Date of Award
1-1964
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Medical
First Advisor
James J. Smith
Second Advisor
John P. Kampine
Abstract
The reticuloendothelial system, which shall henceforward be referred to as the RES, is a ubiquitous system of cells in the mammalian organism. The anatomic delineation of this group of cells was proposed long ago [3, 2, 92], but there still remains considerable disagreement about its precise morphological composition [110]. Although the outstanding function of the RES is the engulfment of foreign material, the RES also performs many other key functions. It will become obvious that there still is much to be learned about individual functions of the RES and their relationship to other organ systems of the body. This paper has three goals in regard to knowledge of the RES: 1) to briefly review present knowledge regarding the anatomy and physiology of the RES; 2) to discuss methods of studying and altering RES function; and 3) to present the author's original data on the study of canine RES function. The latter will include an evaluation of testing procedures, depression of canine RES function and some of the factors associated with this function.