Chapter hepatitis C RNA, as determined by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A test for blood cryoglobulins was also positive (Fig. 28.3). A urine sample contained 4 + protein (normal 0) and innumerable red blood cells per high-power field, indicating damage due to immune complexes in the glomeruli of the kidney. Dr Melville referred Billy to a gastroenterologist. Before he was due to see the gastroenterologist, Billy appeared in the emergency room of the New England Deaconess Hospital with fever, severe abdominal pain, and vomiting blood. An arterial perforation was found in the small intestine and intestinal contents had leaked from the perforation into the peritoneum, causing peritonitis. On microscopic examination of a sample of gut wall tissue, the -- chapter Answer 1.