58 LOCAL TISSUE REACTIVITY 



c.c. The extract was dried at room temperature and ground into 

 a fine powder. Albino male rai)bit,s were used. The doses were 

 0.1 c.c. intradermally and •■] c.c. intravenously, per kilo of body 

 weight. Clontrol rabbits received the ascaris extract intradermally 

 and phenolized Coca's solution intravenously; ascaris intrader- 

 mally and no intravenous inoculation; and finally, j)henolized 

 Coca's solution intradermally and no intravenous injection. 



The intradermal injection ot the ascaris extract elicited moder- 

 ately edematous papules. 



All the control rabbits were negative. The experimental rab- 

 bits sho^ved extremely severe reactions in a high percentage of 

 animals tested (8 out of 13) . Microscopically, the reactions fol- 

 lowing the intravenous injection of ascaris showed marked exuda- 

 tion, massi\e infiltration of polymorplionuclear leucocytes, pro- 

 nounced vascidar necrosis, thrombosis, rupture of blood vessels 

 and extensi\'e hemorrhage in the sul)ciUaneous tissue. The pri- 

 mary reactions were those of mild edema, slight migration of 

 polymorphonuclear leucocytes, moderate dilatation and conges- 

 tion of blood vessels. There were no signs of hemorrhage and 

 vascidar necrosis or rupture of blood vessels. This microscopic 

 picture entirely conforms with that of the phenomenon of local 

 skin reactivity. 



ACTIVE PRINCIPLES OF RICIN 



Gratia and Linz (1931(7) studied the active principles of ricin. 

 They injected into the skin of the abdominal ^vall of rabbits 0.25 

 c.c. of a 1:1000 dilution of the toxin. After twenty-four hours the 

 prepared sites appeared infiltrated and congested, at which time 

 the rabbits received 1 c.c. of the same dilution of toxin intrave- 

 nously. No reaction followed this injection. When the same rab- 

 bits ^vere reinjected ^vith an active filtrate of B. coli, there ap- 

 peared slight reaction at the sites prepared with ricin. The 

 experiments, ho^vever, are too limited, as the authors themsehes 

 point out, to draw any conclusions. 



ACTIVE PRINCIPLES OF DIPHTHERIA TOXIN 



Gratia and Linz (193W/) failed to induce the state of reactivity 

 of the phenomenon under discussion by means of preparatory 

 injections of dij)htheria toxin diluted 1:100 and of diphtheria 

 anatoxin. Wadsworth and Sickles (1933) also mention their fail- 



