THE "NORMAL" CARBON MONOXIDE CONTENT OF THE BLOOD

Abstract

The ideal normal individual should have no carbon monoxide in his blood, but the average person under ordinary conditions is exposed so frequently to it that it is not possible to regard him as being carbon monoxide free unless procedures are employed which are suitable only for the detection of amounts known to be toxic. It is our purpose to determine to what extent carboxyhemoglobin exists in the blood of presumably normal persons as shown by a precise and delicate method. The literature reveals no record of such analyses. <h3>CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING</h3> An able review of carbon monoxide poisoning has been compiled by Sayers and Davenport.¹This review traces the knowledge of "vapor" poisoning from ancient times, lists the sources of carbon monoxide in industry, discusses public and private hazards, portrays the symptoms of poisoning, describes aids to diagnosis and laboratory methods, depicts the pathology of carbon monoxide poisoning,