The abnormal pigment in strangulation obstruction

Abstract

Summary<ul>o<li>1.Spectrophotometric absorption curveswere plotted for peritoneal fluids or intestinal contents from seven patients with strangulation obstruction, one patient with acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis, and the following experimental animals: 31 dogs with strangulation obstruction, 4 dogs with hemorrhagic pancreatitis, 6 dogs with bile peritonitis and 2 pools of peritoneal fluid from 54 rabbits with strangulation obstruction.</li><li>2.Essentially normal hemoglobin was found in most specimens. Several contained hemochromogen-like substances. An abnormal pigment similar to the hemin pigment described in 1949 was found in only one specimen. This specimen was a terminal peritoneal fluid from a dog with experimental strangulation obstruction. Peritoneal fluid from a companion dog operated upon at the same time served as a control for subsequent studies.</li><li>3.The quantitative bacteriology of theperitoneal fluid containing the abnormal pigment and that of the control peritoneal fluid were similar. Each peritoneal fluid was lethal for mice and dogs when injected intraperitoneally. The presence of the pigment was not related to either bacterial flora or lethality, and is not explained.</li></ul>