  it  produced  matched  in  point  of 
intensity  those  given  by  the  plasma.  The  concentration  of  the 
haemoglobin  solution  was  determined  by  means  of  a  haemoglobino- 
meter  reading,  the  absolute  values  of  the  scale  of  the  instrument 
*Virch.  Arch.,  1875,  Berl.  kl.  Wochenschr.,  1883,  No.  26. 
