DANGERS OF CHLOROFORM

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 8 June 1907, Page 1

DANGERS OF CHLOROFORM

(A -paper- .of coii^sijabla itatetesc, ■bjy Dr . (Buckmastia; "iafii "Mr Gardner, was read, .before "^tfiavßbyal Society ; ' ,on the' "parfc pja^^ blood* in chloroform . anestb-esia, '.'Tiio , authors •have .succee^d 'by.;*theiri ansrtihjpds in giving " ho Pa. suWjeotf Wtbipb' hits hit-berto been lamentably; vague. 7 7 'The afctfjm of chb^fona is far, i fifoni 's^jgle// ; ~ijQ'.'-'i'tjs.7iijajttire, apxd) littlo ■el^7ffckMo^7-beyondl the fact that) rt acjfo' on'th'ei^oiiff-^st'eiQ. thus ipr<^ucing-ane^liej3iav ' Its mechannsni lis rend-BjCd' obspurig .byi ' the number -of facforsv whiett "must! be itajken into account.-. Of these, the chief are . the '-amount of .chloroform whioh ,;is . a'bsprbod into tbe lungs in Ithe ".gaseoug. stabe,, *thci . amount wforch avoids, the absprp-/ ti*ve surface an*d;.is>^j^giiih breathed, oilt into] the' air;^ and>flb^v\Aich' l is: > actually^^ 'jatoTOrb^r^y7t^^i'SOTes oS. the luh^s; •' . TOfe'-'Jla^L; : fflctjOi*, must 7 ■ again be divided'? mio' two cithers,. the chter.oform. which.^ is ajbaorlxsJ by the organs ~feita-^s_iat7 which: is again eliminated- -at 'the I , lung. surface; ;The airthbrs-rof the -paper have succeeded Pin ' f -devjsjijbgi ■ « method' which; 'allows of "ia.^Ws-. factory estimation': *6f\^tbeaa : factoi's.Essentiially it consists 1 pf analysing tbe chloroform . contents of ' ;tho blood! at varyimg .'stages of anesthesia. The other ; factors can be measured directly or 'V derived by calculation.' Uttqiifpti^naUy* ttie moat striMng oad * i^prtjant point established is^ the relati-ve dangen; which at -var&us, stogpef off' anaesthesia. The ' £utlKJ(rs' analyses show jthatjy. iwhfe'.-ci'n ; animal breathes in.the vapor pf chlorafornt mixed with that- of ' air, the blood rapidly absorbs -almost -tibe ■•" full amount which it is enabled to hold. At this stage there ia. considerable danger * fUrat -de^ttb.*.. . _aaa,y CTSue.* Breathing: usuaHj? .beasea'. or iS7fllt" any rate, very coisideraibli slpwed, owing \io tiie teinpof ay paralysis df that portioti of 7 |tbd "brain yhich controls respiraitipii. . '.-. But at thia point a remaxkabloj_(honom*e*non occurs. Itbe, chloroform -. coaatent of •the blood sinks almost as rapidly^ as it rose at first and • the .chloiro*rorm whicli it i contains is cßst.rnriitr' od throughout the "-tissues of (tie body*. In a - abort:,' time . Mow-drer, Ibe chloroform -content of tbeiblood again ruses, and rapidly approaches ito the ftill amount wbioh' tho blood is able to hold. . (Dearth is now liable to occur 1 .'■-'•jat'. any moment* though it., is bquallj' passible tha* the aromal may. be -kept \iiider tbc| noaisethatic If ort 7 cotttinikd' period withour any evil. results being! produced* It ' Sii^aotV.pjt importonoa that none of the many? experifments .wbfch t'lje authors performed jdicl any animal -ttie during .'tlw , stag 1 * intermediate between > the aVovw mentioned danger^ ijoints.. , Tbey have thus clearly shown thajt it is the lalrge quantity of chloroform in the blood which is*. tiie important! factor iii '- anaesthesia'. i »' '-.' ■ unf nn iin mv i m in riinifirnrmwri — 1-fce Action on tHe blooij^— The authors proceeded further to determine in' which . portion of the blood the chlbroiform yis' conttained.In this^case tliere .