Abstract
The therapy of post-traumatic pulmonary fat embolism has re-received little attention. We have studied the effect of various organic and inorganic substances upon the fat globules which lodge in the capillaries of the lungs after the intravenous injection of a known quantity of sterile fat from an animal of the same species.
Twenty-four large Belgian hares and 4 dogs were used. Normal, healthy animals of the same litter were used in each series of experiments.
The sterile fat was warmed to 37°C., and injected into either the marginal vein of the ear of the hares, or into the saphenous vein of the dogs. The injections were carried out at the uniform speed of 1 cc. per minute and without undue force. Four animals were used in each series of experiments. Into each animal we injected 1 cc. of the warmed, sterile fat per kilo of body weight. One animal of each series was kept for the control. The other 3 animals were treated by an intravenous injection of 5 cc. per kilo of body weight of the following dextrose-alcohol mixture: Ethyl alcohol C. P. (96%) 3 parts; dextrose C. P. (25% solution in water) 7 parts.
Two of the remaining animals of each series received a second injection of the same quantity of this mixture at the end of 12 hours. Twenty-four hours after the injection of the fat, one of the last 2 animals was again treated by a third injection of the same quantity of the mixture intravenously. All of the animals of each series were killed by an intracardiac injection of sodium cyanide 48 hours after the fat was injected into the blood stream. Immediately after death the lungs of the animals were placed in a large quantity of 10% solution of formaldehyde in order to insure complete fixation.
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