A physiological study of erythroblasts in the duck.

By H. H. ROSTORFER, PH.D., AND R. H. RIGDON, M.D. M ARKED changes in color indices, cell volume indices, and relative cellular hemoglobin indices have been observed by Rostorfer and Rigdon’ in the blood of ducks during the course of severe malarial infections and during the period of recovery. A difference in the amounts of functional hemoglobin calculated from the oxygen capacity of the blood in comparison to the amounts of hemoglobin found by photo-electric colorimetry has been reported by Rigdon and Rostorfer’ to occur in duck bloo&during malarial infection. Blood from malanaI infected ducks has been shown by Rostorfer and McGee3 to have an abnormally low percentage of 02 saturation at lowered pH levels compared to normal duck blood at the same pH levels. These observations have been correlated with the number of young red cells in the blood.