Icterus. A rapid change of hemoglobin to bile pigment in the pleural and peritoneal cavities

Abstract

In an earlier communication we have been able to show that bile pigment could be formed from hemoglobin without the agency of the liver. Solutions of hemoglobin were introduced into the blood vessels of dogs whose livers had been excluded from any part in this reaction. There was a prompt formation of bile pigment from hemoglobin with no possible direct liver action. This transformation can take place within a space of two hours when active circulation is maintained in the head and thorax alone. It seemed probable that the endothelium might be the tissue whose activity was responsible for this change of hemoglobin to bile pigments. This work has received confirmation from experiments of McNee.

All our experiments were performed on normal dogs. Hemoglobin in crystalline form dissolved in salt solution or obtained from freshly laked red blood corpuscles was introduced into the pleural or peritoneal cavities. The fluid was withdrawn after different intervals varying from eight hours to three days. Careful tests showed at times some bile pigment formation in eight hours but always in twenty-four hours—often in sufficient amounts to be estimated quantitatively. The amount of bile pigment formation is considerable after an interval of two, three, or four days—even more than five milligrams in some cases. It is to be recalled that a dog of thirty pounds in weight may excrete normally about 25 milligrams of bile pigment in six hours.

There is very good evidence that bile pigments may be formed from hemoglobin by the agency of endothelial cells. There is conclusive evidence that bile pigments can be formed by the mesothelium of the serous cavities. It is possible that this capacity of transforming hemoglobin into bile pigments may be a general property of living protoplasm.