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The Omaha Sunday Bee Magazine
OUTSIt
77ie Newest Miracle of Medical Science That
Page
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Diagram Showing How One Dog That nod Been "Bled ITS A Ol&lJilO kJLM Llll ISZLl KJlll
White" Was Restored by the Blood of Another Dog w
Being Forced Through Its Jugular Vein. One of the
Preliminary Experiments That Resulted in the Dis
covery of the New Blood Washing
By Dr. Leonard K. Hirshberg, M. A.
(Johns Hopkins University)
THE most remarkable achieve
ment of modern surgery Is
tho discovery of n method
whereby tho blood can be drawn
from tho body, washed clean and be
returned without the heart missing
a slnglo beat.
This docs not mean, of course,
that the blood is washed In tubs llko
a shirt. Cleansing of tho Ufo
stream, with Its hosts of red and
whito corpuscles, Us scrumnnd its
ferments, is a far more complicated
natter. Nevertheless tho now
method of purifying Is quite as
extraordinary aB though tho circula
tion wero sent out to bo laundered.
The invention by which the wash
ing is dono is that of Professor J. J.
Abel, ono of tho most brilliant ex
perimental surgeons in America, and
Drs. L. G. Rountree and B. B. Davis,
all three of Johns Hopkins, The
cleansing outside the body Is made
possible by the action of what 13
known as osmosis. Osmosis is tho
tendency to mix of all liquids and
gases by passage through a mem
brane or porous wall separating them.
Lot mo mako this process clear.
Suppose you take a vessel and half
1111 it with distilled water. Then
suspend in it a bag made from mem
brane parchment, tho coverings of
tho intestines, a bladder. Fill this
membranous bag with sweetened
water and leave it immersed in tho
pure water for an hour.
Now If you carried this bag
around for an hour by Itself you
would not lose a drop from it. But
when at the en'd ot your hour of Im
mersion you test your enclosing
water you find it also sweet The
liquid in tho bag has strained out
through tho minuto interstices In the
confining membrane and tho enclos
ing liquid has strained in, and this
process will go on until tho fluid
outside the bag is just as sweet as
that inside. We call this the osmotic
tho pores of 'tho skin throw
off waste matters and poison from
tho blood. How do these products
get into tho pores from tho llttlo
An Invention
THE torpedo bicycle is a remark
able but simple French inven
tion that promises to double
the speed of the ordinary bicycle. Tls
machine is the Invention of M, Eti
enne Buniiu-Varilla, who Is a relative
of the noted M. Bunnu-Varllln, the
French financier who sold the rights
to tho old French Panama Canal to
tho United States Government The
torpedo bicycle Is an ordinary bicycle
How the Bicycle Rider Sits Inside
Tight, Enclosing Him
Method.
blood vessels we call tho capillaries?
Again by osmosis, Thoy circulate In
tho blood stream and strain out under
the osmotic pressures into tho sweat
glands Just as they strain out in
side the body and poison the vital
organs if their quantity is too groat
to bo removed through the skin or
if tho pores are not working prop
erly. Now of recent years hydropathy,
or the treatment ot certain diseases
by frequent and long continued
baths, has developed greatly. It has
been proven that some forms of in
sanity duo to persistent poisons in
tho blood can bo mitigated and
sometimes cured by soaking the
patient for hours In warm water.
The secretion through the skin Is
stimulated by tho water and the
poisons nro carried away directly
from the blood through the sweat
glands. Tho vapor bath and Its liko
for removing an excess of uric acid
is an ancient institution. It is true
that these methods do not remove
tho causes of the poisoning, but by
relieving the blood stream ot the
poisons they give Naturo a mighty
help toward cure.
Dr. Abel's system is a highly
specialized form of hydropathy in
which, by the aid of fifty feet of mica
tubing, the circulatory system Is ex
tended outside tho body and is
brought directly in contact with a
cleansing liquid. During its passage
through this liquid the blood stream
is washed by osmosis freo of Us
poisons and goes back into tho body
pure.
