A textbook of human physiology / translated from [the] 6th German edition by W. Stirling.

  • Landois, Leonard
Date:
1888
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A textbook of human physiology / translated from [the] 6th German edition by W. Stirling. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

    89/980 page 37
    COiMPOSITION OF PLASMA AND SERUM. luoi-o abundant {Edclberg and Birk). After tlie injection of ichor into the blood an enormous number of colourless corpuscles are dissolved (F. Hoffmann). The injection of peptone, Hb, and to a less degree of distilled water, is followed by dissolution of nimierous leucocytes. There are changes in the blood, constituting true blood diseases, in which the physiological metabolism of the colourless corpuscles is enormously increased, so that the metabolic products accumulate in the blood {Alc.r. Schmidt). The result of this is sjiontaneous coagulation within the circulatory system, and death even may occur; there is always an increase of tempera- ture. After such a condition, the coagulabiUty of the blood is dindnished. 31. Formation of Fibrin.—After several observers had shown that the red blood-corpuscles (bird, horse, frog) participate in the production of fibrin. Landois observed, in 1874, under the microscope that the stromata of the red blood-corpuscle's of mammals passeil into fibrin. If a drop of ilefibiinated rabbit's blood be placed in serum of frog's blood, without mixing them, the red corpuscles can be seen collecting together ; their surfaces are sticky, and they can only be separated by a certain pressure on the cover-glass, wiiereby some of the now spherical corpuscles are drawn out into threads. The corpuscles soon become spherical, and those at the margin allow the hiumoglobin to escape, the decolorisation progress(;s, from the margin inwards, until at last there remain masses of stroma adhering together. The stroma-substauce is very sticky, but soon the cell-contours disappear, ami the stronuita adhere and form fine fibres. Thus (according to Landois) the formation of fibrin from red blood-corpuscles can be traced stej) by_ step. The red corpuscles of man and animals, when dissolved in the serum of other animals, show much the same phenomena. Stroma-Fibrin and Plasma-Fibrin.—Landois calls fibrin formed direct from stroma, stroma- fibrin ; fibrin formed in the usual way plasma-fibrin. The stroma-fibrin is closely related chemically to stroma itself; as yet, however, the two kintls of fibrin have not been sharply dis- tinguished chemically. Substances which rapidly dissolve red corpuscles cause extensive coagul- ation, c.fj., injection of bile or bile salts, or lake-coloured blood, into arteries. After the injection of foreign blood the newly-injected blood often breaks up in the blood-vessels of the recipient, while the liner vessels are frequently fouiul plugged with small thrombi (§ 102). Coagulable Fluids.—With regard to coagulability, fluids containing proteids may be classified thus :— (1) Those that coagulate s2)ontaneously, i.e., blood, lymph, chyle. (2) Those capable of coagulating, e.g., fluids secreted pathologically in serous cavities ; for example, hydrocele fluid, which, as usually containing fibrinogen only, does not coagulate spontaneousl)% but it coagulates on the addition of fibrino-plastin and ferment (or of blood- serum in which both occur). (3) Those which do not coagulate, e.g., milk or seminal fluid, which do not seem to contain fibrinogen. 32. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF PLASMA AND SERUM.—I. Proteids occur to the amount of 8 to 10 per cent, in the plasma. Only 0 2 per cent, of these go to form fibrin. After the formation of the fibrin the plasma is converted into serum. The sp. gr. of human serum is 1027 to 1029. It contains several proteids. [According to Hammarsten, human serum contains 9*207 per cent, of solids,—of these, 3103 = serum-globulin, and 4'516 = serum-albumin, i.e., in the ratio of 1 : 1*511. In horse-serum the proportion is 4*5 : 2*6, in ox-serum 4*16 : 3-29, and rabbit-serum 6'22 : r78. The total amount of proteids in blood seems to be much more constant than are the relative proportions of serum-albumin and serum- globulin {Salvioli).'\ (a) Serum-globulin or Paraglobulin (2 to 4 per cent.). If crystals of magnesium sulphate be added to saturation to serum at 35° C, serum-globulin is precipitated, but not serum-albumin. It is soluble in 10 per cent, solution of common salt, and coagulates at 69-75° C. Its specific rotatory power is - 47*8 (Fredericq). [Serum-globulin was described by Panum under the name of scrum-casein; by Al. Schmidt, as fibrino-plastic substance ; and by Iviihne, as paraglobulin.] During hunger the globulin increases and the albumin diminishes. (b) Serum-albumin (3-4 per cent.). Its solutions begin to be turbid at 60 C, and coagulation occurs at 73° C, the fluid becoming slightly more alkaline at the same time. If sodium chloride be cautiously added to serum, the coagulating temperature may be lowered to 50° C. Its specific rotatory power is from-62-6
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