The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-11-06
Watching Ones Blood.

An ingenious method has just been de-
vised for actually observing the circuia-
tion Of the blood in man. Hitherto, ex-
cept in the case of Purkinje's experiment,
in which an observer can see the circula-
ton in his own retinal blood vessels, the
evidence of circulation in the human
subject has been entirely circumstantial,
derived from the facts of structure of the
circulatory organs, and from the manner
in which the blood flows from severed
arteries and veins. But by means of a
simple arrangement, invented by DR.. G.
Huter, of Griefswald, it is now possible
to witness the actual flow of blood in the
blood vessels of another person, and that
with sufficient accuracy to detect any
abpormality in. the circulation, and so to
obtain Invaluable assistance in the dag
nosis of disease.
In DR.. Huter's arrangement the pa
tents head is fixed in "a frame, some:
thing like that used by photographers,
on which is a coutriyance for supporting
microscope and lamp. The lower lip
is drawn out and fixed, by means of clips,
on the stage of the microscope, with its
inner surface upwards; strong light is
thrown on this surface by q condenser,
and the microscope, provided with low
power objective, is brought to bear upon
the delicate network of vessels, which can
be seen in the position indicated, even
with the naked eye.
The appearance presented is, at first,
as if the vessels we're filled with red in
lection. But BY focusing small super
fetal vessel, the observer is-soon able to
distinguish the movement of the blood
stream, rendered evident by the speck-
like red corpuscles, the flow of which, in
the corkscrew-like capillaries, is said by
Huter to be- especially beautiful. The
colorless corpuscles are distinguishable as
minute white specks, occurring now and
again in the course of the red stream.
Besides the phenomena of the circulation,
the cells of pavement epithelium lining
the lip, and theirsnuelei, can readily be
distinguished, as well as the aperturest of
the mucous glands.
Besides the normal circulation, various
pathological conditions can be observed.
By a pressure quite insufficient to cause
pain, the phenomena OF blood stagnation
the stoppage ofthe flow, and the grad
ual change in the color of the>blood from
bright red to purple-are seen. A mo-
mentary stoppage is also produced by
touching the lip with ice, a more endur-
ing stasis Spy certain reagents, such ss
glycerine Or ammonia.
Huter states that be has already prov
ed the great use of "Cheiloangioscopy,"
as he calls the new process, in his medi-
cal practice The variation insthe blood.
flow and in the diameter ,of, the vessels,
the crowding together of the red corpus
cles, the.increase in number of the white
corpuscles, occurring in certain diseases,
all these may be observed readily and
exactly. It will, indeed, be at once
obvious how great is the Importance
Of a method like this, by which an sctu-
al observation of the circulation is made
possible, especially when it is borne in
mind that Seven the rough and ready
method of feeling the pulse affords q
valuable indication of the state of
health.