Diseases of the kidneys and of the spleen, hemorrhagic diseases / by H. Senator and M. Litten ; edited, with additions by James B. Herrick ; authorized translation from the German, under the editorial supervison of Alfred Stengel.

  • Hermann Senator
Date:
1905
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Diseases of the kidneys and of the spleen, hemorrhagic diseases / by H. Senator and M. Litten ; edited, with additions by James B. Herrick ; authorized translation from the German, under the editorial supervison of Alfred Stengel. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    yellowish-brown granular masses. These at first retain approximately the shape of the original cells; gradually, however, they fall apart or form irregular heaps. (Compare Hemoglobinuria.) The finding of red blood-cells is in itself quite sufficient to establish the presence of blood in the urine. In doubtful cases and as confirmatory tests the examination should be supplemented by testing for hemoglobin either with the spectroscope or by chemical means. 2. By means of the Spectroscope, hemoglobin or hematochro- mogen can be demonstrated. The urine must be clear, or at least not excessively turbid; it should be filtered, and if it is very dark, diluted with water. Freshly passed urine containing blood presents in the spectrum the two lines of oxyhemoglobin between Frauenhofer's lines D and E in the yellow and in the green. The line in the yellow is the narrower. If the urine and blood have already undergone decomposition, the specimen will contain methemoglobin instead of, or in addition to, hemoglobin; that substance presents in the si^ectroscope three lines, of which the one in the red, between the lines C and D and nearer the line C, is the most characteristic. Hematochromogen may be demonstrated after Donogany ^ with pyridin by adding to 10 c.c. of urine 1 c.c. each of ammonium sulphate and pyridin. A reduction takes place at once and the color of the fluid becomes an orange red. In the presence of very small quantities the spectroscope may still show two lines, a dark line at the boundary between D and E, and a broader, paler band between E and C in the green. 3. The chemical tests for blood are as follow : (a) Heller's Test.—The urine is rendered strongly alkaline by the addition of caustic potassium or sodium and boiled. The earthy salts separate and, as they cool, precipitate the blood-pigment, which collects at the bottom as a distinct bright-red or rust-colored sediment. Vege- table pigments, such as those of rhus, senna, and the like, also appear as reddish flocculi, but with a more violet tint; besides, when the urine contains vegetable pigments, its color becomes darker on the addition of alkalies and lighter on the addition of acids. (6) Almen's Guaiac Test.—Equal parts of old oil of turpentine and fresh tincture of guaiac are added to acid urine and the whole thoroughly shaken. If blood or blood-pigment is present, the mixture takes on a more or less distinctly bluish color. A similar coloration, however, is produced by pus. [In place of the tincture of guaiac a solution of aloin in alcohol may be employed, a rose-red color indicating blood. Minute quantities of blood can be detected by the method of Miiller and Weber that is employed for the detection of blood in the feces or stomach contents. To about 3 c.c. of urine 1 c.c. of glacial acetic acid is added, and then ether, the mixture being gently shaken. The decanted ether can then be tested for blood by the guaiac or aloin method.—Ed.] (c) Tdchmann's Test For Hemin Crystals.—A small quantity of the sediment remaining on the filter paper is spread out with a knife point on a slide and carefully allowed to dry by evaporation; a crystal of '■ Virehow's Archiv, cxlviii., p. 234.
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