Am.  Jour.  Pharm.") 
July,  1902.  / 
Blood  Examination. 
347 
amined  were  represented  in  the  molds,  yeasts,  and  bacteria.  Penicil- 
lium  glaucum  was  the  mold  found,  Saccharomyces  ellipsoideus  the 
yeast,  and  the  bacteria  were  indefinite. 
BLOOD  EXAMINATION  AS  AN  AID  TO  THE  GENERAL 
PRACTITIONER.1 
By  Warren  S.  Simmons,  M.D. 
Read  before  the  Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  Kings,  November  19,  1901. 
In  calling  attention  to  the  value  of  the  examination  of  the  blood 
in  our  everyday  work,  it  is  impossible  to  give  an  exhaustive  account 
of  the  many  departures  from  normal  that  are  found  in  this  fluid. 
At  the  present  time  the  various  medical  journals  contain  many- 
articles  on  this  important  subject,  although  the  majority  of  them 
are  practically  confined  to  discussing  its  relation  to  surgical  dis- 
ease, and  completely  ignore  the  fact  that  there  are  other  condi- 
tions where  the  blood  examination  furnishes  us  with  a  very  exact 
knowledge  of  the  patient's  condition,  or  at  least  gives  us  certain 
clues  that  are  of  inestimable  value  in  establishing  a  diagnosis  and 
applying  proper  treatment. 
As  regards  the  value  of  a  blood  examination,  the  profession  at 
large  appears  to  be  divided  into  four  important  groups. 
First,  there  are  those  who  have  made  their  diagnoses  and  insti- 
tuted successful  treatment  before  this  subject  was  given  the  atten- 
tion and  prominence  which  it  now  occupies,  and,  considering  their 
past  successes,  believe  that  it  is  of  no  value,  or  at  least  an  added 
trouble,  and  deem  themselves  capable  of  treating  their  cases  as  well 
at  the  present  time  without  its  aid  as  they  have  done  in  the  past. 
A  second  class  have  confined  their  diagnoses  almost  entirely  to 
the  knowledge  which  is  furnished  by  the  condition  of  the  blood,  and 
in  their  enthusiasm  for  this  one  condition  have  completely  lost  sight 
of  other  symptoms  which  would  act  as  a  check  upon  mistaken  prem- 
ises. 
There  is  still  another  group,  men  who,  by  the  records  and  papers 
of  the  enthusiasts,  have  been  led  to  believe  that  the  knowledge  thus 
1  Reprinted  from  the  Brooklyn  Medical  Journal,  1902,  p.  17. 
