INFLUENCE OF AGE AND SEX ON HEMOGLOBIN

Abstract

To the thoughtful clinician it has long been a matter of keen regret that the very examination of the blood which is perhaps most frequently made in routine practice, namely, the estimation of the percentage of hemoglobin, is the one from which we generally derive the most unsatisfactory results. Aside from the very glaring defects in some of the instruments in common use, this has been due to the fact that we have had few accurate data as to the variations in the amount of hemoglobin at different ages. What knowledge we possess on the subject dates from the work of Leichtenstern.¹This author recognized very clearly that before any conclusions could be drawn as to whether a person of a given age and sex had a normal amount of hemoglobin, it was first necessary to determine the norm for that age and sex. In addition to