139 



It is necessary to determine the normal index from a great 

 number of observations. I am engaged upon this and will 

 soon publish it. 



How is it to be explained that tuberculine checks the ßbrine 

 transformation to a lower degree'^ The following explanation 

 seems to me the most reasonable. Before this (page 2) I could 

 indicate, that in such serum a substance occurs, which can 

 transform tuberculine in such a way as to make it poisonous 

 to every individual. If the action of the serum on tuberculine 

 lasts too long, the tuberculine is perfectly neutralised, so that 

 it is then even no longer poisonous to a tuberculous 

 individual. In the here-meant fibrolitic system-substance 

 (bacteriolysine ?) also destroys the tuberculine, if tuberculine- 

 serum is used. By this the checking influence of tuberculine 

 will decrease. 



In normal serum that substance of the character of a 

 bacteriolysine does not occur. The peptic ferment will now 

 corrode both fibrine and tuberculine, while the tuberculine in 

 the tuberculosis-serum (besides by the pectic ferment) is also 

 destroyed by the specific ferment. Consequently the peptic 

 ferment will be less weakened in the last serum through the 

 co-existence of the specific ferment, and will be able to 

 transform to a higher degree. 



If we heat tuberculosis-serum for half an hour to 56° C, the 

 fibrolytic power has decreased (see page 9), but then the 

 tuberculine proportionally more checks the fibrine-transformation 

 than before the heating. Probably the specific ferment is conse- 

 quently more weakened by the heating than the peptic ferment. 



1 will also try to apply this principle of serological research 

 in another department. If it is true that with different states 

 of disease different defensive ferments circulate in the blood, 

 by bringing together coloured fibrine (which is corroded by 

 each serum), the albumen, in regard to which the specific 

 ferment occurs in the blood, and the specific serum, it must 

 be possible to indicate a smaller transformation of the fibrine, 

 than when serum is used in which the here-meant specific 

 ferment does not accur. It seems to me that especially in the 

 department of the serological cancer-diagnostic important results 

 may be obtained here. 



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