DISSOCIATION IN THE TOXIN-ANTITOXIN COMBINATION. 669 



TABLE IV. 

 (.4) DETERMINATION OF Lf WHEN MIXTURES HAVE STOOD 3 HOURS. 



(B) DETERMINATION OF Lf WHEN MIXTURES HAVE STOOD 24 HOURS. 



toxin. Morgenroth * found that the reaction between diphtheria 

 toxin and its antitoxin proceeded slowly, but that the time relations 

 could be brought out only by maens of intravenous injections. When 

 subcutaneous injections were employed, the length of time which 

 the toxin-antitoxin mixtures remained in contact appeared to have 

 no influence whatever. Morgenroth therefore assumed "that in the 

 subcutaneous areolar tissue certain factors are present which hasten 

 the union of toxin and antitoxin." His idea, then, is that the reac- 

 tion is hastened by certain positive catalytic influences. 2 We shall 

 probably not err if we interpret our own results, with botulism toxin, 

 in the same manner, and assume that they are the result of a slow 

 reaction between toxin and antitoxin, which reaction is hastened in 

 the subcutaneous connective, tissue. 



In view of these facts one might assume that the increased tox- 

 icity of fractional portions of a relatively neutral toxin-antitoxin 

 mixture was due to the catalytic action of the tissues, somewhat in 



1 Morgenroth, Untersuchungen iiber die Bindung von Diphtherietoxin und 

 Antitoxin, zugleich ein Beitrag zur Kenntniss der Constitution des Diphtherie- 

 giftes. Zeitschrift f. Hygiene, Vol. XL VIII, 1904; also Berliner klin. 

 Wochenschr., No. 20, 1904. 



2 Attention may be called to the fact that von Behring assumed the exist- 

 ence of a positive katalysator (conductor) in fresh tetanus antitoxin. See 

 Deutsche med. Wochensehrift, No. 35, 1903. 



