The Osmotic Concentration of Blood during Life and after Death

Abstract

In the present work, it has been shown. 1. The influence of the gaseous constituents of serum upon the osmotic concentration can be very conveniently studied by means of the capillary tube method. The concentration of the serum saturated with the oxygen in the atmospheric air is enhanced about by 0.034M. when the oxygen is displaced by CO2in the expired air. 2. The hypertonic content of the gastrointestinal canal influences very readily the concentration of the blood. 3. The osmotic concentration of the blood is raised remarkably by asphyxiation. 4. The right and left heart blood are almost equally concentrated during the life time, but their concentrations become widely deviated at the moment of death. If rabbits are killed by asphyxia, the difference of the osmotic concentration between the right and left heart is 0.03 M. (mean value of 7 cases). Such a difference as this is produced at the moment of death because the succeeding portion of blood in the vascular system becomes gradually more highly concentrated in dying animals. This phenomenon masks unfavorably the characteristic findings of death by drowning. 5. The bacteria, generally entering the circulation in the agonal stadium, do not cause such a great change of the blood concentration within 48 hours as to disturb the difference of the osmotic concentration between the right and left heart which is produced at the moment of death. 6. The capillary tube method may be employed for the purpose of diagnosing the death by drowning with the same accuracy and convenience as the cryoscopical method