Abstract
Summary
Injections of epinephrine were found to produce the following reactions in patients with and without diseases of the blood-forming tissues, from whom samples of capillary or venous blood were withdrawn: 1. Tenderness over the spleen and long bones occurred in some of the patients who had diseases of the blood-forming tissues. 2. There was an increase in the erythrocyte and leukocyte counts regardless of whether or not the spleen was present. 3. The lymphocytes were the first blood-cells to increase in numbers following injection. 4. Immature cell-forms did not appear in numbers sufficient to indicate stimulation of the bone-marrow. 5. The hematocrit values were increased. 6. The mean corpuscular volume varied too greatly to be of significance. (The calculation of the mean corpuscular volume is at best only an approximation.) 7. The fragility of erythrocytes was not altered. 8. When added in vitro to whole blood, epinephrine did not produce significant changes. The results of these experiments are compatible with the hypothesis that the leukocytosis following injection of epinephrine is due to hemo-concentration.
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