Page images
PDF
EPUB
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

SOME NEW ANTHROPOMETRICAL DATA.

JAY W. SEAVER, A. M., M.D.

In connection with the percentile table for graphically showing a person's physical development there has always been a doubt as to the reliability of the fifty per cent line as a standard of excellence. The principal reason for this doubt is found in the fact that the large majority of men measured represent an indifferent type of physique and a poor development of muscular and protective tissue. To discover how far this line of records departed from one derived from a similar group of men who were considered to be in good condition of development, I have tabulated the records of five hundred of the men whose measures were also tabulated with the two thousand three hundred men in the original chart. These men were selected on the basis of perfect health and physical activity. Most of them were more or less athletic but the very large men were not taken in selecting the group as they were considered to be too wide departures from the ordinary type to be of value in studying the average man, or a standard

mean man.

The lines drawn upon the chart show the twenty-five per cent lines of the new table plotted upon the old and also the mean or fifty per cent line.

A glance at these lines shows us several facts: First-That the relation between bone size and muscle size varies in different types of men, viz., in the short person the muscles have a much larger proportional size than in the tall person. This has been demonstrated before in other ways and formulated into a law that the working power of a muscle varies as its cubical contents. Second-That there is a direct ratio between exercise and bone growth. The lengths of leg in all these cases plot higher than length of trunk. Third-A high development seems to declare itself in more increase of depths than of breadths. Fourth-That there is a direct ratio between size of muscles and capacity of lungs. Fifth-That girth of waist increases with chest and hips but not in the same proportion. Sixth-That high nutrition power is essential to high development. Seventh-That muscular and nervous strength increases in greater proportion than other items; so we may infer that high strength tests indicate physical welfare. Eighth-That exercise gives a measurable increase in stamina and tends to produce a distinguishable type of man.

THE COLOR ANALYSIS OF THE BLOOD.

ALFRED KING, M.D.,

SURGEON TO THE MAINE GENERAL HOSPITAL, PORTLAND, MAINE, AND INSTRUCTOR OF SURGERY IN THE PORTLAND SCHOOL FOR MEDICAL INSTRUCTION.

The object of this paper is to describe the methods used, the terms employed, the parts to be observed and the results obtained in the color analysis of the blood, in order to bring about a greater familiarity with the subject and create more interest in the study of this important part of the body.

Let us first consider the method of obtaining the blood. To do this nicely everything should be as clean as possible. The cover glasses especially should be free from any oily substance, finger marks, dust, etc. They are best prepared by allowing them to remain a day or two in some battery-fluid, then rinsing them off in clean water and washing them with equal parts of alcohol and ether, after which they should be wiped dry with a piece of clean linen cloth and kept ready for use. When so prepared they should be handled only with cover glass forceps, those with flat blades being preferable. Unless the glasses are perfectly clean the blood will not spread evenly but will have a rough uneven appearance. When we wish to obtain a specimen, some of the cover glasses may be placed on a piece of clean paper with the forceps at hand. Then the part from which the blood is to be obtained should be cleaned with equal parts of alcohol and ether to remove any sebaceous or oily matter. The blood is usually taken from the lobe of the ear, or, what is better, from the ring finger of the left hand. When prepared, the part is pricked with a sterilized common sewing needle. By gently squeezing with the thumb and finger a drop of blood will appear. A cover glass is then quickly seized by the forceps and the surface of the drop is touched by the under surface of the glass near the border opposite the forceps. A small portion adheres. It is then laid gently on another cover glass allowing an overlapping of about an eighth of an inch. The blood will spread out quickly between the two glasses. When the spreading has ceased they

are seized by the overlapping edges with the thumb and finger of each hand and drawn quickly apart in parallel planes. They are then laid down with the moist side up and allowed to dry.

Three methods are given for fixing the specimens. One is to place them for about thirty minutes in a chamber with a temperature of 120° C., the second is to immerse them for thirty minutes in equal parts of alcohol and ether, and the third is to hold them in the heat over the flame of a spirit lamp. If the latter method be used, care should be taken not to over-heat them, as the haemoglobin may be so changed that the stain will not be taken up. I have not found it necessary to use either of these methods as no trouble has been experienced if the glasses are clean and cold water is used to wash off the stains. After a specimen is dry it may be stained at one's leisure.

