[From the Municipal Hospital, Bergweg, 

 Rotterdam]. 



A NEW METHOD OF SEROLOGICAL RESEARCH, 



FOR THE FIRST TIME APPLIED 



TO SUFFERERS FROM TUBERCULOSIS 



BY 

 Dr. J. HERMAN, 



First medical attendant at the above mentioned hospital. 



Introduction. 



For some time I have been engaged upon the analysis of 

 the effect of tuberculine. In an earlier publication concerning 

 this subject i) I already illustrated, that tuberculine, though as 

 good as nonpoisonous to non-tuberculous individuals, may be 

 made poisonous to them too by allowing the serum of a sufferer 

 from tuberculosis to act upon tuberculine for a short time. 

 I illustrated this in the following manner. 



Allow such a bloodserum to act upon a solution of old- 

 tuberculine for about lo minutes in a living-room-temperature 

 (the tuberculine-solution should be so strong, that, after the 

 dilution with serum it is from 4 to 5 %) ; bring a few drops 

 of this mixture into the connective tissue of the eye of a 

 healthy, non-tuberculous cobaya. 



Very soon afterwards such an irritation of the connective 

 tissue arises, that a thin secretion, sometimes even, a thick 

 secretion containing much mucus, appears. 



The instillation of the serum alone, or of the 5 o/q tuberculine- 

 solution alone can not cause such a reaction. 



^) Dr. Herman. Bijdrage tot de Analyse der Tuberkuline-werking. Nederl. 

 Tijdschr. v. Geneesk. 191 3 H, No 24.. 