-were'two , .possibilities. '". Eitlier-. th'prjwpar is absorbed by th'e.liijpid. 'itortion of the blood or .blb'pd', plasma, or. the corpuscles. whicli'^float[' in .'the liquid are responsible' fpr -thie, .distribution of the "chiorofoiTO. tbo body. To determine which of ihese! hypotheses - .j-waJs true," rthe blood taken from the * .oililiWl -**>*aS Cmf*!* fr-ugelised, and then' an analyst was made separately Of- [the corpuscles! and the plasma. The results^ pro-v*. Bd thait at; any. rate 'outside ..tha body the Cldorof6rm.is7contaiiiied.ja the! corpuscles V.jija',',. taoHJ .to't4>e( plasma,. ''Pitrtber exj^iineaji^ ■were) conducted N *t'o,*di*scov*er^whettier this st^.te' of tfengs '.also', ejdstiad , in tha body as it. u-nquesbioiiaJbly ; did outside. 'Anl" ingeniouß .train- . oi rean soning convinced; the;^utbffl^'liha'ti if the red' corpuscles were carried to the lungs by the Wood jstreana and these^took up eaoh;]iiS''*lfliiy Jde> - Qnite load of' cW6rpf-riffni r a reduction in the total blooU content! oii bhe aninjal ' would- iii Mo tvwy ,*dij*i.. turb the;, percentage c*-' cblorof ana absorbed, into;, the * ibloiod or ita anaesthetic, . .-^-EiqpCTuneiits were deirfeed to. JMC^taan ; \t)he' fttots^ and the 'authors' hypothesis that * the red corpuscles ' .ane the oniy, [factors invblveid in . fthey carryilng! ol chloroforni is noW firmly estaiilisii'- • sd'on aa 'experimental-b asis. :'. ' , '.' 7 P'f —Animal Ej^erinieirts.'It ! is satisfactory, tii .leajn ,.. tKafl iurther experiments .are tp bo conducted in -7 Ifbis 'pP piost importantj branch of research.;- -Somevcqnception of -ifa •difficulty, may ?»' formed whon one • rt**iises'7that7 some of "the actual animal exjleriments -.laJsted over jive hours, and.ihaJV iff. wast found necessary to condiicb largo numbeisV bf elaborate weighings accurately % the tenrthousandbh of ai gi'ain, V of accuracy which is usually^' unnecessary.excopt *..*jtal-''. the det*niilna!tini? ; v ' 'of?, tlie*. atomic woielrts'bKtho^elcraents. ana s_nui< lar processes.. 7..^^ ■^a'wur pt ■ the. animal aifd an'a^t_otiaf:*i_- gtmefal is '«:._" subject of sucb iuiport'ance in our modern civilisatipjt.that.iihese nefw facts should be " 7'jriece£ved with: 7;. all :: ■ tli3 inter^V-whiATfe^iithors'';^n_? . vious papws^oaTt^e'Sft'mie' / object/ have alreat^',arffuse.aV ; 7 'JBy ihß-r discovery of 'ap. muoh. of the medianism of chloroforni-raiworption* bha. authors . dn securing •j'te SJikfeF.' y.J.ld^ihiStara.t'icfn; and tfier*^. is 'i^btf7tp ; ;hojpe( that the continuance ', -of 7their^wark will lead' to 'a"'atisfajot<^ikii6wfedge.ofl the whoia;pK^olj^»bf;tiie chterpform ana^thea^' *7.*'f t is-*sa"Uj^BeJo-tory to no^^lthat.tbejjndJaeyfajia''. tho faciini^wMCh^tW.lbijrionU-nK versityha^' pfl«bd^p. J?esearcii '.-«*',*■ alre«^i^..fejSfljii^ : 7>j|w)l»*- fJ'atualWo; fruit. . As(ork"bf7tbrsin^urd:'is tha strongest arg\iment? r ;whicU' cap be adduced^- jn faVor pf;. its cpntwiiuiance!—''Standard.'! . . '• l * -■'^' ? -'