VETERINARY MEDICINE. 479 



No. 1, pp. 99-113; abs. in Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, 61 (1913), No. 13, pp. 1011,, 

 1075). — Lecithin is deemed capable of rendering active a component or comple- 

 ment normally present in an inactive or latent state in sera. In the case of 

 guinea pig serum the property of the complement resembles the ordinary mid- 

 dle piece, but differs from it in so far that it is not precipitated by carbon 

 dioxid. 



Preparation of nontoxic serum and immune blood preparations {Gernmn 

 Patent 257,977, April 26, 1911; ahs. in Chem. Ztg., 37 {191.i), No. 41, Repert., p. 

 188). — In passive immunization the presence of heterologous proteins is detri- 

 mental to animal life and especially when the injections of sera, etc., are re- 

 peated. According to this patent specification the toxic action can be elimi- 

 nated if the immune sera or blood are acidified. It is claimed that by doing 

 this the hemoglobin of the immune blood is transformed into methemoglobin. 

 By autoprecipitation at temperatures varying between 70 to 100° C. the toxic 

 solution can be rendered nontoxic. The autoprecipitation is conducted frac- 

 tionally, and thereby sera, etc., are submitted at various intervals to certain 

 temperatures for a specific length of time. The procedure is as follows : 



From 0.1 to 0.5 cc. of lactic acid is added to immune blood and heated in the 

 water bath at 37°, and after a short time the temperature is raised to 40 to 

 45°. Between the temperatures of 37 and 54° one-half of the immune fluid is 

 drawn off and the remainder of the blood is heated to 70 to 100°. After it has 

 been held at this temperature for a quarter of an hour the blood is cooled and 

 mixed with the blood or serum which has been drawn off at between 87 and 54°. 



The local specific therapy of infections. — I, The biologic basis, S. Flexneb 

 (Jour. Amer. Med. As,soc., 61 (1913), No. 7, pp. 447-452). — ^An account of the 

 main facts in regard to the biological principles underlying specific therapy 

 in infectious diseases. It constitutes the first Trimble lecture given before the 

 Medico-Chirurgical Faculty of Baltimore, and the Harben lecture given before 

 the Royal Institute of Puldic Health. London. 



Bacteriology and control of acute infections in laboratory animals, N. S. 

 Fekrt (Jour. Path, and Bad., 18 (1914), No. 4, PP- 445-455). — "From the re- 

 sults of the cultural tests and agglutination experiments as carried out on the 

 micro-organisms included in this study, it is shown very clearly that the 

 Bacillus bronchisepticus is a distinct species." The author has encountered 

 but two organisms which may simulate B. bronchisepticus in its reactions to- 

 ward litmus milk and potato, namely, B. feecalis alkaligenes and an organism 

 here described as a bacillus of Group IV. 



Antistreptococcus serum, G. H. Weaver (Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, 61 (1913), 

 No. 9, pp. 661, 662). — " If active antistreptococcus serum is injected into normal 

 guinea pigs in quantities of from 2 to 6 cc. and an interval allowed for its 

 absorption, the blood of the animal comes to contain a considerable amount of 

 demonstrable streptococco-opsonin. and the animal riu withstand an amount 

 of highly virulent living streptococci which woulu. promptly kill a control 

 animal. The immunity thus produced is, then, a passive one, since preformed 

 antibodies are injected. It is of short duration, lasting about a week. In ani- 

 mals, antistreptococcus serum has little curative power over an established 

 infection." 



This finding was taken advantage of in treating the disease in man. Fol- 

 lowing the injection a prompt fall in temperature, an improvement in the 

 general toxic condition, a reduction in the number of leucocytes, and a rise 

 in the opsonic index were noted. In this condition there may also be an in- 

 creased phagocytic activity of the leucocytes. 



To secure the best results the serum must be given intravenously, but where 

 the case is not an urgent one it is given intramuscularly or subcutaneously. It 



