The toxic effects of carbon tetrachloride on the liver and kidneys are well known, but a review of the literature reveals no information concerning the effect of this toxic agent on the bone marrow. Observations of three cases of aplastic anemia occurring after chronic exposure to carbon tetrachloride are therefore reported to supply this important material.
REPORT OF CASES
Case 1.—
A 28-year-old white man was admitted on Dec. 21, 1948, complaining of anorexia, epigastric distress, dark urine, and yellow discoloration of the skin of three weeks' duration. For the past six and one-half months, his work had frequently entailed the use, for two to eight hours a week, of sponges soaked in carbon tetrachloride in a small room ventilated only by a door. The patient was well developed, well nourished, and deeply jaundiced. The fundi were normal and the scleras were icteric. The heart and lungs were normal. The