The apparatus itself consists, as
has been said, of fifty feet of mica
tubing. This is shaped by S turns
into thirty-two continuous tubes
which in their turn aro immersed in
a glass cylinder. Mica is used be
cause its texture Is tho nearest thing
to 'the texture of tho walls of the
arteries and veins. Mica, like the
blood vessel walls, is slightly porous
and so susceptible to osmotic pres
sure. Tho apparatus is so small and
delicate that the whole does not take
up more than a cubic foot of space.
A rubber tube is attached to each
That Doubles a Bicycle's Speed
with a peculiarly constructed wind
shield that removes all air pressure
and friction from the body of the
rider. Tho wind shield is made of
aluminum. This Increases the rider's
power enormously.
The shield Is constructed somewhat
llko a torpedo, but with the broad
end in front and the polnted.part be
hind. Large celluloid windows en
ables the rider to see the road In front
of him.
the Torpedo. The Side Flap Shuts)
in the Egg-Shaped Body.
Forces Your Heart to Pump
the Life Stream Into Fifty
Feet of Cleansing Tubes
and Then Pump It Back
Into the' Veins
of tho two openings. Tho mica tubeB
nro filled with a normal salt aolu-
tlon a heaping tcaspoonful of salt
mixed in a quart of sterilized water.
Tho enclosing glass cylinder is filled
with the same saline mixture Tho
whole apparatus rests In a box where
by certain appliances a constant
tomporaturo Is maintained for tho
liquid.
So much for the appliance. Now
how is tho blood to be carried through
It for washing? Here enters the
mlraclo of surgery. Tho nock of tho
patient is Opened and tho carotid
artery and the Jugular vein on ono
side is laid bare. Tho carotid car
rlos tho freshly oxygenated arterial
bipod away from' tho heart and tho
Jugular vein carries tho returning
current of depleted, waste-laden blood
black to tho heart for fresh oxygena
tion by tho lungs. Thero is a carotid
artery and a Jugular vein on each
side of tho neck.
The exposed artery and vein aro
frozen at a certain point and cut. To
ono of tho sovered ends ot tho caro
tid is attached the. rubber tubing that
leads into the intake of the mica
pipes. Tho exhaust end of tho mica
piping is attached to ono end of tho
Jugular in tho same fashion. The
other parts of tho severed vessels
are then tied.
Wo then have tho circulatory syi
torn Increased by fifty feet of
artificial artery. Tho heart pumps
tho blood through just as though It
were a part of tho body.
And here enters the reason for the
saline solution that flllls the mica
tubes. Manifestly, if thore wero
nothing within them when tho heart
began to forco the blood through
thero would bo withdrawn from the
circulation at one time enough blood
to fill tho tubes. In the experimental
apparatus in use this would bo six
hundred cubic inches, or roughly
seven and a half pints. Aj tho blood
of a man Is normally one-thirteenth
his weight, such a quantity with
drawn at one time would be apt to
cause trouble. Again, if thero was
a vacuum within tho tubes tho blood
would be drawn Into them from both
ends. And If there wero air, the
forcing of It into the circulation and
into tho heart would at onco prove
fatal.
But saline solution can be injectod
Using this machine the French
runner Berthet, who is riot supposed
to be in the 6amc class as first class
bicycle riders, easily beat the records
of tho best riders.- It is stated by
tho Frenph authorities that he easily
beat tho world's record for one kilo
meter, or 3,280 feet, by eight seconds.
The record for this distance is said
to be fifty-five seconds. If tho new
machine can make such an enormous
reduction as eight seconds in fifty
five when used by a comparatively
slow rider, it is expected that a rider
like Walthour would be able to cut
tho record nearly In half.
Berthet made another remarkable
record with the torpedo bicycle. Rid
ing very easily ho covered a distance
of five kilometers, or about three and
three-quarter miles, in five i minutes
and forty-seven seconds at the Palace
of Sports in Paris, beating the world's
record by one minute and four sec
onds. It Is suggested that this machine
vlll make a very plcusant and eco
nomical substitute for the motorcycle.
