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Show Mir RESTORE DEAD TO LIFEBYTfflSFUSl OF 111 BLOOD Restoration to life of the dead by illuminating gas asphyxiation is a possibility foreshadowed by the experiments of D. "W. H, Burmeister, of Chicago, who has suceessfulv restored to full activity ac-tivity animals through blood transfusion. Hc ias established that the red corpuscles of some animals can be preserved intact over extended periods of time, and can be used successfully to prevent death in illuminating gas poisoning in about 75 per cent of all cases in which indirect transfusion trans-fusion is begun while the revived heart still is beating. Lr. Burmeister's method is to renew heart action by artificial respiration methods, then infuse the blood into the body of the animals. He has succeed in restoring re-storing life after the heart of the subject has been sf 111 from fifteen to forty-five minutes. Experimenting in his labora- tory, hc has asphyxiated a dozen rabbits and fort' dogs, waited until un-til heart action ceased and then transfused blood which he has kept in a tube for a long as four weeks, with the result that a substantial sub-stantial number of the animals have come to life. Dr.Burmcister reaches this conclusion con-clusion : "The establishment of emergency emer-gency stations where human red corpuscles could be obtained, just as pulmotor stations now are being be-ing maintained, should prove of invaluable service in saving the lives of human beings who are -victims of illuminating gas as-pli3pxiation." as-pli3pxiation." Working first on rabbits, Dr. Burmeister asphyxiated the animals in a small box. When heart action ceased he suspended the animals by the hind legs and prepared to make an injection in each one in a vein over one of the ears. While the rabbit was suspended suspen-ded he determined beyond doubt that heart action had stopped. Then he started a rhythmical compression com-pression of the thorax to induce artificial respiration and heart stimulation. Meanwhile the transfusion trans-fusion was effected. "The reaction in most cases was almost instantaneous," he reports. "The animal would begin to breathe brea-the and the heart to contract in a few seconds most vigorously, despite des-pite the. fact that previous artificial artifi-cial respiration and heart message had been ineffective. The rabbit was released and placed in its cage and usually within three to thirty minutes would nibble at its food and within an hour was quite as active as before the experiment." Six of the twelve rabbits treated in this wa3r were restored to normal nor-mal life. Dr. Burmeister took from sixt3T to ninety minutes to asphyxiate the dogs. lie supplemented his transfusions with an injection of a heart stimulant. The longer the dog had been dead the more difficult dif-ficult the doctor found it to resuscitate re-suscitate the animal by artificial respiration and stimulants. In many of the animals re-resuscitated re-resuscitated heart action ceased a second time before he could begin the transfusion. Such cases were helpless Thirteen of the fifteen dogs transfused regained consciousness. One developed blood poisoning and was killed. The others fully recovered. He believes application of the methods he has used in renewing life in lower animals "should be proof of invaluable service in saving the lives of human beings." |