The Urine and Feces in Diagnosis (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1905 Excerpt: ...undergone such change, by the conversion of its hemoglobin into hematin, that it presents an appearance suggestive of coffee grounds or of tar. In such instances Teichmann's test for blood is useful in the determination. The presence of iron confuses the picture somewhat, as this remedy is often given after hemorrhage, and thus may constitute a source of error. Quincke has said, however, that the stools containing iron change their color to a blackish shade only after being exposed for some time to the air, while the stools of melena are passed in their tarry condition. The appearance of the blood indicates the location of the bleeding, however, only in a very general way, since with especially active peristalsis blood from high up in the small intestine may be discharged so promptly that little change will have occurred. If the blood be in small quantity and be intimately mixed with the feces it may give to the stools an orange tint suggestive of paprika (Nothnagel9). Finally, it must be remembered that certain articles of diet, e. g., cocoa, huckleberries, etc., may produce in the stools an appearance which may easily be mistaken for disorganized blood. 9 Die Erkrankungen des Darms, etc., p. 84. 4. Accidental Ingredients.--Drugs. Among the most interesting of the variations in the color of the stools are those produced by the use of certain drugs; and concerning certain of these changes there is much popular misapprehension. Bismuth preparations produce a blackish or dark green color by the reduction of the ordinary salts (sub-nitrate, sub-carbonate, etc.) to bismuth hydroxide, and not the bismuth sulphide as so commonly believed (Quincke). Calomel, contrary to the general impression, causes greenish stools (in adults at least) only infrequently and then, ..