252 With his collaborators he had produced localized tissue im- 

 munities — in the eye, in portions of the respiratory and alimen- 

 tary mucous membranes, in the skin — by topical application 

 or local injection of his vaccines. But in these experiments, the 

 signs were plain that from the locally immunized spots sub- 

 stances passed into the whole body so as to make resistance to 

 the disease more general. He could discover immune bodies in 

 the circulation. 



At times, however, things did not go so smoothly. Just as 

 he had seen a localized immunity develop, he now saw a local- 

 ized anaphylaxis — a hypersusceptibility, as he called it. As a 

 second dose of horse serum in diphtheria treatment had at 

 times not benefited but killed the patient, so after his vaccine 

 injections, Wherry had noted not "cure" but varying degrees 

 of "reaction." These local effects of a second dose of vaccine 

 were identical, Wherry said, with what happened when live 

 organisms got through the body barriers and started on their 

 way. He burlesqued the arrangements of words that men used 

 to "explain" the situation. 



"The bacteria, having gained entrance to the body through 

 some suitable path, make their way into the blood or lymph 

 streams or into the tissue spaces, and, if the conditions are 

 favorable and if the resistance of the host is such or so, they 

 grow and multiply and set up an irritation of the tissues." 



Wherry continued: 



I have not really quoted the above statement but believe it 

 represents fairly the current mode of evading the plain state- 

 ment that we have very hazy ideas concerning the first steps 

 in the process of infection. . . . We should be interested first 

 of all in how bacteria gain entrance to the tissues, for in order 

 to do so they must penetrate into either skin or mucous 

 membrane. 



What, in more scientific phraseology, really did happen? 

 Wherry said : 



Let us focus attention on the factors which make possible the 

 invasion of this mass of colloids . . . which we call the animal 

 body. So far as the microorganism is concerned, in order that 

 it may lead a parasitic existence it must be provided with a 



