Abstract
The relative ease with which alterations in blood volume may be produced in rabbits, renders these animals unsuitable for the study of certain phases of experimental anemia. On the other hand, they are more easily maintained in proper nutritive condition and therefore the course of recovery from anemia is more uniform in these animals than in the case of dogs.
In a number of experiments, phenylhydrazine, emulsified in olive oil, was administered subcutaneously in doses sufficient to destroy about two-thirds of the red corpuscles within a period of a week. Germanium dioxide was administered to some of these animals before this interval had elapsed to determine whether any effect was produced in retarding the rate of hemolysis. No such effect was observed. The animals receiving the germanium became as anemic as those not receiving it.
Subsequently, a number of the rabbits received repeated injections of germanium dioxide. The rate of increase of red corpuscles in these animals was compared with that in animals which were not receiving germanium dioxide. It appears from our results, that germanium dioxide in moderate amounts does not augment the rate of red cell regeneration in rabbits recovering from phenylhydrazine poisoning.
The germanium dioxide used in this work was supplied to us by Professor L. M. Dennis of Cornell University, to whom we are indebted.
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