The Parker post., 1914-12-19
Copyright. 1914, by A. S. Gray)
UNDERFED BLOOD.


ophies is the pursuit Of happiness.
And we fail to attain the desire only
because we are unable to make our
IDEAS coincide with things as they
actually exist. This being true, then
in anemia we have the most general
tive foe to the attainment of mans
chief happiness. For the
fundamental characteristic of anemla
Is lassitude, weakness and impotence
-incapacity for happiness.
Our bodies, like other machines,
have a definite capacity for trans
forming potential energy contained In
what we call food into dynamic en-.
ergy, and there is not any great mar
gin, or, as the engineers call it, fac
tor of safety. We work close to our
capacity most of the time. Therefore,
if we waste energy or if we do not
take in sufficient quantity Of food OF
the right quality we fail to maintain
our physical energy balance. A steam
engine or gasoline engine simply
stops when the fuel runs out, but the
human body cannot stop and live. De-
prived Of necessary fuel the human
body begins to consume itself, and, OF
course, the first to suffer is the blood
Normal blood of the average man
contains about five million corpuscles
per cubic millimeter, a millimeter be-
ing approximately one twenty-ffth 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
capillary network in the lungs approx
imating 807 square feet of surface.
Nowhere In nature do we find any
great margin over actual necessities,
and the fact that there is 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 PIP 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 it then that man lives and thrives
as well 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 a 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 1--WE 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
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
blood count will show that the 5,000,-
900 corpuscles to the cubic millimeter
have increased at 5000 feet altitude
to 6,500,000 corpuscles.
IF the body is so jealous of it's 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 can
begin to understand why there is SO
much unrest and unhappiness when
through deficiency Of hemoglobin the
oxygen demands of the body are re-
duced one-tenth or one-half. Kirk says
that $4,000 grains of oxygen are abb
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 11,700
grains, and If 20 per cent deficient only
11,400 grains.
In all anemias the individual cells,
the corpuscles, suffer first in quality;
that is to say, the hemoglobin con-
tents are first reduced and then after
a time the corpuscles themselves be-
gin to deteriorate in general quality
and number.
Barring a congenital anemia result
ing from very anemic mothers in
fants are given a fresh and fair start
each generation, the newborn infant
showing about $500, 900 corpuscles per
cubic millimeter, but reverting to nor
may in the course Of about two weeks