Abstract
The early work of Aschoff, Ribbert, Goldmann and Kiyono showed that colloidal dyes are removed from the blood stream by the reticuloendothelial system. Phenoltetrachlorphthalein, a colloidal dye, was shown by Schellong and Eisler 1 to remain longer than normally in the blood stream of rabbits following India ink injection or splenectomy and Saxl and Donath 2 obtained similar results after electrocollargol injections in humans. Merklen, Wolf and Arnovljevitch 3 and Fiessinger and Longchampt 4 believed this dye to be a test of the reticulo-endothelial system rather than of the liver.
Bromsulphalein, introduced by Rosenthal and White, 5 to estimate liver function is supposed to circulate as a soluble dye and to be more specifically excreted by the liver than phenoltetrachlorphthalein. Herlitz, 6 however, on the basis of clinical investigations, called attention to the possibility that bromsulphalein might be excreted through the reticulo-endothelial system in general and Kupffer cells in particular rather than through the hepatic parenchyma. To investigate this we performed bromsulphalein tests on dogs which had been splenectomized or had received India ink injections.
Control dye tests were done on 11 apparently normal animals. Two milligrams of bromsulphalein per kilo body weight was injected intravenously and blood samples taken 5 and 30 minutes later. The percentage of dye in the serum was estimated as outlined by Rosenthal and White. 7 Six of the animals were splenectomized under nembutal anesthesia and one was laparotomized as a control. Bromsulphalein tests were then done on the second or third postoperative day and repeated at various intervals thereafter. The control dog showed no change in the percentage of bromsulphalein in the blood, while the splenectomized animals showed slight increases at the end of 5 minutes. This effect lasted for 3 to 4 weeks, at the end of which time the results were normal. Table I summarizes the results obtained.
Splenectomy, therefore, causes a slight but nevertheless definite slowing of the removal of bromsulphalein from the blood.
Each of the other 4 animals received an intravenous injection of 50 cc. of an 8% India ink suspension in normal saline. One-half hour later a bromsulphalein test was performed. Two of the dogs were then sacrificed and histological examination made of the liver and spleen. The Kupffer cells were found to be well filled with ink, while the splenic endothelial cells were not so well blocked. The hepatic parenchyma appeared normal in both animals. On the other 2 dogs bromsulphalein tests were done on successive days. Table II summarizes the results.
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