IRON CONTENT OF THE BLOOD AND SPLEEN IN 
INFECTIOUS EQUINE ANEMIA 1 
By Lewis H. Wright 
Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station 2 
Very little is known of the iron content of the blood or organs in 
infectious equine anemia, other than the changes in the blood that 
relate to the clinical hemoglobin estimation. While the writer was work¬ 
ing on the problem of infectious equine anemia as a whole this study 
was undertaken. At the beginning of the investigation two problems 
presented themselves. One was found in the fact that in the examina¬ 
tion of the blood in this disease there was often a fairly high erythrocyte 
count with a low hemoglobin percentage, together with many shadow 
corpuscles found in the smears, seeming to show a greater loss of hemo¬ 
globin than the erythrocyte count in itself would indicate. For this 
reason the determinations on the blood were made. The second prob¬ 
lem was to determine the fate of the cells after destruction, if the anemia 
is due to an increased destruction of red cells. In this disease it is ex¬ 
ceptional to find any marked loss of blood or hemoglobin from the body 
through any of the body discharges, as the urine or feces, nor does 
examination of the urine disclose any marked evidence of an increased 
iron pigment elimination. There might of course be elimination through 
the feces, but thfse have not been examined for iron. Since the spleen 
is known to be a seat of erythrocyte destruction, the idea was suggested 
that possibly there was unusual destruction of red cells in the spleen 
with retention of the iron. For this reason the splenic determinations 
were made. 
Sections from the liver and spleen when properly fixed and stained 
have shown large amounts of an iron-containing pigment, probably 
hemosiderin. Because of this it would have been advisable to make 
determinations on the liver also. As stated above, iron elimination 
should also be studied, for this may be one of the most important phases 
of the whole problem of anemia. In this, as in other anemic conditions, 
it is not impossible that one factor in its course is a lack of available 
iron for the formation of red cells. Increased iron elimination might 
cause this. 
The determinations given in this article are far too few for one to at¬ 
tempt to make any positive deductions from them, but they are certainly 
suggestive and are published for what they are worth. The fact that 
the writer will not have an opportunity to continue this study accounts 
for the incompleteness of the data here presented. 
The blood used in the determinations was drawn from the jugular 
vein, collected in a test tube, taken to the laboratory at once, and the 
sample weighed before there was any chance for loss by evaporation. 
The spleen was taken at the autopsy, which was made as soon after 
death as possible. A small portion of the spleen was cut off, put into a 
1 Accepted for publication June 25, 1923. 
2 Resigned June 1, 1920. 
Journal of Agricultural Research, 
Washington, D. C. 
agq 
(239) 
Vol. XXVI, No. s 
Nov. 3, 1923 
Key Nev.—a 
