Abstract
The author's method consists of determining the rate of disappearance from the blood stream of phenoltetrachlorphthalein, after the intravenous injection of 5 mg. per kilo. A simplified method of determining the amount of dye in the plasma has been devised: a series of standards for comparison is prepared by adding varying amounts of the dye to plasma prior to the injection.
The test was performed upon ten normal individuals and ten control cases of extra hepatic disease. Seventeen cases of liver disease of various types were tested and results fully bore out experimental findings; striking degrees of retention of the dye in the blood were present where known damage to the liver existed. Results are quantitative, they have harmonized with the clinical evidence of the extent of liver damage and it is believed that they give an index of the functional capacity of the entire liver.
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