THE MODE OF ACTION OF COBRA VENOM. 295 



after which the blood cells and fluid are separated by centrifuge, it 

 will be found that the blood-cells have taken up a certain portion 

 of the amboceptors, but none of the complement. These experiments 

 would seem to prove the amboceptor character of the cobra poison, 

 at least for the above cases, entirely according to the ideas of Flexner 

 and Noguchi. 



II. Concerning Endocomplements. 1 



We shall now analyze the phenomena which we observe with 

 those blood-cells which, like guinea-pig blood-cells, are directly dis- 

 solved by cobra poison. This solution could be explained by assuming 

 that cobra poison, besides the amboceptors, contains true toxins 

 which are analogous to the diphtheria toxin and exert a toxic action, 

 i.e., effect haemolysis, without the intervention of a complement. 

 In that case, however, one would be compelled to assume further 

 that only part of the species of blood-cells react to this poison. The 

 incorrectness of this conception is readily demonstrated. 



The observation was made by earlier investigators (Stephens and 

 Myers *) that red blood-cells which are soluble in weak solutions of 

 poison may be insoluble in stronger solutions; and the same observa- 

 tion was made by us on rabbit blood. This phenomenon is entirely 

 irreconcilable with the assumption of a preformed poison, for, ceteris 

 paribus, the action of this should increase with the dose. This inhibi- 

 tion in consequence of large doses of poison cannot be harmonized 

 with the toxin theory 



On the contrary it indicates that we are here dealing with a phe- 

 nomenon whose significance was first pointed out by M. Neisser and 

 Wechsberg, 2 which consists in this, that the bactericidal action of an 

 immune serum, provided the amount of complement remains the 

 same, is inhibited by an excess of amboceptor. 



If we assume that the red blood-cells in themselves possess a 

 complement fitting the amboceptor of the cobra poison, an "endo- 

 complement," we see at once that small amounts of amboceptor effect 

 solution, while with large doses no solution occurs owing to diversion of 

 the complement by the amboceptors. This diversion is due to the mass 

 action of the amboceptors present in the fluid. This view is easily 

 supported experimentally. If blood-cells are treated with a solution 



1 See also page 443. 



2 Journal of Pathology and Bacteriology, Vol. V, 1898. 



3 Munch, med. Wochenschr. 1901, No. 18. See also page 120. 



