Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1914-09-11

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prived of necessary fuel the human
body begins to consume itself, and, Of
course, the first to suffer is the blood,
because it comes first within reach of
the hungry cells.
Normal blood of the average man
contains about five million corpuscles
per cubic millimeter, a millimeter be-
ing approximately one twenty-fifth of
an inch. We have noted that the total
area of all the corpuscles in the body
of the average man Is approximately
$4,000 square feet, and that the hem
oglobin spread over this area of blood
corpuscles carries oxygen to the cells
In distant, parts of the body to enable
them to breathe or oxidize and burn
up the matter necessary to cell life.
This corpuscular area passes through a
capillary network in the lungs approx
imating S07 square feet of surface.
Nowhere in nature do we find any
great margin over actual necessities,
and the fact that there is a material
difference in the net results of COM
bustion at low and at high attitudes
raises many questions in the inquiring
mind. We know that water boils at
sea level at 212 degrees Fahrenheit,
and at 10000 feet above sea level the
same water boils at 1872 degrees Fair
enheit. Many of us have experienced
the practical difficulties of this in at
tempting to cook beans or boil eggs
at the higher altitude. If our oxygen
balance Is so close and delicate, how
Is 1t then that man lives and thrives
as we'll at the high as at the low alti-
tude?
In clearing up this point we find an
illustration of the wonderful compen.
sating power these bodies Of ours
have, If we will only give them the
necessary material to work with. The
first effect of our going quickly from a
low to high altitude is that most Of
US are subject to symptoms exactly
paralleling those OF anemia there is
weakness, palpitation, shortness of
breath, pallor of the skin, and many
are liable to faint as the result of any
material eXertion But after few
weeks I'VE get used to the climate
and everything resumes the normal
again.
Now, as a matter of fact, we have
experienced technical" anemia
The lightness of the air gave us less
oxygen at each breath; less pressure
on our bodies called for more blood in
the tissues, consequently less blood
was in the veins and arteries. There
fore, the heart and lungs had both to
work harder and faster to keep things
moving. But after about two weeks a
blood count will show that the 5000,
900 corpuscles to the cubic millimeteI
have increased at 5000 feet altitude
to 100000 corpuscles.
If the body Is so jealous of its bal
ance in numbers and areas Of blood
corpuscles as shown by its so cleverly
matching one against the other-"au
tomatically," as we express tive car
begin to understand why there is sc
much unrest and unhappiness wher
through deficiency of hemoglobin the
oxygen demands of the body are re
duced one-tenth or one-half. Kirk says
that 10000 grains of oxygen are alb
: sorbed daily by the lungs of an aver
age healthy adult; therefore, If hemo
globin is 10 per cent deficient that in
dividual would receive only 11,70(
grains, and if 20 per cent deficient onl!
11,400 grains.
, In all anemias the individual cells
: the corpuscles, suffer first in quality
that is to say, the hemoglobin con
5 tents are first reduced and then afte
> time the corpuscles themselves be
! gin to deteriorate in general qualit.
and number.
, Barring a congenital anemia result
/ ing from very anemic mothers, in
, fants are given a fresh and fair star
: each generation, the newborn lnfan
} showing about 100000 corpuscles pc
/ cubic millimeter, but reverting to nor
may in the course of about two week
! after food is ingested. 1t would be tn
= part of intelligence carefully to watcl
c and guard this practically absolute in