The effects of struggle on the content of white cells in the lymph

Abstract

As the first stage of an investigation into the content of white cells in the lymph under certain common physiological and pathological conditions, the author has studied the effects on this content of variations in muscular activity. The lymph running from the thoracic duct was collected in a special mixing-tube — 3 c.c. of lymph to 3 c.c. of a 4 per cent, solution of sodium citrate in 0.8 per cent, salt solution — tinting accomplished with a trace of methyl violet, and counts made in the blood-counting chamber. Adult dogs under morphin and chloroform were used.

Preliminary determinations, with the animal quiet, showed that for any one individual the number of leukocytes per c.mm. of lymph was practically a constant during the 1-4 hours in which observations were made. Thus certain unavoidable changes in the body state — increased concentration of the blood as the body lymph drained away, variations in the amount of anesthetic — could for later work be ruled out as regards any marked influence in lymph's cell content.

The effects of struggle were then taken up. With struggle, as others have shown, the lymph flow increases sharply in amount for a few minutes. With this the author found a corresponding increase in cell content, an increase marked in “cell concentration” per c.mm. of lymph and in the total number of elements passed. Specimens taken at short intervals showed that the curve of increase in cell concentration was not coincident with that of the lymph flow, but was somewhat retarded, the greatest cell increase often existing in the few C.C. of lymph obtained in the quiet immediately following muscular exertion. That a transient flushing out of cells was not responsible for the main results, was shown by the data from long-continued struggle.