A Test for Antithrombin in the Blood

A test is described for the estimation of antithrombin in the blood. The chief advantage of the test is that it is simple, and does not require the preparation of fibrinogen and of thrombin, which are difficult to prepare and to maintain in a pure state. The principle consists in titrating the antithrombin against normal human plasma; in this way we obtain an estimation of its power to delay coagulation. As the result of examinations carried out by this method, it would seem that there is a wide factor of safety as regards the amount of antithrombin in the human blood, and that this inhibiting substance may be increased to a considerable degree without markedly delaying or endangering clotting.