The parts of normal blood to be stained are the haemoglobin, the nuclei, and the granules in the white blood corpuscles. The haemoglobin may be stained by solutions of eosin or orange-g, the nuclei by solutions of methylene blue, methylene green and haematoxylin, and the granules by acid, neutral, or basic stains depending upon their character.. Thus the large granules are stained by solutions of eosin or acid fuchsine, the fine granules by a neutral stain formed by acid fuchsine and methylene green —an acid and a base, and the perinuclear granules by a basic stain as methylene green. We must have, therefore, for staining the blood several different solutions; a bottle of one or one and a half per cent alcoholic solution of eosin; a bottle of Delafield's solution of haematoxylin; a bottle of Löffler's solution of methylene blue, and a bottle of Ehrlich's triple stain.3

1 Delafield's solution of haematoxylin is prepared as follows: to 400 cc. of a saturated solution of ammonia alum (1-11) add 4 grms. of haematoxylin dissolved in 25 cc. of absolute alcohol; leave the solution exposed to the light and air in an uncorked bottle for three or four days; filter, and add to the filtrate 100 cc of glycerine and 100 cc. of methylic alcohol (wood spirit); allow the solution to stand in the light until it is a dark color; refilter and preserve in a corked bottle

2 Löffler's solution of methylene blue is prepared by adding 30 cc. of a concentrated alcoholic solution of methylene blue to 100 cc. of a solution of caustic potash (1-10,000).

3 Ehrlich's triple stain is prepared by making a saturated aqueous solution of orange-g, acid fuchsine, and methylene green, and allowing them to stand three days; then into a bottle pour 60 cc. of the orange-g solution, 50 cc. of the acid fuchsine solution, 80 cc. of the methylene green solution, 100 cc. of distilled water, 50 cc. of 95% alcohol and 30 cc. of glycerine. The bottle should not be shaken, but allowed to stand fourteen days. Then, if the nuclei are not stained deep enough, add more of the methylene green solution.

A glass rod is an excellent means of applying stains. It is dipped into a solution and its moist side is passed lightly over the surface of the prepared cover glass, which is held with the forceps. A sufficient quantity of the solution is thus deposited upon it and after it has remained the proper length of time it is washed off in cold water. Care should be taken that the same strength of solution and the same time of staining for each be used so that we may recognize more easily differences in different specimens.

There are three methods of staining; eosin and methylene blue, eosin and haematoxylin, and Ehrlich's stain. If we use the first we stain with the eosin solution for five minutes, wash off, stain with the methylene blue solution for one minute, wash off, dry, and mount in Canada balsam.

If we use the eosin and haematoxylin solutions the methods are the same, only the haemotoxylin is used instead of that of methylene blue. Either of these methods give very beautiful slides but they do not stain the granules of the white blood corpuscles, except the eosinophile cells. Ehrlich's triple stain, however, stains everything. It is applied with a glass rod and allowed to remain on from three to five minutes and then washed off, the specimen dried and mounted in Canada balsam. If we use this stain in the office we can get the blood of a patient and have it stained and under the microscope ready for examination in six or seven minutes.

The preparations mounted, we are prepared to study them. The principle objects of interest are the red and white blood corpuscles. The third corpuscle or blood plates are not to be seen in dried specimens as they are lost sight of in the coagulation process. Let us now consider the red blood corpuscles. They are biconcave disks containing a large per cent of haemoglobin. They are about five hundred times as numerous as the white blood corpuscles. In them we should look for changes in size, form, number, and amount of haemoglobin, for the presence of nuclei, and for evidences of malarial poisoning.

Slight changes in size are of no importance. Marked changes are significant. The small ones are called microcytes, the large ones megalocytes.

The changes in form generally occur with changes in size. They may be found in all sorts of shapes, oval, pointed, or with almost any irregular outline. This condition is known as poikilocytosis.

Changes of number should be noticed. An increase over normal does not occur. A decrease is called oligocythæmia.

« PreviousContinue »