In previous studies (1, 2) the composition of the blood has been determined before, during and after the injection of various fluids intravenously under normal and abnormal conditions. The abnormal conditions consisted of some experiments in which a decline in blood pressure was, produced by trauma to the intestines and others in which probably due either to the anesthetic or to the fluid that was injected intravenously there was an early marked decline in the pressure. The results of these experiments led us to further studies on the composition of the blood of animals in which a decline in pressure was produced by other methods. These methods consisted of (1) graded hemorrhages, (2) trauma to an extremity, (3) the subcutaneous injection of histamine and (4) spinal anesthesia. These procedures were chosen because a large number of the instances of low blood pressures in patients are due to similar causes. Experiments were performed both with and without the introduction of fluids intravenously. The fluids that were chosen for study were normal salt solution and Evans' gum acacia-glucose-saline solution. These two fluids together with others were employed in the previous studies and in the present experiments they were used as examples of solutions of crystalloids and of colloids.
METHODS AND RESULTSThe experimental animals in all instances were dogs. They were anesthetized by morphine except in the experiments in which an extremity was traumatized. In the latter experiments, sodium barbital, 0.3 gram per kilogram of body weight, was administered intravenously. The animals gave no evidence of pain and were killed at the completion of the experiments. A cannula that was connected to a mercury manometer was placed in the carotid artery for the blood pressure determinations. Samples of blood for the various analyses were obtained from the femoral vein. The blood that was removed was replaced by an equal volume.
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