CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CAPILLARY CIRCULATION

Abstract

The direct observation of the capillary circulation in disease has long been the aim of many workers, interested in a variety of clinical and experimental problems. It is evident that the rest of the cardiovascular system exists only to regulate the blood flow through the capillaries, for here takes place the exchange of gases necessary for internal respiration and the exchange of materials necessary for metabolism. Any attempt to measure cardiovascular function is an indirect attempt to measure the efficiency of the capillary circulation. For example, blood pressure determinations are supposed to give some indication of the peripheral blood flow, but as will be seen later, blood pressure is often a poor index of the state of the capillary circulation. Much work has been done experimentally upon so called capillary poisons, such as arsenic, etc., stimulating a clinical interest in many of the acute intoxications, especially those accompanied by skin