“The viscosity of the blood during fever and after injection of phenylhydrazin”

The author had previously shown that cold water and hot air baths produce an increased viscosity and warm water baths a decrease of the viscosity. In this communication the question was considered whether similar changes occur when the temperature of the body is raised by bacterial activity.

The experiments were performed upon three dogs during experimental peritonitis (Staphyl. pyog. aureus). The determinations were made at times when the temperature ranged from 38.7 to 39.5° C. and gave figures which were slightly above the average value of the viscosity of dog's blood. Its specific gravity, on the other hand, was invariably lower than normal, indicating thereby that, in spite of the loss in solids incurred during the inflammatory processes, the blood had retained a high viscosity.

In another series of experiments the viscosity was tested after subcutaneous injection of phenylhydrazin. The specific gravity of the blood was very low in all cases, the viscosity, on the other hand, very great. It may be regarded as proved, therefore, that these two factors need not preserve a direct relationship to one another. As in the previous work, the blood of these animals lost a large part of its solid matter but retained, nevertheless, a high viscosity.