It enables a rider to travel as fast as
anybody can wish to go and nt tho
sumo time protect himself from the
wind und dust
The construction of the torpedo-liko
windshield is based upon very care
fully studied scientific principles. A
superficial observer might think
that a shield pointed In front and
broader behind would cut through the
nlr faster, but as a mutter of tact
this would hinder the progress
of tho machine by creating air fric
tion at the rear. The filing down of
the aluminum envelope to n point has
n most important effect in reducing
air resistance. The same principle has
been followed to some extent In con
structing boats, and even passenger
cars.
Copyright, 10H,
with All
into tho circulatory system -without
any harm. Indeed Dr. Alexis Carrel,
of tho Rockofollor Instltuto, has kept
animals allvo for days upon such
"artificial blood." Tho serum of tho
blood is practically of tho same com
position as sea water. Cases ot
hemorrhage in which tho pationt has
almost been "bled white" havo boon
held fast to llfo and sot toward re
covery by tho Injection of saline solu
tion. So it is, fhon, that when tho sallno
solution in the tubes is forced
through tho Jugular veins and seven
and a half pints of it at once go
coursing through tho body, thero aro
no ovil results. Tho heart goes on
pumping it just as though It wore
the normal Ufo stream.
In tho meantime tho real blood
has entered the tubing and is rac
ing along between tho mica walls.
As tho normal serum in which the
red and whito corpuscles movo Is ot
tho same density, tho same composl-
Greatly Magnified Section of a
Blood Vessel Showing tho Little
Interstices Through Which
Poisons in the Circulation
"Leak" Out.
tlon and temperature of tho bathing
salt solution that washes tho out
side of the tubes and ot therefore
the same osmotlo pressure, It does
not leak out into the surrounding
medium. But tho foreign substances,
the poisons, which are of a different
osmotlo prossuro, do filter through
tho mica walls out into the glass cy
linder and tho blood, purified, is
pumped back into tho body.
How often, you will ask, must tho
blood be passed through tho ap
paratus beforo It Is cleaned?
And how long Is this great quantity
ot tho life stream actually outside
tho body? Tho answer to the first
question depends upon tho kind and
quantity of the poison within it. It
may be necessary to wash it only
once, or it may bo necessary to wash
it many times. In answer to the sec
ond question it takos the blood
twenty-two seconds to make a com
plete revolution through tho body,
Naturallly It goes through tho tubes
at the same rate. It passes through
twenty inches ot tho pipes every
second. This would not long enough
under any circumstances to weaken,
by tho Star Company. Great Britain
fflntwiiir
Diagram of Dr.
Surgeons Examining
the Blood ,
Vessels of a
Dog Whoso Life
Stream Has Just
Been Washed
by the
Abel Method.
, , . ... rr..M
Enlnrgcd Section or Mica tubing
Showing How tho Blood Vessels
T Diinllpated in
tho Blood Washing' Machine.
' w .
A Mica Tubo Immersed in Saline
Solution Within a Glass Cylinder
Showing How the Poisons In the
Blood Arc Washed Out of It
Through the Tiny Holes.
and thoro is, it must be romembored,
the artificial blood which is taking
its placo.
The blood may bo allowed to loavo
the body as many times as It Is
necessary to remove every trace of
the poison. This Is determined by
examination ot the bathing solution
and examination ot the blood. The
nights nfcrvea
Abel's Blood Washing Appara
tus Illustrating Its Method of Operation.
Tho Fifty Feet of Mien Tubing, shpwn by the Dark
Pipes, Are Contained in a Glass Cylinder Filled
with Salt Water of tho Same Temperature and
Density ns the Blood. Tho Mica Tubes Arc Filled
with a Similar Fluid. The Cnrotid Artery Is. Cut
and the Rubber Tube (A) Is Connected with One
Severed End. Rubber Tubo (B) Is Connected with
the Severed End of the Jugular Vein. Tho Heart
Pumps the Blood Through the Rubber Tubo (A)
Into the Mica Pipes, Through Them and Out In
to hA Itulitipr Tube fin Which Carries the Life
Stream Back Into the Jugular and So Into the .
