Chapter XI 



IMMUNOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS OF THE 



PHENOMENON OF LOCAL TISSUE 



REACTIVITY 



THE RELATION OF THE PHENOMENON TO ANAPHYLAXIS 



THERE are certain clear-cut criteria which define true ana- 

 phylaxis and they may be revie^ved here shortly. The reader 

 is referred to ^vritings of W^ells, Zinsser, Doerr, and Scott. 

 Wells (1929) sets forth the following criteria which must be met 

 in order that a given condition may be spoken of as anaphylaxis: 



"1. The observed toxicity of the injected material must de- 

 pend upon the sensitization of the animal; i.e., the substance 

 must not produce similar symptoms in non-sensitized animals. 



"2. The symptoms produced must be those characteristic of 

 anaphylactic intoxication as observed in the usual reactions with 

 typical soluble proteins, being therefore the same for all antigens 

 with the same test animal but differing characteristically with 

 each species of animal. 



"3. It should be possible to demonstrate typical reactions in the 

 non-striated muscle tissue of the sensitized animal. 



"4. The possibility that the observed symptoms are caused by 

 capillary thrombosis or embolism must be excluded. 



"5. After recovery from anaphylactic shock there should be 

 exhibited a condition of specific desensitization to the same anti- 

 gen under proper conditions. 



"6. In addition to the aboxe, it is usually but not always possi- 

 ble (a) to demonstrate passive sensitization ^vith the serum of 

 sensitized animals; and (b) to demonstrate amelioration or pre- 

 vention of the bronchial spasm in guinea pigs by proper use of 

 atropine or epinephrine." 



Apparently, any substance which can induce antibody forma- 

 tion can act as a sensitizing antigen. Animal proteins are classical 

 examples of anaphylactic antigens. 



Active sensitization may be accomplished by subcutaneous, in- 



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