39 Wien. Med. Jahrbuch., 1876.
40 Archives de Physiologie, 1881.
41 Thèse de Paris, 1882.
42 Berl. klin. Wochenschrift, 1877.
43 Deutsches Archiv f. klin. Medicin, Bd. xxvi.
44 Clin. Society's Transactions, London, 1877.
45 Howard, Montreal General Hospital Reports, vol. i. p. 39.
It seems questionable whether such a variable feature as increase in the colorless corpuscles should be permitted to separate diseases which have all essential characters in common. We shall probably, however, continue for a long time to speak of these conditions as separate and distinct, but it is evident that as time goes on, and our knowledge of the diseases and of blood-development increases, the identity of many of them will be acknowledged, and we shall find that here, as so often the case in natural history, the multiplication of species has been the result of imperfect information, and that as points of resemblance in essential characters and development are studied minor differences disappear.
With reference to the general tissue-changes in anæmia there are two points of interest: The metabolism of the proteids is increased, as shown by the increased excretion of urea, and owing to defective exudation the decomposition of the fats is lessened; hence the retention of fat, or even increase, in anæmic persons. The influence of repeated small bleedings in hastening the fattening of cattle has been known since the time of Aristotle, and horse-dealers still affirm that there is nothing like bloodletting to put an animal into good condition.