The effect of exercise on the hæmoglobin with reference to the value of rest in the treatment of anæmia / by Wilfrid Edgecombe.

  • Edgecombe, Wilfrid.
Date:
[1898?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The effect of exercise on the hæmoglobin with reference to the value of rest in the treatment of anæmia / by Wilfrid Edgecombe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Eeprinted for the Author Pom the British Medical Journal, • Jun8 25th, 1898. THE EFFECT OF EXERCISE ON THE HAEMO¬ GLOBIN WITH REFERENCE TO THE VALUE OF REST IN THE TREATMENT OF ANAEMIA. By WILFRID EDGECOMBE, M.D., F.R.C.S.Eng., Harrogate. ■ » _ The observations made by G. Oliver and the writer, and pub¬ lished by the former in the Oroonian Lectures for 1896,1 have shown the occurrence of a diurnal physiological variation in the blood of healthy subjects, a fall in the percentage of haemoglobin, corpuscles, and of the “ worth ” of the corpuscle . , taking place during the day, and a rise during the night, l^Ui Claus'! ( Examination of 650 observations on two subjects gave an average daily variation in haemoglobin of 7.3 per cent. (7 4 per cent, day fall and 7.2 per cent, night rise) ; in the volume of the corpuscles of 4.3 per cent.; and, consequently, a varia¬ tion in the “ worth ” of the corpuscle which averaged 5.9 per cent. (5.7 per cent, day fall and 61 per cent, night rise). The fall in “ worth ” is an indication of actual loss of haemoglobin, in addition to the apparent loss resulting from dilution of the blood by fluids ingested during the day ; a loss which is probably brought about by the wear and tear of the process of oxidation. It is interesting to note that the average night rise (6.1 per cent.) in the worth of the corpuscle is slightly in excess of the average day fall (5.7 per cent.), providing probably a slight reserve of haemoglobin in the animal economy to meet variable calls made upon it, such as exer¬ cise, as will be seen below. The amount of variation of the haemoglobin almost always exceeds that of the corpuscles ; hence avariation takes place in the “ worth,” the latter being a theoretical value obtained by dividing the percentage of haemo¬ globin by the percentage volume of corpuscles. It then became a matter of interest to determine whether the process was reversed in a subject who worked during the night and rested during the day. This was found to be the 1 ■ r f / - case. ^ ^tuu/i jY When on day duty the blood showed the usual variation of day fall and night rise ; when on night duty a day rise and night fall. It is interesting to note that the average fall in the worth of the corpuscle while on day duty (4.8 per cent.) is greater than that which occurred while on night duty (3.2 per cent.), the difference being probably accounted for by the fact that the amount of muscular work performed was distinctly less in the latter case than in the former. The effect of exercise given below tends to confirm this view.