Use of Bal in Lead Poisoning

Lead poisoning remains today a disease of seriously high incidence and severity in spite of newer knowledge of means, and the greater application of methods, of prevention. The literature of the study of this disease is voluminous, and yet neither the methods of diagnosis nor those of treatment are entirely satisfactory. The symptoms and signs of lead poisoning are so lacking in specificity that supportive evidence is necessary for diagnosis. The history may not be dependable because of ignorance of exposure and questionable probabilities of absorption and because of the patient's eagerness for expected compensation. Laboratory evidence of lead poisoning may not be conclusive. The anemia and leukocyte pictures are not specific. Basophilic stippling of the red blood cells is not pathognomonic. Such stippling is not constant in plumbism but usually occurs only during the acute stage, or in stages of exacerbation.1Since small quantities of lead are normally