Morning journal and courier., 1880-05-01
The Transmission ofBIood.
A Curious and Ingenious Enstrunne

A Curious and Ingenious Instrument. | [From the New York Times
 There is now on exhibition in one of our
 surgical shops curious and ingenious instru- ment or rather arrangement of tubes, valves, | and glass bulbs and disks, which is extended to render the transfusion of blood safe, sim- | pie, and expeditions process in cases of anse- mia and of exhaustion from loss of the vital fluid occasioned by traumatic injuries. The inventor, Dr. Olendinen, whose various mem- oirs on yellow fever have attracted general at tention, practiced transfusion with success as | surgeon during the war, and even with the clumsy appliances then in vogue, found it to act as pretty sure and safe method of pre- venting collapse in instances of extreme ex- haustion from wounds The new instrument enables the operator to see the current and thus to avoid the danger from forcing air bubbles or clots into the circulation of the helpless patient. It may be used for venous transfusion, but is primarily designed for the arterio-venous operation, as introduced bv Folli, in Italy, in 1852, and subsequently practlced by Daniel, of Leipsic, in 1864. The instrument consists essentially of soft rubber bulb, furnished with glass disks, so that the current may be observed in transitu, pair of soft rubber tubes one to conduct the current from the artery of the giver to the bulb, and the other from the bulb to the vein of the re- ceiver and certain other minor arrangements particularly consisting of pair of points like those used with hypodermic syringe, only larger, and of minor valves, for the expulsion of bubbles when formed, and the admission Of alkaline solutions when necessary The operation is very simple, and requires no skilled assistance. The giver and receiver are placed in position side by side, but face to face, with the arms that are to be tapped con- venient for immersion in an oblong vessel filled with water at a temperature of 1O4o Fahrenheit. The bulb and tubes are immers- ed in the water, and the air expelled in the same manner as in Davidson or other soft rubber syringe, while at the same time they become blood warm in the course of the prep aration. The next step is to connect the bulb with the artery of the arm of the philanthropy ic individual who has consented to contributs percentage of his own life to preserve the life of another. This is done by means of one of the sharp points pushed directly through the arterial wall without making special incision. A broad rubber band is now adjusted to the arm to make everything air. tight and to give little pressure upon the tapped artery the water is expelled from the
 bulb, and the blood to be transfused takes it's place. With the rapidity of 0 fash, the second point is pushed into the vein of the patient, and connected with the instrument while the current Is spouting forth. The time required is about five seconds to make the connection ard adjust the rubber band about
 the patients armand to exclude air, the work IS done under water. All that now re- mains Is to transfer the amount of blood re- quired by alternate compression and dilation of the bulb, the thumb resting upon one of the disks, the second finger upon the other, and the index finger controlling the air r-cock at the top. The instrument is so held that the current enters the bulb from above, pass- es downward, disengaging and expelling through the air-cock any bubbles that may form, and leaves it from beneath, thus obvi- ating all risk from that source. The fingers move in unison with the pulsation of the ar- tery, thus maintaining the rhythm of the cir culation in both submerged arms, and obviat- ing all danger of embarrassment from irregu- lar or non-rhythmical pressure. Each com pression of the bulb transfers 120 minims of blood, that being the capacity of the cavity, and thus the instrument is self-measuring, and the quantity transfused can be regulated with extreme minuteness. Littels alkaline solution is introduced at will by means of valve fur
 nished with minute canula, without inter rupting the movement of the fingers or stop
 ping the vibration of the current-the princi-
 pal cause of coagulation when that accident occurs. As the whole operation is performed under water, at regulated temperature, it is claimed that the objections of the celebrated Roussell to transfusion are rendered entirely nugstory by this method, which, by the way,
 may be used with equal success in the trans fusion of milk, as recently illustrated by Prof.
 T. Gaillard Thomas in 8 series of brilliant ex- periments. The time required for the whole operation is about ten minutes, and for the actual transmission from two to five minutes, depending upon the quantity transferred.