II. BILE PIGMENT AND HEMOGLOBIN INTERRELATION IN ANEMIC DOGS

Abstract

A severe experimental anemia due to bleeding may be combined with a renal-bile fistula and enable the investigators to follow simultaneously new Hb production and bile pigment output under carefully controlled conditions. Dogs can be kept in perfect physical condition with normal activity and uniform weight under these conditions provided care is taken to insure suitable diet intake. Under such conditions the base line control output of bile pigments per 24 hrs. is much less than during non-anemic periods. This bile pigment output does not fall as low in proportion as does the anemia level[long dash]for example, with an anemia level of 1/3 normal Hb, a bile pigment output level of 1/2 normal was observed. This pigment paradox reads about as follows[long dash]from the injected Hb comes a quantitative return of new Hb in red blood cells removed by bleeding. At the same time there is almost a quantitative return from the same Hb injection in the form of bile pigment. Whatever pigment is accepted as the end product of the introduced Hb, there remains the necessity of explaining the other pigment formation. The authors suggest that from the injected Hb is split off the pyrrole nucleus to form bilirubin and from the globin fraction or parts of it may come much of the new Hb which appears in the circulating red cells. If this is true it appears that the body can synthesize the pyrrole nucleus in considerable amounts in an emergency due to anemia.