Body Again. During the Progress Through tho Mica Tubes, Whose Walla Rcsembl
Those of tho Arteries in Their Porosity, tho Saline Solution In the Glass Cylinder
Bathes It, Removing by Osmotic Pressure the Poisons Within It That Produce Dlseee.
apparatus Is so arranged that tho
cleansing liquid can bo constantly
freshly replaced. Tho liquid can also
bo altorcd by chemicals to suit tho
action required upon the blood.
After tho -washing is complotod tho
ends ot tho artery and tho vein aro
fastened togother by the dollcato but
now uniformly sato method In use,
and tho pationt feels nono tho worse
for the operation and all tho better
for tho clean blood.
Dr. Abel mado a successful demon
stration ot his Invention beforo the
Federation ot American Societies
for Experimental Biology at Phlla-
dolphla. The subject was a dog. Tho
01)Paratus has not yet been used upon
a human being, but beforo this
article aDDcars it is probable that a
, - ... i V i
iiuinuor oi cases win nuvo uucu
treated,
Tho practical value ot tho method
is enormous. In his demonstration
upon tho dog, Dr. Abol said that tho
process lu that particular case
robbed the animal of tho sugar urea
and all tho dlffusablo elements In the
blood. By varying tho chcmlcalB
with which tho flowing stream was
treatod outside tho body, he de
clared, almost any poison or material
could be removed from it.
Wo grow and are nourished by tho
diffusion of things in tho blood that
pass then Into tho kidneys, brain,
heart lungs, muscles and other
tlssuos and organs. Wo aro poisoned
by other things In tho same way.
Thoroforo, if tho blood can be washed
of tho harmful and destructive
things, and all tho beneficial and
holpful things be left lu what an
advance!
Tho vurlous forms of urle ucld
that causes rheumatic fever, joint
diseases, niul so1 on, cun bo removed.
So, too, of a swurm of other blood,
kidney, honrt, lymph, nerve and
otlior tissue poisons.
A bnrrler to the treatment ot
many diseases haa been tho fact that
the substances which it was known
-fis.
would neutralize tho poisons or tho
microbes causing tho maladies can
not bo taken Into tho body because
of their deleterious effect upon cer
tain, vital organs. Tho euro, to ubo
an old expression, is worso than tho
disease. '
But by bringing tho blood stream
outside tho body into contact with
such neutralizing compounds, thero
Is no noccsslty of Introducing thorn
into the body.
Mercurial poisoning, arsenic,
strychnine, snako-vonom any kind
of poisoning can bo rapidly washed
away beforo It has a chanco to
causo tho death of tissues.
It Is even predicted that mlcroblo
diseases, now difficult or tedious to
treat, can bo easily reached by
charging tho solution washing tho
mica tubes with chemicals that de
stroy such bacilli.
Although some doctors who wit
nessed tho Philadelphia demonstra
tion wero inclinod to believe that
the method would be of great value
in treating rases of diabetes. I am
extremely doubtful upon this point.
There is of course an enormous
amount of sugar in the blood in
this disease. Tho distress and death
are not, however, caused by sugar.
They are caused by tho fact that
sugar is not burned up in the body
und fhunged .into substances neces
sary for nutrition. A deuth from
diabetes Is really a death from sugar
stravation emi though the blood
rarrles an abnormal quantity ot It
Washing tho sugar out of the blood
would, not euro diabetes any more
than destroying food a man could not
oat would satUfy his hunger.
But if the poison in tho blood
which prevents it from transform
lng the sugar Into food could be.
neutralized or removed, then oC
course, the patient wouid bo bene
fited. Marvelous' ao the now process is,
thero seems llttlo reason why It
should not bo successful.