VI. An account of certain organisms occurring in the liquor sanguinis

Abstract

In many diseased conditions of the body, occasionally also in perfectly healthy individuals and in many of the lower animals, careful investi­gation of the blood proves that, in addition to the usual elements, there exist pale granular masses, which on closer inspection present a corpus­cular appearance (Plate V. fig. 1). There are probably few observers in the habit of examining blood who have not, at some time or other, met with these structures, and have been puzzled for an explanation of their presence and nature. In size they vary greatly, from half or quarter that of a white blood-corpuscle, to enormous masses occupying a large area of the field or even stretching completely across it. They usually assume a somewhat round or oval form, but may be elongated and narrow, or, from the existence of numerous projections, offer a very irregular outline. They have a compact solid look, and by focusing are seen to possess consider­able depth ; while in specimens examined without any reagents the filaments of fibrin adhere to them, and, entangled in their interior, white corpuscles are not unfrequently met with.