Lead poisoning and lead absorption

by Sir Thomas Morison Legge; Kenneth Weldon Goadby

• A = Polymorphonuclears.
• B = Lymphocytes.
• C = Large hyaline.
• D = Eosinophile.
• E = Transitional.
• F = Basophile.
• G = Microcytes.
• H = Megalocytes.
• I = Poikilocytes.
• J = Nucleated red.
• K = Plehn’s bodies.
• Corpuscles, Thoma-Zeiss.
• Hæmaglobin, Haldane’s instrument.
• Films, stained Leishman.

The form of lead inhaled is immaterial, and definite poisoning with alteration in the blood may be occasioned, not only with white lead and lead fume, but also even with lead sulphate and lead silicate.

The following table gives the result of blood-counts performed upon the blood of persons employed in the manufacture of a paint erroneously supposed to be innocuous, as the base consisted of lead sulphate and oxysulphate:

Differential Counts per Cent. of Blood-Films from Lead Sulphate Workers.

No.	A.[A]	B.	C.	D.	E.	F.	G.	H.	I.	J.	K.
1	55	16	5	1	0	+	+	-	+	+	+
3	57	16	26	1	0	+	+	-	-	+	-
6	67	23	9	1	0	+	+	+	+	+	+
7	72	18	5	5	0	+	-	-	-	+	+
8	65	26	7	2	0	+	+	-	-	+	+

Sand-papering surfaces of painted objects, walls, coaches, etc., also throws a definite amount of lead dust into the air whenever the sand-papered paint contains lead. The following table gives the differential counts of the blood of persons employed in the furniture-painting trades:

Differential Counts per Cent. of Blood-Films from Furniture-Makers (Sand-Paperers).

No.	A.[A]	B.	C.	D.	E.	F.	G.	H.	I.	J.	K.
10	48	39	11	1	1	+	+	+	+	+	+
13	54	35	9	2	0	+	+	+	+	+	-
15	53	32	13	1	1	+	-	-	-	-	-
16	58	30	9	3	0	+	-	-	+	-	-
19	56	31	12	0	1	+	-	-	+	+	-

[A]

• A = Polymorphonuclears.
• B = Lymphocytes.
• C = Mononuclears.
• D = Eosinophiles.
• E = Myelocytes.
• F = Basophiles.
• G = Microcytes.
• H = Megalocytes.
• I = Poikilocytes.
• J = Vacuolated red cells.
• K = Normoblasts.