IMMUNITY IN EXPERIMENTAL INFECTIONS 133 



is of special interest in view of the increase in the number of cases 

 of lipoid pneumonia reported in infants as resulting from intra- 

 nasal medication. 



Cannon and Walsh found that mineral oil, which is a popular 

 vehicle for menthol, eucalyptol, iodine, guaiacol, etc., readily 

 reaches the lungs when instilled into the nose of rabbits. They 

 ])oint out that it is quite liable to pass from the nose to the trachea 

 and lungs of infants lying on their backs. This may account for 

 mucli of the lipoid aspiration which is found at autopsy. The min- 

 eral oil and many otlier fluids used for nasal medication such as 

 argyrol, etc., can carry bacteria from an infected nose or naso- 

 pliarynx to the lungs. 



Cannon and Walsh also cite other raseareh that indicates that 

 many substances used in intranasal medication interfere with the 

 ciliary movement or by otlier means interfere with the streaming 

 of mucus over the mucous membrane and thus paralyze a pro- 

 tective mechanism. Not only do mineral oil and some other sub- 

 stances affect the cilia but when they reach the lungs they affect the 

 permeability of the blood capillaries. They state, however, that 

 some materials such as prontosil, 1 per cent thymol, 1 per cent 

 menthol, 10 per cent glycerin or any of the solutions of the vaso- 

 constrictors in isotonic saline are not likely to be injurious although 

 some of them do affect the cilia. 



10. Cannon and Hartley sensitized rabbits to egg albumin and 

 then injected a mixture of pneumococci and egg albumin locally 

 to see if the allergic inflammation would protect against the pneu- 

 mococcus. As a result of this and a number of other similar ex- 

 periments they conclude that allergic inflammation failed to pro- 

 tect rabbits against infection with virulent pneumococci. These 

 findings are in harmony with those of Rich (1933). He mixed a 

 small dose of fowl cholera bacilli with pneumococcus polysaccharide 

 and injected the mixture into a rabbit sensitive to the polysac- 

 charide. The resulting allergic inflammation did not protect the 

 ral)bit since a generalized infection ensued. 



Experimental Infection of the Chorio-allantoic Membrane of 

 Chick Embryos was carried out by Goodpasture and Anderson 

 (1937) with results that appear to throw light upon susceptibility 

 as well as resistance. Goodpasture's timely observation, that while 



