Unpublished paper, 'On the condition of the oxygen absorbed into the blood in respiration' by George Harley

Description

Harley commences by explaining that his researches were instituted with the view of ascertaining whether the doctrine maintained by Magnus in regard to the gases interchanged in the lungs during respiration were correct; namely, that the gases in question enter into no chemical combination with the constituents of the blood, either in passing to or from the tissues and organs of the body, but form merely a physical mixture with the circulating liquid. The principal object of the inquiry was to determine the following points: firstly, does blood have the property of chemically combining with the respired oxygen? Secondly, which of the constituents of the blood enter into combination with oxygen? Thirdly, do these constituents, by combining with oxygen, simply become oxidised, or do they also yield carbonic acid gas? Finally, what are the agents that control these changes?

Includes one page of diagrams of experimental apparatus.

Subject: Physiology

Received 16 March 1856 / April 1856. Communicated by William Sharpey.

Whilst the Royal Society declined to publish this paper in full, an abstract of the paper was published in volume 8 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'On the condition of the oxygen absorbed into the blood in respiration'.

Reference number

AP/38/19

Earliest possible date

1856

Physical description

Ink on paper

Page extent

21 pages

Format

Diagram
Manuscript