A Clinical Method of Haemalkalimetry, with application to determination of the reactivity of the inorganic salts of the serum in Malignant Disease and other conditions.

The experimenits recorded in this paper were commeniced with the object of determining the alkaliinity of the blood in malignant disease. Our attention was attracted to this subject in consequence of the observation that secretioni of hydrochloric acid in the gastric juice is diminished or suppressed whatever be the situation of the malignlant growth, which poinits to the probability of ani increased alkalinity of the plasma in malignancy.' The determiination of the reactioni of the blood and its degree of alkalinity or acidity, is a subject surrounded by great difficulties, both experimenital anid theoretical, as is shown by the great niumber of methods which have beeni initroduced for the purpose, anid the great divergencies in the results obtainied. The experimental difficulties are initroduced by the colour and composite nature of the fluid, the presenlce of the proteins, whiich react as acids or bases, according to the inidicator used to poin1t out the neutral point, and the peculiarly balanced phosphates anid carboniates of the alkali metals presenit wlich act in a similiar manner. The older experimental results vary according to whether the reaction is taken in the whole blood or in the plasma or serum, and still more according to the indicator used by different observers.