Abstract
On the basis of extensive clinical observation and a variety of laboratory examinations of patients suffering from the so-called thrombo-angiitis obliterans (Buerger), some points that may prove of interest are presented herein as tentative conclusions. They may have to be revised from time to time as our knowledge of the disease deepens. Chemical analysis of the blood of these patients has shown that: There is no retention of waste nitrogenous constituents. There is no marked decrease in the alkaline reserve of the blood, as demonstrated by the carbon dioxid combining power of the blood plasma (method of Van Slyke). In all the cases thus far studied, the ingestion of 100 gm. of glucose, after a brief fasting period, has produced hyperglycemia. This observation shifts the whole question of the etiology of the disease to new ground, and the old designations appear no longer appropriate. For the present I would propose