The tendency to nosebleed, the bloody sputum and the hemorrhagic character of the lesion in the lung, in an uncomplicated case of epidemic influenza, give rise to the inference that there are changes in the blood in this disease which predispose to hemorrhage.
It was for the purpose of inquiring into this point that the present study was undertaken, and this report is a preliminary summary of the results that were obtained.
The special features studied were the clotting time, the platelet count, the fragility of the red cells, and the number of leukocytes.
METHODS
For studying the clotting time, blood was drawn from the median vein into a syringe wet with physiologic sodium chlorid solution, and 1 c.c. was immediately inserted in tubes 1 cm. in diameter also wet with physiologic sodium chlorid solution. It was found that if the syringe was one of small capacity and the quantity