Sedimentation Rate of Erythrocytes and Plasma Proteins Following Prolonged Chloroform Anaesthesia in Dogs.

Four dogs were anesthetized with chloroform for sufficient periods to insure liver necrosis. The sedimentation rate of the red blood cells, the albumin, globulin, and fibrin fractions from the plasma, and the hematocrit values were determined quantitatively.

The fibrinogen concentration in the plasma was considerably decreased during the height of the chloroform effect, but returned rapidly to normal during the recovery. Paralleling this drop in the fibrinogen, the sedimentation rate diminished, and later increased as the dog returned to normal. There was no significant variation in the albumin and globulin fractions. Relative increases in the bile pigments of the plasma and urine and of the lipoids of the plasma were noted.

The following table gives the data for Dog No. 2, characteristic of the series. In addition the chart given below shows graphically the relation between the rate of settling and the fibrinogen.

These experiments tend to confirm the belief that the rate of sedimentation of the red blood cells is at least in part dependent on the fibrinogen content of the plasma.

This is a preliminary report.