A METHOD FOR THE SIMULTANEOUS ENUMERATION OF BLOOD PLATELETS AND RETICULOCYTES

Abstract

The methods so far introduced for the enumeration of the blood platelets are well-nigh legion. Their very number speaks for a lack of standardization in technic. The method presented here has the following advantages: 1. The individual blood platelets, which are kept from clumping, can be seen, studied and counted without difficulty. 2. The reticulocytes can be counted in the same preparation. The enumeration of the blood platelets becomes important in the study of the hemorrhagic diseases, particularly in purpura hemorrhagica; it is also of great interest and probably of more value than is realized, in the study of the anemias, leukemias and associated disorders. Since the blood platelets are derived from the megakaryocytes of the bone marrow, they should give, in association with a study of the number of reticulocytes and neutrophils, a complete index as to the activity of the marrow. The chief difficulty encountered in the enumeration