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STUDIES IN COMPARATIVE HÆMATOLOGY.—III. MARSUPIALIA
Author(s) -
Ponder Eric,
Yeager J. Franklin,
Charipper H. A.
Publication year - 1929
Publication title -
quarterly journal of experimental physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1469-445X
pISSN - 0370-2901
DOI - 10.1113/expphysiol.1929.sp000469
Subject(s) - opossum , biology , genus , marsupial , zoology , morphology (biology) , anatomy , andrology , medicine
Except for a few minor differences the morphology of the leucocytes of the marsupials is similar to that of the leucocytes in man. The white‐cell counts vary slightly—about 8000 is an average figure. The differential counts, in general, resemble those found in man. The polynuclear counts, for most of the marsupials, are more right‐handed than the human polynuclear count. The mean diameter of the red cells in the genus Macropus is 8·6 µ; in the wombat the cells are considerably smaller (7·2 µ), and in the opossum considerably larger (9·2 µ). The remarkable feature in connexion with the erythrocytes is the high hæmoglobin content which occurs in the genus Macropus . The red cell counts are distinctly higher than in man (about 8,000,000). The resistance of the red cells to saponin varies considerably, as does the resistance to sodium taurocholate; it is not possible to make any generalisation from the figures obtained. The resistance to hypotonic saline is either the same or a little less than that of the cells of man.